Climate-related reporting legislation began in January 2025 for large corporations in Australia. The legislation requires large businesses to:
- Measure and disclose their carbon emissions
- Report environmental impacts in annual sustainability statements, and
- Integrate sustainability data with financial reports.
Why this matters to small businesses
In order for a large business to obtain as much information as possible. As a result, sharing emissions data with larger clients or projects could be required.
Extra paperwork or sales opportunity
It’s a two-edged sword. By tracking your carbon footprint ahead of your competitors could make you a more valuable business partner by showing your business is thinking ahead.
Valuable steps to do right now
Start with the basics like:
- Energy consumption. Source from your energy bills. Did you know many accounting packages already use OCR to read your bill and pre-populate the information. Ask your accountant if that is available to you. If not, check your printer software. Did you know many PDF editors have free OCR in their scanner that can pop it into a table for you. Your next bill is a great place to start.
- Fuel used in business vehicles. How many litres or kilowatts if all electric.
- Waste management practices. How much volume in your different bins? How often are they emptied?
- Supply chain transportation is another start point.
Software availability
Start to have a look at new apps that can help track and report your environmental impact statistics.
Clever outcomes
It is not just about meeting more regulations.
When you start to collect, your will start to reduce. Why? You begin to see where the waste is and by being more efficient you will reduce operational costs.
Think about getting the jump on your competitors. We’re here to help, contact us about reviewing your systems and gathering the data smoothly.
We hope you’re enjoying our Illum jottings, just a note though. The information provided here is intended for general informational and educational purposes only. While we aim for accuracy, we can’t guarantee that this content will apply to your specific situation—everyone’s circumstances are unique.
Illum’s is not a substitute for personalized advice from a qualified accountant, tax advisor, or any other professional. If you have questions specific to your individual circumstances, we strongly recommend consulting a professional for tailored advice.