Sustainability tools to use in 2026

Welcome to the Trellis roundup of new products and services for sustainability professionals. Check out the new arrivals directly below, or click to jump to a specific category. We’ll be adding new sections as the list grows.

1. Emissions reductions 
2. Reporting and target-setting
3. Carbon markets
4. Circular economy

Do you have a favorite new tool you think should be on the list? Or have feedback — good or bad — about something we’ve featured? Email editor@trellis.net with details.

New arrivals

Earned an EcoVadis badge? You can now display it on Amazon Business (Added Jan. 7, 2026)
Companies with Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum or Committed ratings from EcoVadis can showcase their achievement on Amazon Business stores in the EU and U.K. The impact could be significant if the dynamics seen on Amazon’s core consumer marketplace apply: Sellers operating there saw a 12-14 percent jump in sales after earning the company’s Climate Pledge Friendly badge.

Google’s open-source playbook on how to use AI in sustainability reporting (Dec. 15, 2025)
Sustainability leaders at Google have condensed two years of trial-and-error research on AI and sustainability reporting into a playbook with answers to questions such as “I know AI can help, but where do I even begin?”, “Which parts of the reporting heavy lifting are actually doable with AI?” and “Where can I find the copy-paste prompts to get this done?”

Sharper data on emissions from consumer use of products (Dec. 9, 2025)
Scope 3 emissions are often the toughest to measure — and within that scope, emissions from product use can be particularly challenging. Retailers’ end-use estimates should now get a little sharper thanks to an upgrade to the Direct-Use Product Emissions Database, a project of carbon management firm Optera and the Retail Industry Leaders Association. The resource contains data on emissions generated by consumer use of appliances, electronics and other products.

We missed the deforestation deadline. Now let’s get back on track (Dec. 8, 2025)
Demand for beef and other commodities derailed plans to end deforestation by 2025. Now, new guidance from the Accountability Framework initiative, a coalition of WWF and Ceres and other environmental organizations, is available for companies working to eliminate deforestation from supply chains. The Science Based Target initiative’s deforestation guidance, which is currently being revised, is designed to align with the framework.

1. Emissions reductions

Six steps to cut carbon and support climate action (Added Oct. 2025)
Most emissions-reduction frameworks focus on large companies. Not so the Climate Contribution Hub, a free-to-use site from the German nonprofit NewClimate Institute that provides a six-step process businesses and civil society organizations can use to cut carbon footprints and take responsibility for ongoing emissions. Successful companies will not, however, receive a certification (maybe not what your marketing team wants to hear).

2. Reporting and target-setting

Now the robots can read your sustainability report (Added Nov. 2025)
Actually, many companies will have to let robots read their reports: The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive will soon require metadata tags that allow machines to extract data from disclosures. Brisk AI is a new tool that simplifies the tagging process.

Run a double materiality assessment in minutes at no cost (Nov. 2025)
Should we file this one under too-good-to-be-true? Upright, a Finnish tech company, is offering double materiality assessments, free of charge and delivered within minutes after providing no more than a company URL.

A more holistic methodology for measuring net-zero efforts (Nov. 2025)
Traditional carbon accounting tools focus on efforts to reduce emissions. But what about a company’s influence on climate policy, or its financing for emerging net-zero technologies? The Climate Contribution Framework from software firm Sweep and the Mirova Research Center considers all three metrics. The methodology was developed by BearingPoint and Winrock International; corporate supporters include EDF, Renault Group and Veolia.

Find a target-setting expert — or become one yourself (Oct. 2025)
The Science Based Targets initiative has launched a directory of professionals that possess “advanced expertise in science-based target setting.” The list, currently 63 strong, includes employees at Quantis, Arup and elsewhere who have completed the initiatives’ SBTi Academy, earning them the right to register as SBTi Certified Experts.

3. Carbon markets

How not to miss the next issuance of removal credits (Added Oct. 2025)
Companies seeking offtakes of high-quality carbon removal credits sometimes issue requests for proposals — a good way to discover what’s out there, but not the most efficient of processes. The Nasdaq Carbon Issuance Calendar, a collaboration with consultancy Carbon Direct, aims to more easily connect buyers and sellers by listing projects with offtake availability. Registration is open now; listings are due to go live early next year.

Easy access to credits from the world’s largest biochar producer (Oct. 2025)
Biochar carbon credits are reasonably priced by the standards of “durable” carbon removal, a label earned by projects that lock carbon away for hundreds or thousands of years. Supercritical, a carbon credits marketplace, is now trying to smooth the sometimes-cumbersome purchase process and allow smaller buyers to access credits from Exomad, the world’s largest biochar project developer. “You don’t need a 100,000-tonne budget to access 100,000-tonne pricing,” says Supercritical.

4. Circular Economy

The missing manual for circular business practices (Added Nov. 2025)
The Global Circularity Protocol wants to be the Greenhouse Gas Protocol for the circular economy — a single interoperable framework for all sectors to align with. The 236-page playbook walks businesses through the steps needed to embed circularity in operations and supply chains.

What did we miss? And are these products as useful as advertised? Share your thoughts via editor@trellis.net.