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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →The right ESG software depends on what you need to deliver: a carbon footprint, a VSME or GRI-aligned report, an EcoVadis assessment, or a managed system for data across sites and suppliers. Those outputs are not interchangeable. For many small businesses, Greenly is a strong all-rounder to evaluate; Normative is a better fit for carbon accounting and Scope 3; Sustainly offers a lower-commitment, per-report option; and EcoVadis makes sense when a customer specifically asks for its rating.
This guide updates a 2025-oriented shortlist with product and pricing information checked on August 18, 2026. Prices and features can change; where a vendor does not publish a comparable price, request a quote for your region, plan, users, and reporting scope.
Quick comparison
| Software | Best for | Product type and likely output | Pricing signal | Main caution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenly | SMEs wanting carbon accounting plus ESG reporting | SME-oriented ESG and emissions reporting; VSME and Scopes 1, 2, and 3 are listed on its product page | Demo or quote; no public price found on the reviewed page | Confirm the plan’s social and governance depth and total cost |
| Plan A | EU-focused SMEs preparing for broader reporting demands | Modular ESG and carbon workflows; its inclusion in a VSME comparison is vendor-reported | Contact vendor | May be more involved than a simple annual report tool |
| Normative | Carbon accounting, especially Scope 3 | Carbon calculations, data collection, supplier engagement, reporting, and advisory support | Essential and Premium packages; quote required | Carbon-first rather than a complete E, S, and G management system |
| Sustainly | Businesses wanting a transparent report-based starting point | Carbon-footprint report or ESG report; ESG plan lists VSME and GRI alignment | €200 per carbon-footprint report and €300 per ESG report on the listed pricing page | Per-report buying may not provide continuous data management; listed carbon plan covers Scopes 1 and 2 |
| EcoVadis | Suppliers asked by customers to obtain an EcoVadis assessment | Assessment, scorecard, benchmarking, and improvement tools | Plan and assessment pricing depend on configuration | A rating is not a substitute for a conventional sustainability report |
| Diligent ESG | Growing organizations needing ownership, approvals, and formal workflows | Central ESG data collection, workflows, and framework mapping | Demo or quote | Likely excessive for a small team with uncomplicated reporting |
| FigBytes | Complex metrics and value-chain programs | ESG metric creation, tracking, and analysis across operations and value chains | Contact vendor | Likely requires more configuration and implementation than a microbusiness needs |
| Position Green | Supplier data and sustainability-management expansion | Supplier-data and broader sustainability workflows; highlighted for supplier integration in a VSME comparison | Contact vendor | Confirm the relevant small-business package and included supplier functions |
| Leadity | Lightweight VSME workflow for a small European SME | Guided VSME reporting and related functions as described in a vendor-produced comparison | €199 per month and a free trial were reported in Greenly’s 2025 comparison; verify directly before relying on either | Price is competitor-reported, not independently confirmed; the supplied vendor domain has not been verified |
The comparison reflects different product categories, not a controlled product test. G2’s small-business ESG category also illustrates that setup, pricing, and fit vary by company size: G2 ESG reporting software for small businesses.
What ESG reporting software actually does
“ESG software” can refer to a carbon calculator, a system for collecting workforce and governance indicators, a framework-mapping tool, a questionnaire workflow, an assessment platform, or a combination of these. Before comparing features, identify the deliverable you need.
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- Carbon accounting: estimates or measures greenhouse-gas emissions, often organized into Scopes 1, 2, and 3.
- ESG data collection: gathers environmental, social, and governance indicators from employees, sites, suppliers, and business systems.
- Framework mapping and reports: organizes information for outputs such as VSME, GRI, CDP, or other disclosure needs. Check whether the plan produces a complete report, a mapped data set, or only guidance.
- Supplier questionnaires and ratings: helps a company respond to customer or procurement assessments. An assessment score is different from a public sustainability report.
- Management and evidence workflows: assigns owners, stores supporting records, tracks approvals, and supports recurring reporting cycles.
Carbon accounting alone is not full ESG reporting: a greenhouse-gas inventory does not by itself cover workforce practices, human rights, governance controls, or supplier due diligence.
Which frameworks and outputs matter?
- GHG Protocol: a carbon-accounting methodology, not a complete ESG reporting standard. Ask which emissions scopes and categories the software covers and how it treats estimates.
- GRI: a broad sustainability-impact reporting framework. “GRI support” can mean different things, from mapping to report assistance. GRI maintains a directory of licensed software tools and explains its software licensing program; check the exact tool and output rather than relying on a generic compatibility claim.
- VSME: a voluntary, simplified sustainability reporting approach intended for small and medium-sized enterprises. It is especially relevant to EU SMEs and suppliers responding to information requests.
- ESRS and CSRD: EU sustainability-reporting standards and related requirements. A software feature can help organize or prepare information, but it does not determine whether a business is legally in scope or establish compliance.
- CDP: an environmental disclosure system with its own questionnaires and reporting process.
- SASB and IFRS sustainability standards: investor-oriented disclosure considerations, including sector-specific topics. Check whether the software’s mapping matches the standard and edition your stakeholders expect.
- EcoVadis: an assessment and rating ecosystem, not a substitute for every reporting framework.
Greenly describes VSME as simplified SME reporting and lists support for multiple frameworks on its ESG product page. A framework label alone does not establish that an output meets a customer’s, lender’s, auditor’s, or regulator’s requirements.
Which software should a small business shortlist?
Greenly: strongest all-round SME candidate
Greenly is the most natural starting point if you want to combine emissions data with broader ESG reporting rather than buy only a carbon calculator. Its product page positions the offering for SMEs, lists VSME reporting and Scopes 1, 2, and 3, and describes supplier inputs, financial data, industry models, framework mapping, report generation, and expert support. Greenly says it supports more than 15 sustainability frameworks; treat that as a vendor claim and ask which frameworks and deliverables are included in the quoted plan.
The reviewed product page directs prospects to request a demo and does not show a public price. Ask how much of the platform covers social and governance data, since a carbon-heavy workflow may not provide the depth of an enterprise governance suite. G2 reviewer feedback includes positive comments about ease of use and support as well as complaints about cost, customization, reporting limitations, and bugs; individual reviews are not a guarantee of your experience. Greenly product details.
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Plan A appears in Greenly’s 2025 VSME comparison as a flexible, modular ESG suite for EU SMEs. It is worth evaluating when you expect recurring framework and regulatory-preparation work alongside carbon management, rather than a one-off footprint. The available material does not establish a public price; request a quote and confirm which reporting outputs, implementation services, and framework modules are included. A US-only business without EU customers or reporting pressure may find an EU-oriented suite less relevant. Greenly’s 2025 VSME comparison · Plan A.
Normative: choose when carbon rigor is the priority
Normative offers Essential and Premium packages on a quote basis. Its listed capabilities include carbon calculations, data collection, dashboards, data-quality controls, supplier engagement, reporting, advisory support, and audit-oriented exports. Normative states that its emissions database contains more than 349,000 emissions factors and describes an 8–12-week carbon-baseline process including Scope 3; both are vendor claims, and the timeline is not a delivery guarantee. The platform is a stronger fit when customers, procurement, or net-zero planning make carbon data a central need. It may be more than a small company needs if the only request is a basic annual estimate, and it is not automatically a complete social-and-governance reporting solution. Normative plans and pricing.
Sustainly: a lower-commitment, report-based option
Sustainly’s pricing page lists €200 per carbon-footprint report and €300 per ESG report. Its ESG Reporting plan lists VSME and GRI alignment, framework mapping, stakeholder-ready reports, partner sharing, and compliance monitoring. The listed Carbon Footprint plan covers Scopes 1 and 2, so do not assume it includes a complete Scope 3 inventory. A per-report purchase may suit a first report or one-off request; it is not necessarily equivalent to continuous software for monthly tracking, supplier workflows, multiple entities, or assurance-ready evidence. Confirm the output meets the particular customer, tender, lender, or procurement request. The figures are the public prices shown on the reviewed page; check current terms, scope, and applicable taxes with the vendor. Sustainly pricing.
EcoVadis: use it when a trading partner asks for the assessment
EcoVadis is primarily a sustainability-rating and assessment ecosystem. Its offering includes an assessment and scorecard, benchmarking, improvement tools, supplier visibility, and badges or medals where eligible; the company also describes sustainability-metric tracking and carbon-estimation features for SMEs. It is a strong candidate when a customer or procurement team specifically asks for an EcoVadis assessment. It is not a general-purpose authoring tool for a full GRI-, VSME-, or CSRD-style report, and a rating is not proof of overall sustainability performance or independent assurance.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsEcoVadis publishes plan information, but the applicable total depends on the assessment, features, users, and network options. Its pricing page says trading partners need their own subscription to join its network. Confirm with the requesting customer exactly which assessment, badge, or output it expects before paying to prepare. EcoVadis plans and pricing.
Diligent ESG: for formal, multi-department workflows
Diligent ESG centralizes ESG data collection and describes workflows, reminders, automation, benchmarking, and mapping to SASB, GRI, TCFD, CDP, and WEF. This can suit a larger small business, nonprofit, or regulated organization collecting evidence and approvals across departments and preparing board-level reporting. It is likely excessive for a single-site business with only a few contributors. Diligent sells through demos or quote requests; mapping to a framework does not itself complete materiality work, assurance, or legal compliance. Diligent ESG features.
FigBytes: for a complex metrics and value-chain program
FigBytes describes a platform for creating, tracking, and analyzing ESG metrics across internal operations and the value chain. That breadth may be useful to an organization with multiple facilities, suppliers, indicators, or established sustainability programs that has outgrown spreadsheets. It is not an obvious first purchase for a small company seeking one annual report: expect to ask about implementation, configuration, price, and the specific modules available. FigBytes ESG insights.
Position Green: evaluate for supplier-data needs
Greenly’s 2025 VSME comparison highlights Position Green for supplier-data integration. That makes it worth considering when the reporting burden is driven by enterprise customers, procurement, or requests spanning a supplier base. Public pricing was not established in the reviewed material. Confirm that the package available to your company includes the supplier-engagement features you need; a business with few suppliers and no customer-driven requests may not benefit enough to justify a broader platform. Greenly’s 2025 VSME comparison · Position Green.
Best Value
Leadity: a possible lightweight VSME option, with price to verify
Greenly’s 2025 comparison describes Leadity as a lightweight option for small SMEs, with guided VSME reporting, AI-supported compilation, workshops, and carbon-accounting integrations. That same competitor-produced comparison reported pricing from €199 per month and a free trial. Those details have not been independently confirmed here, so verify current availability, price, taxes, user limits, geography, integrations, and trial terms directly before including them in a budget. The supplied vendor URL has not been verified, so it is not linked here. Greenly’s 2025 comparison.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to decide whether you need software
Software is not a prerequisite for every small business. Start with the reporting demand and the complexity of the data you must collect.
- No immediate external request: A very small, low-complexity business may be able to begin with a spreadsheet, written methodology, and well-organized evidence. Revisit software when data collection becomes repetitive or errors become hard to track.
- One customer questionnaire or rating request: Use the format the customer names. If it specifically requires EcoVadis, a general report generator may not solve the problem.
- Carbon footprint required: Compare Normative, Greenly, and Sustainly against the required scopes, categories, calculation transparency, and reporting period.
- VSME or EU customer pressure: Evaluate Greenly, Plan A, Leadity, or Sustainly based on the actual output and support in the quoted tier.
- Several sites, departments, or suppliers: A workflow-oriented platform such as Diligent, FigBytes, or Position Green may justify its added complexity if it provides ownership, approvals, and supplier follow-up you will use.
- Formal assurance or regulated disclosure: Treat software as one part of the process. You may still need accounting, legal, sustainability, or assurance expertise; software does not decide legal applicability or guarantee compliance.
Match the price model to how often you report
A low headline figure is not comparable unless the scope, billing unit, and included services match. Sustainly’s listed per-report prices may be economical for a one-off deliverable; a recurring subscription may suit ongoing collection better. Quote-based platforms require you to establish the full contract cost rather than compare a demo offer with a per-report price.
- Ask whether billing is per report, month, year, user, site, legal entity, supplier invitation, or framework.
- Request separate figures for implementation, onboarding, advisory services, integrations, additional modules, and assurance support.
- Check minimum terms, renewal dates, cancellation terms, and whether the price is recurring or promotional.
- Compare the same reporting period, number of entities, users, suppliers, emissions scopes, and frameworks across vendors.
- Ask what you can export and retain if you leave, and whether historical data or reports remain accessible.
Do not infer that a product is cheapest from a partial price signal: only a like-for-like quote establishes comparative cost.
Prepare your data before a demo
Gather what you already have and note what is missing. You do not need perfect records to speak with vendors, but the examples help reveal whether a tool can handle your real data sources and uncertainty.
Environmental information
- Electricity, heating fuel, vehicle fuel, and refrigerant records where relevant.
- Business travel, commuting, freight, and shipping information.
- Purchased goods and services, supplier information, and available supplier-specific emissions data.
- Waste, water, and product-use or end-of-life information where relevant.
Social information
- Employee count, turnover, pay and benefits, training, and workplace injuries.
- Diversity information only where lawful, appropriate, and handled with suitable privacy protections.
- Human-rights policies, supplier labor standards, and community or charitable activity.
Governance information
- Code of conduct, anti-bribery controls, data privacy and cybersecurity policies, and whistleblowing process.
- Management or board oversight, risk-management processes, supplier due diligence, and relevant legal or regulatory incidents.
Check data quality before trusting a polished report
Software cannot make weak source data accurate by formatting it into a report. Ask how the platform distinguishes measured values, supplier-specific figures, and estimates. Greenly describes a hybrid approach using financial data, supplier input, and industry models; Normative advertises calculation transparency, emissions factors, audit exports, and data-quality support. These capabilities can help, but your team still needs to review inputs, assumptions, and boundaries. Greenly ESG framework · Normative plans.
Quick Recap
- Check whether spend-based estimates are clearly labeled rather than presented as supplier measurements.
- Confirm which Scope 3 categories are included and document categories that are missing or excluded.
- Ask how the tool prevents double-counting between supplier data and purchased-goods estimates.
- Review emissions-factor sources, dates, and relevance to your geography and activity.
- Keep reporting periods consistent; do not silently mix financial-year and calendar-year figures.
- Do not present targets without a baseline and a credible reduction plan, or treat a rating or badge as proof of overall performance.
Questions to ask before signing
- Can you show a sample report from the exact plan you are quoting, with the framework and output format we need?
- Which frameworks are included, and does “support” mean a completed report, a content map, a data export, or guidance?
- Which emissions scopes and Scope 3 categories are included? Are any supplier-data features an add-on?
- How are data sources, assumptions, emissions factors, estimates, corrections, and calculation changes documented?
- Can users attach evidence, assign owners, record approvals, and export the underlying data?
- Do supplier invitations, additional legal entities, sites, users, or framework modules incur separate charges?
- Is implementation mandatory, how much internal staff time is expected, and what expert support is included?
- Where is data hosted, who can access it, and what are the retention, security, and deletion policies?
- What are the contract minimum, renewal, cancellation, and price-change terms?
- Will the specific output satisfy the customer, lender, tender, procurement team, or other party requesting it?
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
