In New Zealand, mandatory climate reporting covers large listed companies, banks, credit unions, building societies and general insurers. The Government is narrowing the rules. It plans to raise the listed issuer threshold from $60 million to $1 billion and remove fund managers and life and health insurers from the regime. Until the law changes, the regulator is giving relief to those expected to drop out. In Australia, climate reporting under AASB S2 started in 2025 for the largest companies, and more businesses come into scope in 2026 and 2027. Even if you're out of scope, your customers or lenders may be in it, and they'll want your data.

It's Australia's mandatory climate reporting standard, set by the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB). It's based on the global standard, IFRS S2, adapted for Australian law. Large companies and financial institutions disclose climate information as part of their annual report, alongside their financials.

It asks for four things: how you govern climate risk, your strategy for dealing with it, how you manage it day to day, and your emissions across Scope 1, 2 and 3. Most companies don't yet have reliable Scope 3 numbers. That's usually where the real work is.

New Zealand's rules are the Aotearoa New Zealand Climate Standards, set by the External Reporting Board (XRB). Both countries' standards grew from the same global roots, so much of the content is similar. But the legal rules, timing and enforcement are separate.

If you operate on both sides of the Tasman, one report won't cover both. We set up your reporting so the core content works in both countries, without cutting corners on either set of rules.

Measuring these is what people mean by carbon footprinting. Scope 1 is what you burn directly, like fuel in your vehicles. Scope 2 is the electricity you buy. Scope 3 is everything else in your value chain: what your suppliers make, how goods are shipped, how customers use your products.

Your footprint is the starting point for a credible target, for tracking progress, and for answering the questions investors, customers and regulators now ask directly.

For most businesses it's the biggest slice of the footprint, often more than 70%. Both the Australian and New Zealand standards require it, and investors and lenders are asking for it too.

Measuring the past is only half the job. Forecasting Scope 3 lets you set targets you can actually hit and show a real transition plan, not just a snapshot.

Start with what you control: fuel and electricity. Then work out which parts of your supply chain matter most. If you're a smaller business, try our free carbon calculator to get a first picture.

A carbon credit represents a tonne of emissions cut or removed somewhere else. Credits have a role, but they're not a shortcut to net zero. Claims that lean on them are exactly the kind that get picked apart.

Cut your own emissions as far as you realistically can first. Then use credits only for what's left, and only ones you can show are real and permanent. If offsets are doing most of the work in your net zero claim, expect hard questions.

It's an emissions reduction target that lines up with what climate science says is needed to limit warming. It gives your target credibility with investors and customers, because it's checked against a clear method rather than picked out of the air.

It's a way of testing your business against different possible futures. For example, what happens if carbon prices rise sharply, or if floods hit your key sites more often? It helps boards make better long-term decisions, not just tick a reporting box.