Compare
An honest comparison, including the rows where we lose.
Three ways estates handle this, compared on the things that decide it. Two rows below say we are the wrong choice, because a comparison that loses nowhere is not a comparison.
| What decides it | A spreadsheet | A consultant | Sustainify AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to start | Nothing. It already exists. | A fee per reporting cycle, repeated every cycle. | A subscription, and an onboarding effort measured in weeks. |
| Answering "where did this number come from" | A formula chain, if the person who built it is still here. | A methodology note, and an email thread from eight months ago. | Open the figure and walk to the meter reading, the factor and the source. |
| What happens when factors are revised | Last year quietly changes, and nobody is told. | Restated in the next engagement, if it is noticed. | The figure keeps the factor set and revision in force for its period. |
| Scope 3 collection from suppliers and tenants | One person chasing attachments by email. | They chase, and bill for chasing. | Requests, submissions and a review queue against building and period. |
| Cost alongside carbon | A second spreadsheet, reconciled by hand. | Usually out of scope. | The same entry, priced in carbon and in money from one descent. |
| Time to answer a board question | Days, and the answer arrives after the meeting. | A phone call, then days. | Ask it in plain language and open the figures behind the answer. |
| Preparing for assurance | Reconstruction, from memory and file names. | They prepare it, and they know where it is soft. | The trail was recorded at the time rather than rebuilt afterwards. |
| A one-off position for a single deadline | Workable, if the estate is small. | The right tool. Genuinely. | Heavier than the job needs. |
| Institutional memory when someone leaves | Leaves with them. | Held by the firm, and re-bought each time. | Held in the record, with the reasoning attached to the figure. |
When we are not the answer
If you have four buildings, one reporting obligation and no assurance requirement, a spreadsheet and a careful person will do the job, and a platform is overhead you do not need yet.
If you need one defensible position for one deadline and do not intend to build a capability, a good consultant will get you there faster than any software will.
Where this becomes the right choice is when the same questions come back every year, from more people, about more buildings, and somebody has to be able to answer them without starting again.
Not sure which of the three you need?
Tell us the estate and the obligation and we will say plainly if this is not it.