In Bold Print wants to be 'TurboTax of carbon accounting'

As regulatory bodies begin to implement climate-disclosure requirements, businesses are going to be held accountable for understanding and reporting their environmental impact. This trend has given rise to carbon-accounting software products from startups such as Greenly and Sphera as well as longtime IT vendors such as IBM with its Environmental Intelligence Suite.

Another player in the carbon-accounting market is In Bold Print, which calls itself the “TurboTax of carbon accounting.”

Cofounders Ashley Pradhan (CEO) and Cierra Valor (COO) set out to create software that helps businesses measure and report their carbon emissions with the bottom line in mind. The platform has wizard-like interface, prompting business owners to answer a series of questions. In Bold Print handles the rest, helping them understand where they are and how they can reduce their emissions. It covers Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.

(According to the EPA, Scope 1 emissions are direct greenhouse emissions that occur from sources that are controlled or owned by an organization, including emissions associated with fuel combustion in boilers, furnaces and vehicles. Scope 2 emissions are indirect GHG emissions associated with the purchase of electricity, steam, heat or cooling. Scope 3 emissions are the result of activities from assets not owned or controlled by the reporting organization but that affect its value chain.)

In Bold Print’s software is targeted at smaller businesses that might not be able to afford consultants and accountants to do their disclosures, Pradhan said. “Some of the more mature companies have a head of sustainability or a full data team that can really help them connect the pieces and put that story together. But a lot of those suppliers, especially in the SMB market, can’t afford the accountants or those types of tools,” she said.

The software uses a guided, step-by-step wizard similar to how TurboTax works, but instead of uploading a W-2 form, you take entries from your energy bill and look for the kilowatts per hour for the month. Once the data is entered, the software looks for potential reduction options.