Sweep: A New Framework for Measuring Climate Contributions

Ten years after the Paris Agreement, the climate accounting world has a new problem to solve.

Companies have spent the past decade perfecting their emissions inventories, setting reduction targets and publishing transition plans.

But according to a coalition of sustainability specialists, this focus on what firms emit has obscured something equally important: what they contribute.

Mirova Research Center and Sweep have launched the Climate Contribution Framework, marking a deliberate shift in how corporate climate action gets measured.

The methodology, built by I Care by BearingPoint and Winrock International, attempts to capture the full scope of what companies do about climate change, not just the carbon they're trying to eliminate.

Beyond the inventory

The distinction matters because a solar panel manufacturer and an oil company face entirely different climate challenges.

One enables the transition while carrying a relatively modest carbon footprint. The other carries enormous emissions but might be financing breakthrough carbon capture technology.

Brad Schallert, Director of Net Zero Services at Winrock International, says: "Today, most frameworks and climate standards assess how companies are reducing their carbon inventories, but inventories don't capture the full picture of a company's total positive impact on climate action efforts."

The new framework measures three dimensions with sector-specific weighting.

Carbon footprint reduction across all scopes remains central, but it sits alongside assessments of climate solutions that enable emissions reductions beyond a company's own operations and capital flows toward breakthrough technologies and nature-based solutions.

It's an approach that sidesteps the endless debate about whether climate action means only reducing your own emissions or whether enabling others to reduce theirs counts too. It suggests both matter, just differently depending on what sector you operate in.

A framework with substantial backing

Rather than adding another standard to an already crowded and complicated field, the framework positions itself as a layer above existing disclosures. Companies can feed in their current climate reporting without starting from scratch.

Eight major corporations backed the development: Orange, EDF, Veolia, Eramet, Accor, Schneider Electric, Equans and Renault Group. EDF has already gone through the assessment process.

Carine de Boissezon, EDF's Chief Impact Officer, welcomes the recognition of activities beyond emissions reduction.

"As the largest low carbon generator globally, EDF welcomes the Climate Contribution Framework as a much-needed tool to showcase the breadth of our climate action," she says.

Elsewhere, Philippe Zaouati, CEO of Mirova, believes that the problem of comparison is finally being addressed. "It finally allows us to recognise and compare the full spectrum of corporate climate action," he explains.

An observer committee featuring the SBTi, the WBCSD and Oxford Net Zero helped to provide input during the development of the new framework, lending technical credibility to the methodology.

The post-COP30 moment

The timing reflects a frustration with the current state of corporate climate action. Despite most companies making commitments to decarbonisation, progress has slowed and standards remain fragmented – something that was evident at COP30.

"Too often, companies are seen simply as emitters of CO₂," says Julien Denormandie, Chief Impact Officer at Sweep. "The Climate Contribution Framework changes this narrative, recognising the essential role business plays in delivering climate solutions at scale."

Whether investors and policymakers adopt it widely of course remains to be seen.

Guillaume Neveux, Founder and Partner at I Care by BearingPoint is determined that the initiative will help spur on action, though.

"The framework is designed as a practical guide, helping organisations translate ambition into concrete steps on the path to net zero," he says.

The developers have already suggested the modular structure could extend to biodiversity assessments, indicating ambitions beyond climate. But the immediate test will be whether the framework simplifies corporate reporting or merely adds another layer to it.