Industry considerations
Climate tech considerations
What a founder weighs before building software for climate and emissions work: who buys, the reporting perimeter, data questions and the sales cycle.
This page sets out what building software for climate and emissions work asks of a founder, in general terms.
The perimeter below reads United States federal and European Union sources, and the rules of other places are outside this page.
What WE's teams can and cannot build
- WE is a long-horizon business incubation and consulting firm that steers a dedicated, fully remote team building the company with its founder.
- The team builds software: architecture, an agile build in short cycles and a pilot environment where early customers can use the product.
- The team does not run a live service, because WE builds to pilot scale.
- The team does not store or process restricted or regulated data in WE systems.
- WE gives no assurance that a product will pass a particular audit or hold a particular certification.
- WE does not give legal, tax, accounting, insurance or compliance advice.
- WE coordinates a founder’s own counsel and other specialists, and the founder engages them directly.
Who buys and who decides
Buyers are often companies or facility operators that must report, and the people who decide may sit in sustainability, finance, operations and legal. Name the person who owns the reporting obligation, and the person who owns the budget, before the first demo.
The regulatory and standards perimeter
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Facility greenhouse gas reporting
US federalAs of October 10, 2026
The Environmental Protection Agency’s reporting rule, 40 CFR 98.2, applies to the owners and operators of any facility that is located in the United States and that meets the requirements of one of its applicability paragraphs. A product that calculates emissions for such a facility works alongside that rule.
Source 1: Greenhouse gas reporting, 40 CFR 98.2 Who must report?
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Environmental marketing claims
US federalAs of October 10, 2026
The Federal Trade Commission states, in 16 CFR 260.4, that unqualified general environmental benefit claims are difficult to interpret and likely convey a wide range of meanings. A product that markets an environmental benefit should be able to say what the benefit is and what supports it.
Source 2: Environmental marketing claims, 16 CFR 260.4 General environmental benefit claims
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Corporate sustainability reporting
European UnionAs of October 10, 2026
The European Commission states that companies subject to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive have to report according to the European Sustainability Reporting Standards. The Commission’s page also records simplification changes to scope and timing, so check the current text before relying on a date.
Questions about data handling
- Which data feeds the calculation, who owns it at the buyer and how is its source recorded?
- Which reporting rule or standard does the buyer need the output to support, and will the buyer’s reviewer accept it?
- Which environmental claims does the product’s own marketing make, and what supports each one?
- What happens to the buyer’s data and calculation history if the buyer leaves?
The sales cycle
A buyer that reports under a rule will ask whether the output can support the report it must file. Settle which report the product supports, and which it does not, before a pilot begins, and state the date of the rules the product assumes because reporting rules change.
Sources
- Greenhouse gas reporting, 40 CFR 98.2 Who must report?, Environmental Protection Agency (eCFR) . Accessed October 10, 2026.
- Environmental marketing claims, 16 CFR 260.4 General environmental benefit claims, Federal Trade Commission (eCFR) . Accessed October 10, 2026.
- Corporate sustainability reporting, European Commission . Accessed October 10, 2026.
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