Climate Active CY2025 Pre-Submission Checklist | 30 April 2026 Deadline

Read time: 10 minutes

Climate Active ran three webinars in March 2026 for members preparing their CY2025 submissions. I attended, took notes, and pulled together the most useful parts — the actual questions people asked and the answers Climate Active gave.

If your CY2025 report is due on 30 April (that’s next week), this is the pre-submission checklist you need. If you report on a financial year basis, your deadline is 31 October — but everything here still applies.

Before you submit: the 10-minute check

Open all your documents side by side: carbon inventory, electricity calculator, WFH calculator (if used), activity data calculator (if used), carbon offsets workbook, and your PDS.

Then check these things.

Are you using version 11 of the carbon inventory, electricity calculator, and PDS? If you’re on v10, Climate Active will send it back. The latest version has updated emission factors for hotel stays and flights, among other changes. Using an older version means your calculations are based on outdated numbers.

Do your electricity calculator outputs match what you entered in the carbon inventory? Same numbers, same units, same emission source names. Version 11 renamed some emission factors to align across calculators — check that the names match too.

Does your carbon inventory emissions summary match your PDS? Open the inventory, right-click the emissions summary PivotTable, refresh it. Then compare the refreshed numbers to what’s in your PDS. If you added data after the last refresh, the PivotTable will be wrong.

Did you fill in the previous year columns? The carbon inventory asks for both current period and previous period activity data and emissions. People skip these. Climate Active uses year-on-year comparison to assess your emissions trajectory.

Is your PDS in Word format, not PDF? Climate Active reviews and comments in the document. PDFs get rejected. You don’t need to sign the PDS at initial submission — that happens after the final review.

What Climate Active told people about the PDS

The PDS has three sections that cause the most back-and-forth.

The certification description. State what’s being certified — your ABN, which subsidiaries, which brand names. State what’s not included. If customer use of your products is outside scope, say so explicitly. Climate Active gave this example: “Emissions associated with customer use of our vacuums are outside the scope of this organisation certification.” That level of specificity is what they want.

The emissions summary. If your total emissions changed significantly from last year, explain why. Did you acquire a business? Lose a major contract? Move offices? Add a new emission source? Write it down. If your Climate Active numbers differ from emissions figures you’ve published elsewhere (in an annual report or AASB S2 disclosure), explain the difference. Different boundaries, different methodologies, different reporting periods — whatever the reason, state it.

The emissions reduction strategy. This is where submissions most often fail. Climate Active gave a clear pass/fail example in the webinar.

Fails: “We aim to reduce Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 40%.”

Passes: “We commit to reduce Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 40% by CY2035 compared to a CY2021 baseline.”

The difference: the first has no baseline, no target year, and no way to measure progress. The second has all three.

Your targets must include a starting point (baseline year and emissions figure) and an end point (target year). If the baseline emissions aren’t publicly available, disclose them in the PDS. If you’re using intensity metrics instead of absolute targets, show the intensity figure for both the base year and the current year.

If you use terms like “net zero,” “climate positive,” or “negative emissions,” define them. Climate Active wants to know what you mean by those words, because there’s no universal definition.

And if your PDS reduction strategy says something different from what’s on your website or in your annual report, explain why the numbers differ.

The questions that came up in the webinars

Climate Active’s Q&A sessions surfaced real problems people are dealing with. Here are the ones most relevant to you.

Can I reclassify equipment categories from last year?

Yes. If you categorised laptop purchases as “electronic equipment” last year and now realise some should be “scientific equipment,” you can reclassify. As long as the total impact is less than 10% of total emissions, you don’t need a new technical assessment or a base year recalculation. Explain the change in your emissions summary.

Can I certify just one location and exclude others?

Sort of. Climate Active expects your boundary to include all material activities supporting the certified operation. If you have offices in Melbourne, Geelong, and Brisbane, and remote staff in Malaysia who support the Melbourne office, Climate Active expects the Malaysian staff to be acknowledged. You don’t need precise Malaysian emission factors — an estimate through an uplift with a written justification is accepted. But you can’t pretend those staff don’t exist.

Do I still need an emissions reduction strategy in my final year of certification?

Yes. Climate Active standards apply through the final year. You still need the full strategy. The technical assessment requirement depends on your specific circumstances — contact Climate Active directly if you think your situation warrants an exception.

How long does certification approval actually take?

Three to four months for clean submissions. Applications that need multiple rounds of corrections take longer. The single biggest thing you can do to speed this up: make sure your documents are consistent with each other before you submit.

Can I get an extension on the 30 April deadline?

Yes, through the Climate Active portal. Find your ongoing reporting, click the three dots, select “Request extension.” You can request up to 30 June 2026. Anything later than that gets rejected. Climate Active reviews each request individually — expect a response within 10 days, though complex cases may take longer.

Electricity: the questions everyone asks

The electricity calculator causes more confusion than any other Climate Active document. Here are the specifics.

GreenPower and the mandatory renewable percentage. If your energy retailer offers a 10% GreenPower plan, that 10% is on top of the mandatory Renewable Power Percentage (currently around 18%). GreenPower products surrender one LGC (Large-scale Generation Certificate) for every MWh purchased, in addition to what’s required under the RPP. So you get credit for both.

LGC coverage. An LGC covers both Scope 2 emissions and the relevant Scope 3 electricity emissions, including transmission and distribution losses. The certificate carries the zero-emissions attribute for the electricity generated and for the additional generation needed to account for losses before delivery to you.

Operational control and base building. This depends on whether you can actually choose your electricity supplier. If your landlord controls the electricity contract for the base building, you probably don’t have operational control over that electricity. If you own the building or can select the provider, you probably do.

The test: can your organisation make decisions about the electricity source? If yes, it’s under operational control. If no, it isn’t. If you’re in a co-working space or an unusual tenancy arrangement, contact Climate Active directly rather than guessing.

Climate Active certified buildings. You can only claim a Climate Active certified building for electricity offset purposes if the building is certified for operations — not for construction. A building certified as carbon neutral for construction covers the embodied emissions from the build (materials and so on). It doesn’t cover ongoing operational electricity. Building certification for construction doesn’t make a building carbon neutral year after year.

Frequently asked questions

My GreenPower plan is 10%. Does that stack on top of the mandatory renewable percentage, or replace it?

It stacks. GreenPower surrenders one LGC per MWh purchased on top of the mandatory RPP (currently around 18%). So your 10% GreenPower plus the 18% RPP means roughly 28% of your electricity is covered by renewable energy certificates. You get credit for both in your Climate Active electricity calculator.

Does an LGC cover transmission and distribution losses, or just the electricity itself?

Both. An LGC covers Scope 2 emissions and the relevant Scope 3 electricity emissions, including T&D losses. The certificate carries the zero-emissions attribute for the electricity generated and for the extra generation needed to cover losses before delivery.

My building has Climate Active certification for construction. Can I use that for my electricity?

No. Construction certification covers embodied emissions from the build — materials, construction activity. It does not cover ongoing operational electricity. You can only claim electricity reductions from a building that is Climate Active certified for operations. Construction certification does not make a building carbon neutral on an ongoing basis.

Who has operational control over electricity — me or my landlord?

The test is simple: can your organisation choose the electricity provider? If your landlord locks you into the building’s electricity contract, you probably don’t have operational control. If you own the building or can select the retailer, you probably do. The electricity calculator handles these differently under the market-based and location-based methods. If your tenancy arrangement is unusual (co-working, shared facilities, embedded networks), ask Climate Active directly.

I published emissions figures in my annual report. They don’t match my Climate Active numbers. Is that a problem?

Only if you don’t explain why. Different reporting frameworks use different boundaries, different emission factors, and sometimes different reporting periods. Climate Active expects consistency between your PDS and other public-facing claims. If the numbers differ, state the reason in your PDS emissions summary section. Different boundary, different methodology, different scope inclusions — whatever it is, write it down.

What happens if my documents are inconsistent and I don’t catch it?

Climate Active checks consistency across all your submitted documents. If the electricity calculator outputs don’t match the carbon inventory inputs, or if the inventory totals don’t match the PDS, you’ll be asked to explain or resubmit. Each round of corrections adds time. Clean submissions take three to four months to approve. Messy ones take longer.

Can I submit my PDS without signing it?

Yes. At initial submission, the PDS does not need to be signed. Signing happens after the final review. But submit it in Word format, not PDF.

Do I need a technical assessment this year?

Technical assessments are generally required every three years. Small organisations don’t need one at all. Check when your last one was completed. If it’s been three years or if you’ve had a significant change (acquisition, new emission sources, updated methodology), you probably need one. Contact Climate Active early if you think a new assessment might be required — it adds time to the process.

I need more time. How do I request an extension?

Through the Climate Active portal. Find your ongoing reporting in the “Show reports” section, click the three dots on the right, select “Request extension.” Pick a new date (no later than 30 June 2026) and explain why. Climate Active reviews each request individually. Expect a response within 10 days. Extensions beyond 30 June are not approved.

If you’re using NetNada for your Climate Active submission

NetNada supports Climate Active reporting. The platform produces audit-ready carbon inventories, calculates emissions using the same factors Climate Active requires, and generates the documentation you need for your PDS.

If you’re still doing this in the Climate Active Excel workbook and you’re managing more than a couple of sites, or if you’ve spent hours chasing consistency between your electricity calculator and your inventory, it might be worth seeing how the platform handles it.

Book a walkthrough and bring your CY2025 data. We can show you the difference in about 20 minutes.

If you’re submitting this week and you have a question about anything in this article, just email me. I’ve been through enough of these submissions to know where the traps are.