March 18, 2022: -Normative, a Swedish start-up backed by Google, has launched a free version of its carbon emissions tracker as companies worldwide try to figure out how to manage their environmental footprints.

The carbon calculator is designed to provide small- to medium-sized businesses with a “baseline” from which they can take action after putting some data into a form. Normative also has a paid-for product that it sells to large businesses.

Though the burning of fossil fuels is the chief driver of the climate crisis, the world is becoming even more dependent on energy sources such as oil and gas in the coming decades. Even as world leaders and CEOs repeatedly tout their commitment to the so-called “energy transition.”

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, SMEs account for 95% of businesses globally. Many of them play interconnected roles in creating the products and services of large corporations.

Around a dozen fellows from Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm helped build the free carbon calculator, with software engineers, UX designers, and product managers supporting Normative on a full-time, pro bono basis for six months.

The search giant’s support comes after Google backed the company with 1 million euros ($1.1 million) last year through Google.org.

Jen Carter, head of technology and volunteering at Google.org, told CNBC in October that measuring carbon emissions accurately is essential if small businesses want to understand the impact of their actions. “We’re thrilled to provide funding and tech talent to help Normative build a solution that will make measurement more accessible,” she said.

Normative was founded in 2014, and it’s been backed by billionaire investor Chris Sacca’s Lowercarbon Capital, among others. It charges hundreds of firms, including French bank BNP Paribas, for access to its existing software, with rates depending on the size of the customer.

Tech giants have long strived to be seen as the greenest companies.

Google has been carbon-neutral since 2007, meaning it has planted trees, bought carbon credits, and funded large amounts of wind power in places where it is abundant to offset its tapping of coal and natural gas power in other regions.