It depends on what the buyer asked, and the four levels stack, so the work done for one is the starting point for the next rather than an exercise repeated from scratch.
The Blue Award is free: platform sign-up and a modelled emissions estimate from the NCZ company questionnaire and benchmark framework. It answers that you have started and tells you roughly where you stand. The Silver Award, £1,500 a year, produces a questionnaire-based scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon footprint report with independent verification, and it answers most private-sector tender questions in full.
Gold Certification, £4,500 a year, measures all company emissions through the NCZ data collection portal with weekly support from the customer success team and produces an ISO 14064 compliant carbon footprint report with a full emissions breakdown. Reach for it when the buyer names a standard, because that is the level that produces a document in the form they named.
Platinum Certification, £7,500 a year, adds the supplier carbon collection assessment tool, a supplier emissions breakdown report, at least 10% of supplier emissions measured with engagement increasing year on year, and demonstrated reductions against intensity metrics. It is the level that answers a scope 3 question about your own supply chain, and the only one assessed on intensity rather than on a total.
Last reviewed: September 2026