For years, climate action has been framed as a responsibility of large corporations, heavy industry, and governments. Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have largely watched from the sidelines, reassured by the belief that their individual emissions are too small to matter. That belief is no longer tenable. Taken together, MSMEs form the largest block of economic activity in most countries, and their cumulative environmental footprint is anything but small. The climate transition will succeed or fail on whether these businesses are brought meaningfully into the decarbonisation conversation.
Yet asking MSMEs to decarbonise without changing how sustainability tools are designed is unrealistic. Most small businesses do not have sustainability officers, carbon accountants, or the luxury of spending months learning reporting frameworks. They run on thin margins, fragmented data, and practical knowledge that lives in people’s heads rather than in spreadsheets. If climate action for MSMEs is to move beyond rhetoric, it must start with tools that respect this reality.
This is where the idea of a carbon footprint calculator designed specifically for MSMEs becomes not just useful, but necessary. Unlike traditional carbon accounting systems built for large enterprises, such an application must work with the data MSMEs already generated in the normal course of business. Financial statements, electricity bills, fuel expenses, logistics payments, and procurement records are not sustainability documents, but they are rich with environmental signals. Interpreted intelligently, they can offer credible estimates of emissions without adding a new layer of administrative burden.
The real breakthrough, however, lies in moving beyond numbers alone. MSMEs often understand their operations deeply, even if they cannot express that understanding in technical sustainability language. A business owner can explain how machines are used, how goods are transported, or where inefficiencies lie far more easily in conversation than in formal reports. A modern carbon calculator should allow MSMEs to speak, show, and describe their business as it actually operates—through audio interviews, short videos, photographs, and simple text inputs.
Large Language Models (LLMs) make this possible in a way that was unthinkable even a few years ago. These models can interpret everyday language, convert informal descriptions into structured insights, and connect operational narratives to carbon estimation logic. An owner explaining production cycles in a voice note, or recording a short walkthrough of a workshop, can now contribute meaningfully to emission assessment. Sustainability stops being an abstract compliance exercise and starts resembling a business conversation.
The use of LLMs also addresses a deeper problem that has long plagued sustainability software: rigidity. Regulations, reporting norms, and carbon standards are evolving rapidly, particularly in emerging economies. Static, rule-based systems struggle to keep up, often becoming outdated almost as soon as they are deployed. LLM-driven systems, by contrast, can adapt continuously. As rules change, expectations shift, or sector-specific norms emerge, the system can be updated without redesigning the entire application. For MSMEs operating in uncertain regulatory environments, this flexibility is not a luxury—it is essential.
Measurement alone, however, is not enough. What MSMEs need is direction. A carbon calculator that simply reports emissions risks becoming another dashboard that is glanced at once and forgotten. The real value lies in translating data into action. An intelligent app can identify where emissions are highest, but more importantly, it can suggest realistic steps to reduce them. These recommendations must be practical, affordable, and sensitive to operational constraints. Small efficiency improvements, smarter energy use, better logistics planning, or incremental process changes often deliver both cost savings and emission reductions. When framed this way, sustainability stops being a moral burden and starts making business sense.
Where immediate reductions are difficult, the app can also introduce MSMEs to sequestration and offsetting options, while being honest about their limitations. The message must be clear: offsets are not a substitute for reducing emissions, but they can play a supporting role, especially during transition phases. This kind of balanced guidance builds credibility and trust, both of which are in short supply in the sustainability space.
Affordability is the final, non-negotiable requirement. Climate tools that are priced for large corporations will simply not be used by MSMEs. A low-cost, modular, or freemium model is essential if adoption is to be widespread. Technology today makes this possible. Cloud infrastructure, shared data libraries, and scalable AI services significantly reduce costs, allowing sophisticated capabilities to be delivered at MSME-friendly prices.
There are, of course, legitimate concerns. Estimating emissions from proxies rather than direct measurement introduces uncertainty. AI systems can be opaque, raising questions about transparency and verification. And no digital tool, however intelligent, can substitute for supportive policy, access to green finance, or broader institutional capacity. These criticisms are valid, but they are not reasons for inaction. They are arguments for designing better systems, with clear assumptions, human oversight, and honest communication about limitations.
The climate transition cannot be built solely on the shoulders of large corporations while millions of small businesses are left behind. Nor can MSMEs be expected to shoulder complex reporting obligations without appropriate tools. An affordable, intelligent, MSME-focused carbon footprint calculator represents a pragmatic middle path—one that lowers barriers, builds capability, and nudges small businesses toward meaningful climate action.
If decarbonisation is to become a mass movement rather than an elite exercise, MSMEs must be part of the story. And that story will be written not with more paperwork, but with smarter technology that understands how small businesses actually work.
Sanjay Fuloria is Professor and Director Center for Distance and Online Education (CDOE), ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education (IFHE), a Deemed to be University, Hyderabad
Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth