Lena from ConPlusUltra
Twenty-five years ago, sustainability consulting meant navigating permit applications and waste management frameworks. Today, it means guiding clients through carbon accounting, ESG disclosures, supply chain transparency, and an ever-growing body of regulation. ConPlusUltra has been there for all of it, and recently added Carbon+Alt+Delete to its toolbox. We sat down with Lena Matull, Team Leader for Climate Protection Management, to learn how things have changed, what's working, and what's coming next.
From Excel labyrinths to integrated platforms
Ask any carbon consultant what their workflow looked like five years ago and you'll hear some version of the same story: a lot of Excel files, manually sourced emission factors from different databases, and calculation templates that were technically functional but painfully slow.
"A lot of our work was based on Excel, combined with manually searching for emission factors from various sources, often time-consuming and confusing, especially when looking for specific or suitable factors. We developed tailored calculation templates according to different standards such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, but this often resulted in large and sometimes slow spreadsheets."
What the Carbon+Alt+Delete software actually solves
After evaluating multiple providers and drawing on experience with other tools, the team concluded that Carbon+Alt+Delete offered the right combination. "The methodological quality, emission factor integration, and practical usability for consulting projects was especially convincing," says Lena.
For a consultancy running multiple client projects simultaneously, the platform's biggest value isn't any single feature, it's integration. Having multiple emission factor datasets in one place eliminates the fragmented searching that previously ate up hours of billable time.
Documentation is the other win. When clients go through audits or verification processes, being able to show exactly which methodological decisions were made - and why - is crucial.
A partnership, not just a subscription
The team's experience over the past year has been broadly positive, including the working relationship with the Carbon+Alt+Delete team itself. When issues arise, they're addressed quickly and with awareness of client deadlines.
"Support is very responsive and solution-oriented. Of course, there are occasionally bugs, but issues are usually addressed quickly depending on urgency and customer deadlines — which is very beneficial for our consulting work."
The software is increasingly becoming part of ConPlusUltra's sales proposition too, not as the centrepiece, but as a meaningful differentiator. "Because of the flexibility the software offers when integrating consulting services, we see strong potential in Carbon+Alt+Delete as an attractive sales argument.
"Yes, definitely." That's how Lena answers when asked whether she'd recommend Carbon+Alt+Delete to other sustainability consultants. "The software is well structured, methodologically sound when set up correctly, and makes it much easier to select suitable emission factors while maintaining good documentation. And now finally, reports can be exported in German too."
Why companies still hesitate & what will change that
Despite growing regulatory pressure, many companies still need a nudge. According to Lena, client motivations are rarely intrinsic - at least not initially.
The message Lena would send to companies on the fence? The window for being ahead of the curve is closing.
"Sooner or later, especially larger customers will request high-quality environmental data from their suppliers. Companies that already have reliable carbon data available position themselves as strategic partners rather than only suppliers."
The next 25 years: AI, satellites, and the data-driven future
Looking ahead, Lena anticipates a convergence of forces that will reshape carbon accounting more dramatically than anything seen in the past quarter-century.
"AI will become much more important in supporting data analysis, sorting, and calculation processes. At the same time, regulatory requirements and market expectations will continue to increase, meaning that companies will need more reliable, transparent, and comparable environmental data. The direct measurement of environmental data will also become more relevant - for example, through satellite systems such as Copernicus, especially for direct CO₂ emissions monitoring at site level."
Conclusion
After 25 years of watching the sustainability landscape shift beneath their feet from permit paperwork to AI-assisted carbon accounting, ConPlusUltra has learned to recognise the tools worth building on. Carbon+Alt+Delete has become one of them. Not because it replaces the methodological expertise and client trust that define the firm's work, but because it amplifies it. As regulatory pressure mounts, customer expectations rise, and the data demands of the next quarter-century come into focus, ConPlusUltra heads forward with a platform that's growing alongside them — and a shared conviction that reliable environmental data isn't just a compliance checkbox. It's a competitive advantage.