In 2022, Bartec Municipal Technologies took its first carbon footprint measurement with Positive Planet. Three years on, that project has grown into a company-wide sustainability program. This now shapes procurement, product development, and how Bartec talks to customers and tenders.
Where it started
Megan Blackburn, Head of Finance and Administration at Bartec, joined the company in 2022. At the time, there was growing pressure across the public sector around carbon reduction and Net Zero.
Bartec provides service management systems to councils that share their passion for improving public services; they believe our public services shape the world in which we live and play a fundamental role in our overall quality of life. Given Bartec’s customer base and its own values, getting ahead of reporting felt like the obvious move. The business had over 40 employees at the time, but no in-house expertise in measuring and managing carbon data.
After careful research of the market, Bartec chose Positive Planet as their partner; 4 years on, they’re still improving their sustainability mission with new projects and initiatives.
“Positive Planet has been a guiding light from the start of our carbon reporting journey. Having their support from the offset has enabled us to move from the numbers to deeper impact analysis. They are a company that can work with you from first data collection to the more challenging impact adjustments later in your carbon reporting/ net zero journey.
They have helped us understand data quality and how to best capture our impact, as well as next steps/ wider value chain engagement to help us make greater impact. New pieces for us have been conducting a double materiality assessment and an LCA. Both large pieces on their own, separate to our usual carbon reporting collection. The double materiality assessment was a great piece for us and is the first step to full ESG reporting, which aligns with our social value commitments.
We are a company that does a lot in this field but often forgets to shout about it, so I am hoping to change this over the next 12 months and share more of our journey.“
Megan Blackburn, Head of Finance & Administration – Bartec Municipal
Data collection and finding opportunity
The first step was simple: collect the data and understand the impact of everyday business activity. Once that impact was quantified, the biggest opportunities for improvement became clear.
Bartec has already acted on many of those opportunities. Today, sustainability isn’t a separate project. It is embedded into day-to-day operations and plans for growth.
Widening the lens
By 2025, Bartec had several years of carbon data to build on, alongside a carbon reduction plan that has evolved through multiple iterations. The business was also already tracking social value – both at corporate level and across individual contracts.
The next step was to broaden the scope. Bartec completed a double materiality assessment and worked with us to commission a full product life cycle assessment (LCA) that examined the environmental impact of its products from start to finish.
Reviewing the carbon reduction plan annually, once data collection is complete, has always provided a useful checkpoint. But Bartec wants to go further, introducing a regular reporting pack to give stakeholders greater visibility of progress and sustainability impact throughout the year.
Bartec also plans to continue training their team through Positive Planet’s carbon literacy courses, with 44% of their staff trained in 2025, and plans for a new cohort to be trained in 2026 for their 3rd year of training in a row. Carbon Literacy is an awareness of the carbon dioxide costs and impacts of everyday activities, and the ability and motivation to reduce emissions at the individual, community and organisational levels. By training a large portion of their team, Bartec’s employees are equipped to make more sustainable choices both in and out of the workplace.
Proving the impact of innovation
Last year, Bartec launched a new software model, Collective Transport Planner, at its annual BUG (Bartec User Group) event. The module reroutes council bin collections and waste drops onto the most efficient rounds, cutting mileage and fuel use.
Bartec already had its own data showing that the module worked. The LCA added independent, verified confirmation and put a number on the carbon savings that councils can expect when they adopt the software.
What accreditations mean in practice
Positive Planet Certified is a credible, independent accreditation for responsible brands that recognises your ongoing achievements in sustainability. Bartec achieved Positive Planet Certified Gold accreditation in 2025, giving them a clear way to demonstrate their Net Zero commitment; most of Bartec’s customer base are public sector organisations with their own sustainability targets, so the accreditation gives them the confidence they’re working with a supplier that shares those goals.
Winning work
Public sector tenders increasingly include detailed questions around ESG and sustainability, making it an important part of the procurement process. For Bartec, the work undertaken with Positive Planet means sustainability is no longer a box-ticking exercise. Bartec has the data, evidence and processes in place to demonstrate genuine progress.
As a result, ESG is now an area where Bartec consistently performs strongly in tenders, helping the business demonstrate its credentials and strengthen its position when competing for new work, as baseline figures and targets are often exactly what public sector evaluators are looking at.
What’s next?
Looking ahead to Year 5, Bartec is most excited about improving the quality of its data collection, working with suppliers on their own Net Zero journeys, and continuing to embed sustainable practice across the business as it enters a new chapter of growth.
Want a sustainability journey like Bartec’s? Let’s do it together.