Yarta and the alternatives
Your contractor's portal, carbon software or a consultant. Or Yarta.
Most organisations already have one of the first three. Here is what each does, where each stops, and what Yarta adds. Categories, not brands: individual products differ, so check the one you are considering against the same questions.
01 · Side by side
Eight things that decide it.
| Your waste contractor's portal | Carbon accounting software | A sustainability consultant | Yarta | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it covers | That contractor's waste and recycling | Emissions, mostly from invoices; some products add ESG modules | Whatever is scoped, as a project | Ten categories: energy, fleet, carbon, water, waste, circularity, land, nature, community and governance |
| Where the waste figure comes from | The contractor's own records | Invoices and average factors, typically | What the client supplies | Your records, graded. For material that passes through Recycle Group, the recycler's own weighbridge and processing records |
| The evidence behind a figure | The contractor's report | Varies by product; often uploaded invoices | Working papers | An evidence reference and a grade (A, B or C) on every entry; a carbon table by scope with the factor, source and edition on every line |
| Who enters the data | The contractor | You, or an integration you set up | The consultant, billed by the hour | A named Yarta data operator, from the documents you send; a second analyst verifies the month |
| Benchmarks | None across your organisation | Varies | Varies | The eco standards and published industry benchmarks for your sector. Never other customers' data |
| What to do next | Not its job | Some products suggest actions | Recommendations, usually as a report | A roadmap of suggestions ranked by what would move the score, each with an estimate, and accredited providers you can book |
| Assurance | None | Some offer audit-ready exports | Some coordinate an assurance provider | Not provided. Designed to support a third-party assurance provider with evidence, method and exports |
| Price | Usually bundled with the collection contract | Published list prices run from about $3,000 a year for a small business to $60,000 and more for a large one | Project-priced | Annual subscription, priced by the month: business $999 to $2,999, council from $1,999. No per-report charge |
Software price range: published list prices for Australian carbon and ESG reporting software, checked September 2026. Yarta prices are on the pricing page.
02 · Where Yarta is the better fit
When the number has to hold up, and has to change.
You need one number across many suppliers
A contractor's portal reports its own contract. Yarta reports the whole organisation, the same way for every supplier, so the score is comparable year on year and against the eco standards.
You are asked "what is behind that figure?"
A council meeting, a tender panel or an assurance provider asks. Every Yarta figure points to a document and a grade, and the method is published.
You want to know what to do, not only where you are
The roadmap turns the gap between your score and the eco standards into suggestions with an estimated effect, and introduces providers who hold the right accreditation.
03 · Where something else is the better fit
Honestly.
You have a data team and only need an emissions inventory
Carbon software you run yourself may be enough. Yarta's value is in the ten categories, the benchmarks and the roadmap, and in a data operator doing the entry.
You need financial-statement assurance
Yarta does not provide assurance. It produces the evidence, the method and the export an assurance provider will ask for. You still need the provider.
You need bespoke strategy or an engagement
A consultant can build a decarbonisation strategy for your circumstances. Yarta measures, benchmarks and suggests; it does not write your strategy.
You only need your contractor's tonnage
Then the contractor's portal is enough. Yarta can use its data as one input among many, graded for what it is.
They also work together. Yarta can use your contractor's report as evidence, and its exports feed your carbon software or your assurance provider.
04 · Five questions for any provider
Ask us the same ones.
- Who enters the data? If it is you, what does that cost your team each month?
- Can you show me the document behind this number? Every figure, not a sample.
- What factor and which edition produced this emissions figure? And can it be reproduced next year?
- How do you benchmark me, and with whose data? If the answer is other customers, ask whether mine will be shared too.
- What do I do next? And who will do it, with what accreditation?
Switched on in 30 days
See your Yarta impact before you commit.
Send one month of data and we will show you what Yarta makes of it.