SB 253 & SB 261: California Climate Disclosure, Simplified
Make SB 253 & SB 261 easy and accessible
Confident, low-cost reporting for California’s climate disclosure laws in a fraction of the time and effort, powered by automation and real human guidance.
What's new with SB 253 & SB 261?
As of July 2025, CARB has confirmed key mechanics and dates for California’s climate disclosure laws (SB 253 & SB 261).
SB 253 (the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, signed Oct 7, 2023) requires companies doing business in California with $1B+ USD in global revenue to disclose Scope 1 & 2 emissions by June 30, 2026, with Scope 3 phased in beginning 2027.
SB 261 requires companies with $500M+ USD in global revenue doing business in California to publish a climate-related financial risk report by January 1, 2026, aligned with TCFD/IFRS S2. CARB will host a public docket where covered companies post their report link from Dec 1, 2025 to Jul 1, 2026.
Why Carbonhound & Blue Sky Climate for SB 253 & 261?
Lower Total Cost
Avoid six-figure consulting projects. Our low-cost, transparent, fixed-fee delivery keeps budgets predictable while meeting California’s climate disclosure requirements.
Get a 15% discount on Blue Sky Climate services by choosing this one-stop solution.
Speed & Confidence
We automate Scopes 1, 2 and 3 by connecting to thousands of data sources (utilities, fuel, travel, procurement). That delivers faster, cleaner SB 253 inputs and reduces preparation time by up to 70%.
Join 280+ organizations that trust our approach.
Expert Advisory
IFRS S2/TCFD-aligned climate-risk disclosures for SB 261: governance, strategy, risk management, metrics & targets translated into plain English and tailored to your business.
Assurance-Ready Outputs
Inventories aligned to the GHG Protocol with an audit-friendly data trail. We coordinate independent assurance when required so you’re submission-ready.
One-Stop, Low-Cost Compliance for SB 253 & SB 261
Carbonhound + Blue Sky Climate deliver a unified, submission-ready package for California’s climate disclosure laws – SB 253 (emissions) and SB 261 (climate risk).
Automation handles the heavy lifting, expert advisors align your disclosures with GHG Protocol and IFRS S2/TCFD. One team, one timeline, one invoice.
For Supply Chain Businesses
Respond to customer requests to protect your biggest accounts
Results You Can Expect:
Provide customer-ready SB 253/SB 261 responses to protect key accounts and win RFP points
Low-cost, assurance-ready outputs aligned to GHG Protocol, no spreadsheet chaos
Automated data collection (utilities, fuel, travel, procurement) + plain-English climate-risk language
Reuse your data for CDP, EcoVadis, B Corp and other disclosure
For Directly Regulated Businesses
Generate Scope 1, 2, and 3 reports in 4-6 weeks
Save $20,000+ and automate all of your emissions data.
Results You Can Expect:
SB 253: Scope 1 & 2 now (Scope 3 phased next), with independent assurance available
SB 261: IFRS S2/TCFD-aligned climate-risk report (governance, strategy, risk, metrics & targets)
Low-cost, fixed-fee delivery; finish up to 70% faster with automation and QA
Submission-ready reports with documented methods and an audit-friendly data trail
Your Path to California Climate Law Compliance
We automate data entry, saving you weeks or months on time to report – but how long does the typical path to reporting take?
BASELINE
Measure your operational footprint and estimate supply chain emissions
4-6 weeks
We integrate with 1000’s of data providers such as utilities and hydro to automate your data collection and measure the emissions from your operations. Then, we can estimate the emissions from your supply chain to give you the big picture.
CLIMATE-RELATED FINANCIAL RISKS
Work with experts to identify climate-related financial risks
4-6 weeks
Through data from your baseline and in-depth conversations to better understand your business, our consulting partners will assess the climate-related financial risks to your business.
IDENTIFY, REFINE + REPORT
Assess opportunities, risks, and generate reports
Ongoing
We’ll help you understand the quantitative and qualitative climate data and deliver a unified, regulations-ready report. Then, it’s time to refine your data for next year and reduce your impact!
Need budget-friendly help with CA climate laws to meet SB 253 and SB 261 timelines?
Get a fixed-fee plan today
SB 253 and 261 FAQs: What you need to know
All businesses “doing business in California”, regardless of where you are headquartered.
SB 253: companies with over $1B in revenue
SB 261: companies with over $500M in revenue
Non-profits, government agencies, and companies whose only footprint in California is remote workers are likely exempted.
All businesses “doing business in California”, regardless of where you are headquartered.
Specifically, California Air Resources Board (CARB) will most likely apply Revenue & Tax Code 23101, which means your company may be in scope if you exceed the revenue threshold ($1B for SB 253, $500M for SB 261) and meet any one of these:
- Sales in California > $735,019 (includes sales through agents or contractors)
- CA payroll > $73,500
- CA property > $73,500
- Legally based in California
SB 253: $3,106
SB 261: $1,403
SB 253: June 30, 2026
SB 261: January 1, 2026
SB 253: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Required for $1B+ revenue companies
- Scope 1 and 2 ONLY required for 2026
- Scope 3 required starting in 2027
- GHG inventories must follow The GHG Protocol
- Limited Assurance for Scope 1 and 2 from 2026-2029;
- Limited Assurance for Scope 3 by 2030.
- Reasonable Assurance for Scope 1 and 2 starting in 2030.
SB 261: Climate-Related Risk Reporting
- Applies to $500M+ revenue companies
- Requires climate risk disclosures to be reported to state and also published on company website
- Physical + transition risks must be reported
- Aligned with TCFD / IFRS S2
- Qualitative reporting – however, if any specific climate or climate reduction claims are made, they must be third-party verified under Clause 5.
September 2025: Draft templates
December 2025: CARB Portal Opens
January 2026: SB 261 Report Due
June 2026: SB 253 Report Due
SB 253: up to $500k per year
SB 261: up to $50k per year
✅ Confirm if your company is in scope
✅ Choose experts and technology to work with to make compliance simple: a combination of an automated carbon accounting platform and consulting support for the qualitative risk assessment should do the trick!
✅ Engage data owners and stakeholders at your company to start collecting data like utility bills, fuel usage, etc. (or leverage software to collect the data automatically)
✅ Map your company’s climate risks and governance (with the help of experts)
✅ Line up a third-party assurance partner early
With Carbonhound and Blue Sky Climate, we can cut your costs and time to report.
SB 253
- Automate data collection, QA, management and reporting
- Deliver assurance and audit-ready outputs
- Cut prep time by 70%
- Access 1-1 expertise
SB 261
- Assess and deliver climate risk disclosures aligned to TCFD/IFRS S2
- Identify physical and transition risks
- Complete scenario analysis for reporting
- Can provide third-party assurance
Yes, our automation + advisory model provides accessible, low-cost help with CA climate laws while staying assurance-ready for SB 253 and SB 261. If you’re searching for SB 253 cheap support, we’ll show transparent, fixed-fee options and exactly what’s in scope—no surprises.
Join the 280+ companies already using Carbonhound
