Climate-tech consolidation is accelerating—and 51toCarbonZero (51-0) clearly wants the pole position. The London-based climate technology and advisory platform just absorbed sustainability consultancy Green Element, a two-decade veteran that helped bring environmental strategy into the mainstream long before climate reporting acronyms filled every board presentation.
The move blends 51-0’s AI-powered emissions management platform with Green Element’s heavyweight advisory services. And it signals something more: an industry shifting from fragmented point solutions to full-stack sustainability partners capable of handling everything from carbon accounting to transition planning to regulatory compliance at enterprise scale.
In a market where most climate-tech startups are trimming ambitions, 51-0 is going the opposite direction. It’s building a hybrid giant.
A Trusted Sustainability Consultancy Joins a Tech-First Engine
Founded in 2004, Green Element is one of the UK’s earliest sustainability consultancies—back when carbon footprints were niche and “net zero” sounded like sci-fi. The firm built its reputation in science-based environmental strategy, supporting hundreds of organizations across marketing, finance, food and beverage, healthcare, and other sectors.
This history matters. Many climate-tech players start with automated dashboards and attempt to backfill expertise later. Green Element brings the opposite: deep advisory credibility and long-standing relationships with clients who treat sustainability as a business lever, not a tick-box exercise.
51-0’s argument is simple: combining advisory with automation makes climate action easier, cheaper, and scalable.
What Clients Get: A Beefier, Blended Platform
With the integration, customers gain access to a richer set of tools and services that address some of the biggest bottlenecks in sustainability management—namely expertise gaps, rising compliance burden, and slow manual data wrangling.
Key expanded capabilities include:
- Climate risk analysis, LCAs, and materiality assessments
Previously consultant-heavy work now tied directly into a digital platform. - SECR, CSRD, and SBTi-ready compliance workflows
Crucial as companies scramble to prepare for incoming EU and UK reporting pressures. - Supplier engagement and Scope 3 data tools
One of the hardest areas for businesses to manage—and one the industry desperately needs automated. - Interactive dashboards and progress tracking
Not just carbon numbers, but scenario modelling and transition tools. - Transformation toolkits embedded within the platform
Operational change, not just reporting. - Sector-specialized Climate Success Managers
Human expertise layered on top of AI models.
In other words: a blend of automation, analytics, regulatory scaffolding, and old-fashioned human consulting—delivered through one unified environment.
This hybrid model is increasingly becoming the gold standard in enterprise sustainability. IBM, Watershed, Sphera, and Persefoni have all moved toward similar combinations, sensing frustration from companies who don’t want five vendors, three spreadsheets, and a small army of consultants just to track emissions.
A “Natural Partnership”—and a Leadership Continuum
Richard Davis, CEO and co-founder of 51-0, describes the merger as a “natural partnership,” pointing to Green Element’s emphasis on climate leadership and community building. In practice, the union also helps 51-0 address a persistent challenge in climate tech:
Technology alone cannot deliver net zero.
Companies still need strategic guidance, sector nuance, and the occasional human who can say, “This target isn’t realistic—try this instead.”
Will Richardson, who founded Green Element, will continue in a leadership role, helping steer 51-0’s broader strategy. His involvement preserves continuity for long-standing clients who value Green Element’s personal touch—another contrast to the software-first, people-eventually models common in climate tech.
A Rare Climate-Tech Platform Showing Real Growth
Climate tech has faced a turbulent two years—valuation drops, regulatory uncertainty, and consolidation have thinned the field. But 51-0 says it’s been swimming against the current.
According to Chairman Neil Woodcock, the company has:
- Quadrupled revenue over the past two years
- Doubled its team across tech and consulting
- Outgrown the wider climate-tech market, which Verdantix estimates at 19% CAGR heading into 2025
These aren’t typical numbers in a sector where many players have pivoted, downsized, or sold quietly. For investors and enterprise buyers, this signals something increasingly rare: a climate-tech business demonstrating both scale and momentum.
Beyond Carbon Reduction: Into the Broader Sustainability Frontier
With Green Element onboard, 51-0 is expanding beyond carbon accounting into the wider sustainability stack. Expect deeper work in:
- Climate risk and resilience
- Lifecycle assessments (LCAs)
- Product carbon assessments
- Double materiality for CSRD
- ESG strategic integration
This shift mirrors broader market evolution. Carbon accounting used to be the star of the show; now it’s just one part of a much larger compliance puzzle. Investors, regulators, and supply-chain partners are demanding broader environmental disclosures—including water, waste, biodiversity, and social governance factors.
51-0 seems to be positioning itself to be the one-stop shop for companies juggling this expanding ecosystem.
Why This Matters: Climate Tech Is Maturing
This integration is significant not just for 51-0 but for the climate-tech sector as a whole. For years, companies faced a patchwork landscape: carbon platforms with limited analytics, consultants with manual tools, and regulatory guidelines updated faster than software could catch up.
The market is now correcting toward unified platforms capable of combining:
- Strategic vision
- Regulatory expertise
- Technology-driven automation
- Engagement tools
- Operational delivery support
The Green Element integration accelerates 51-0’s ability to compete in this emerging “platform tier,” occupied by players like Sphera, Watershed, and Salesforce Net Zero Cloud.
But while those companies come from SaaS or enterprise software DNA, 51-0 is unique in being built from the ground up as a hybrid advisory-tech engine—arguably giving it a stronger position with clients who prioritize credibility and continuity over tools alone.
Global Ambitions and a Growing Footprint
The integration also expands 51-0’s reach. With strong European roots and a rising presence in North America, the combined entity is now one of the largest and fastest-growing climate technology and advisory platforms in the UK.
That’s a critical foothold as CSRD, SEC climate disclosures, and supply chain mandates intensify on both sides of the Atlantic. Companies need partners who can support them in multiple geographies with consistent methodologies—something a hybrid platform is well-positioned to offer.
The Bottom Line: A Bigger, Bolder Climate Platform
51toCarbonZero’s absorption of Green Element is more than a business move. It’s a bet that the future of climate action sits at the intersection of AI automation, embedded advisory, and regulatory-grade reporting.
The company is now:
- Larger
- More capable
- More deeply integrated
- And arguably better positioned than many of its peers
As sustainability programs grow more complex—and the consequences of non-compliance grow more severe—businesses are looking for fewer vendors that can do more. With this integration, 51-0 is staking a claim to become one of those rare full-spectrum partners.
If the company can maintain its growth curve and integrate advisory at scale without losing quality, it could become one of the defining climate-tech platforms in Europe—and a growing force globally.
