CARB Releases Additional Resources for 2026 Reporting Under SB 253

On September 1, 2026, CARB released a voluntary 2026 Intake Platform and new guidance for 2026 reporting under SB 253.

As a reminder, SB 253 requires business entities organized under U.S. law, doing business in California, and with annual revenues over $1B to (1) starting in 2026, annually disclose their Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions for the prior fiscal year and (2) starting in 2027, also annually disclose their Scope 3 GHG emissions for the prior fiscal year.

Among other things, CARB’s September 1 guidance for 2026 reporting under SB 253 provides that:

• For 2026 reporting, reporting entities may submit either Scope 1 and 2 emissions for their prior fiscal year based on information they already had or were collecting on December 5, 2024, or a statement of non-reporting (on company letterhead) indicating that they were not collecting data and were not planning to collect data at the time.

• Reporting entities may use CARB’s Draft Scope 1 & 2 GHG Reporting Template, posted on October 10, 2025, but use of this template is voluntary for 2026 reporting.
• Submissions may be made via the voluntary 2026 Intake Platform or by emailing them to [email protected].
• CARB’s proposed regulations would not require use of a specific emission factor dataset for 2026 GHG emissions reporting.
• CARB will accept submissions, regardless of whether or not limited assurance has been obtained for the 2026 reporting cycle. 

CARB’s voluntary 2026 Intake Platform can be found here, and CARB’s September 1 guidance for 2026 reporting under SB 253 can be found here.