How to Set Up and Use the AWS Sustainability Console for Comprehensive Emissions Reporting

Introduction

If you're a sustainability professional or part of a reporting team, you know the challenge of tracking your organization's carbon footprint across AWS services. Until recently, accessing this data meant navigating billing permissions—an unnecessary hurdle for those who don't handle costs. Today, we're excited to guide you through the AWS Sustainability Console, a standalone service that consolidates Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions data, customizable reports, and programmatic access in one place. This guide will walk you through setting up and using the console to streamline your sustainability reporting.

What You Need

• An active AWS account with appropriate IAM permissions to enable and access the Sustainability Console.
• Basic familiarity with AWS Management Console navigation.
• Optional: AWS SDK or API access for advanced integration.
• A clear understanding of your organization's fiscal year (if it differs from the calendar year).

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Access the AWS Sustainability Console

From the AWS Management Console, search for "Sustainability" in the service list or navigate directly to Sustainability Console. If this is your first visit, you'll see a welcome screen explaining the console's capabilities. No additional setup is required for the basic view—your existing account automatically populates the dashboard with emissions data.

Step 2: Configure Permissions for Your Team

One of the biggest improvements is the independent permissions model. Unlike the old Customer Carbon Footprint Tool (CCFT), which required billing-level access, the Sustainability Console lets you grant sustainability professionals direct access to emissions data without exposing cost information. To set this up:

1. In the IAM console, create a new policy that allows sustainability:* actions.
2. Attach the policy to a role or user group for your reporting team.
3. Ensure the team members can see the console without needing billing:GetCostAndUsage permissions.

This separation simplifies compliance and security while empowering the right people.

Step 3: Set Your Fiscal Year

Many organizations operate on a fiscal year that doesn't align with January–December. The console allows you to match your reporting period. Go to the Settings section (gear icon) and select your fiscal year start month. Once saved, all dashboard views and exported reports will reflect your fiscal quarters. This eliminates manual adjustments for finance and sustainability teams working together.

Step 4: Explore the Emissions Dashboard

The main dashboard displays your total Scope 1, 2, and 3 carbon emissions attributed to AWS usage. You can drill down by:

• AWS Region – See which geographic areas contribute most.
• Service – For example, Amazon EC2, Amazon S3, or Amazon CloudFront.
• Time range – Monthly, quarterly, or annual views.

Note: The underlying data and methodology are identical to the previous CCFT; only how you access and interact with them has improved.

Step 5: Download Preset Reports

Navigate to the Reports page. Here you can download ready-made monthly and annual carbon emissions reports. Two methodologies are available:

• Market-Based Method (MBM) – Reflects contractual instruments like renewable energy certificates.
• Location-Based Method (LBM) – Based on the average grid mix of each region.

Simply click the download button to receive a CSV file. These reports are preconfigured but customizable for fields and granularity.

Step 6: Build Custom CSV Reports

If you need more control, use the Custom Report builder:

1. Select the fields you want (e.g., service, region, scope, month).
2. Choose the time granularity (daily, monthly, quarterly).
3. Apply filters, such as specific services or date ranges.
4. Click "Generate" and download the CSV.

This flexibility helps you tailor reports for specific stakeholders or compliance requirements.

Step 7: Use the API for Programmatic Access

For teams that need to integrate emissions data into dashboards, compliance systems, or internal tools, the AWS Sustainability Console provides a new API accessible via AWS SDKs. To get started:

1. Install the AWS SDK for your language (e.g., Python, Java).
2. Call the sustainability:GetCarbonFootprintSummary or specific endpoints for custom queries.
3. Parse the JSON response to extract emissions metrics for a given period.

Example (Python):

import boto3
client = boto3.client('sustainability')
response = client.get_carbon_footprint_summary(
    timePeriod={'start': '2024-01-01', 'end': '2024-12-31'}
)
print(response['totalEmissions'])

This API is ideal for pulling large datasets or automating monthly reporting.

Step 8: Integrate into Your Reporting Workflows

Now that you have access via downloads and API, integrate the data into your existing pipelines. For example:

• Set up a scheduled Lambda function to fetch emissions data and store it in Amazon S3.
• Load the CSV reports into Amazon QuickSight for interactive visualizations.
• Combine with internal sustainability metrics for holistic reporting.

Remember that the console data reflects your AWS usage only—combine with on-premises and other cloud footprints for complete Scope 1–3 reporting.

Tips for Success

• Start with preset reports to verify your data aligns with expectations before customizing.
• Use fiscal year settings early to avoid re-downloading reports later.
• Leverage the IAM separation to give sustainability teams autonomy without security risk.
• Test the API with a small time range first to understand the response structure.
• Schedule regular exports via automated scripts to maintain an audit trail.
• Monitor AWS announcements for new features and methodology updates.

By following these steps, you can transform your sustainability reporting from a manual, permission-restricted process into a streamlined, data-driven workflow. The AWS Sustainability Console puts the power of your carbon data directly into the hands of those who need it.