Activity data
Information about an activity used to estimate greenhouse gas emissions.
Example
Metered electricity use or tonnes of material purchased can serve as activity data.
The catch
Good calculations still depend on accurate and complete inputs.
In more depth
Activity data, explained.
Activity data is the input a company controls most directly, because inventories usually estimate emissions by multiplying it by an emission factor. Physical quantities such as litres of diesel or kilometres flown give the closest link to what was burned. Spend data, counted in euros, is cruder. It tracks prices, so a supplier discount can make emissions appear to fall while nothing physical has changed.
Record where each figure came from, whether it was metered, invoiced or estimated, and which period it covers. That record becomes part of the audit trail behind a reported total, and it lets a verifier trace a surprising result back to its source.