š” This page outlines our new approach to launching EFDB updates and how it impacts you
Understanding Our New Emission Factor Database Update Policy
At Altruistiq, we are committed to providing reliable, high-quality data to help you measure your emissions effectively. So to ensure clarity and consistency, weāve introduced a new policy for updating and releasing emission factors in our Emission Factor Database (EFDB).
This policy is designed to streamline updates, give plenty of notice, and provide you with options for handling new emission factors.
Hereās a guide to whatās changing and what that means for you.
Whatās Changing?
Weāre introducing changes to how we release EFDB updates so you have all the information to understand what changes are happening and why they are important.
Our approach to EFDB releases will be to:
Update the EFDB in a Quarterly Release Cycle:
We will group all key updates to the Emission Factor Database into one major release every quarter.
These updates may include the latest versions of emission factor sources, new data sources, and major edits to existing EFs.
Inform you of updates with plenty of advance notice:
Weāll notify you one month before each quarterly release goes live with an overview of upcoming changes in the product newsletter.
For a deeper dive, the newsletter will also link to a Help Centre article explaining each EFDB datasource update and its impact.
If some EF updates are particularly relevant for your calculations, your Customer Success Manager will get in touch with you directly with a specific update.
Offer two options for managing EF version updates:
For new versions of EF datasources, your new data uploads will automatically have the most latest EFs applied. For data thatās already been published, youāll have two ways to manage updates:
Default Option: Recalculate with the updated factors
We will automatically recalculate your emissions for datasets where the updated EF version is relevant.
This option applies the updated emission factors across your existing emissions inventory wherever they are appropriate, ensuring your data reflects the most current information available.
Alternative Option: Keep your current Emission Factors
If you prefer not to incorporate the updated emission factors, you can ālockā your emissions years using the current version of calculations within the platform.
This option ensures your reports and calculations remain consistent, so consider if you have already reported these emissions.
If you are cannot lock your emissions for some reason but donāt want the new EFs, you can reach out to your Customer Success Manager and skip the recalculations.
What to expect from EFDB releases
A month ahead of the EFDB release, weāll notify you with updates in the Help Centre explaining each of the changes. This will include:
Details about the revised emission factors and data sources.
Clear insights into how these updates might affect your emissions.
Timings on when these changes will go live in our EFDB.
For a view of subsequent releases, please see the Product Roadmap where planned EFDB updates are shown.
FAQs
1. What EFDB changes can I expect?
There are two main types of changes i) Updated versions of current EFDB sources and ii) New source additions to the EFDB. You can see all our major emission factor sources here, each source with an annual release we will update within the same Quarter.
2. How do I lock my emissions to keep my current emission factors?
Log into the platform and navigate to your Manage Data - Corporate Footprints page. You can click into any given footprint year and click āMark your footprint as completeā in order to lock your calculations for that reporting year.
3. What happens if I donāt lock my emissions before an update?
If no action is taken, the updated emission factors will be automatically re-calculated to apply to all relevant emissions calculations.
4. Will the quarterly updates always lead to changes in my emissions?
Not always. Completely new EF sources wonāt lead to recalculations, and some updated versions wonāt apply to your activity data. If a quarterly update is relevant to you, weāll directly provide you with clear information about any potential impact.
5. Can I revert to older emission factors after an update?
No, but by locking your emissions before the update, you can ensure your current calculations remain unchanged.