Use this register to make one reporting line reproducible from authorised source records. It supports the reporting evidence guide. It helps prepare evidence; it does not determine the reporting entity's obligations or provide an external assurance opinion.
Record the chain from source to disclosure
The CSV template contains fields for the source, organisational boundary, period, method, transformations, uncertainty and review. Create a stable record identifier and preserve versions. A correction should supersede a record, not erase the original.
| Stage | Required evidence |
|---|---|
| Request | The disclosure, customer request or internal decision being served |
| Source | Original document/system record, issuer, date, version and location |
| Boundary | Entity, facility/product, activity period, category and inclusion rationale |
| Extraction | Value, unit, source passage and method used to obtain it |
| Transformation | Conversion, allocation, aggregation, estimation and factor provenance |
| Review | Reviewer, decision, date, corrections and unresolved questions |
| Output | The calculation or disclosure that uses the approved record |
The register separates raw extraction from validated activity data. Its calculation fields require the factor value and unit, source/version, approved method, allocation basis, exact calculation or versioned calculation-record reference, and output value/unit. A descriptive label such as “grid factor” is insufficient. If the details live in another record, its retained version must resolve all these fields.
A record may be valid for one use and held for another
| Fictional record | Evidence and state | Permitted next use |
|---|---|---|
| E01: May facility bill | 12,000 kWh validated; emissions factor and approved calculation unavailable | Use as reviewed activity data; hold emissions output, leaving output value unset |
| E02: supplier questionnaire | Group-wide annual figure; requested subsidiary/product boundary and period not supplied | Request clarification; exclude from the proposed product calculation |
| E03: amended May bill | 11,800 kWh validated from an amended source; supersedes E01 | Recheck downstream calculations and use E03 as current activity data after review; exclude superseded E01 from the same aggregation |
These cases are also available in the fictional example CSV. None contains a usable emissions factor or a reportable emissions result. A missing factor is an unresolved requirement, not zero emissions.
Use stable IDs and ISO dates (YYYY-MM-DD); preserve units explicitly. Reference a retained source/version, not only a filename that can be overwritten. Allowed states are awaiting evidence, under review, approved for specified use, excluded and superseded. Record the approval scope separately. Only the current version approved for the intended use enters that use's aggregation. A validated consumption record does not authorise an emissions disclosure.
Work through a supplier-specific mismatch
Consider this fictional example. A supplier questionnaire returns an annual group-wide emissions total. The reporting team's request concerns purchases from one subsidiary in a different reporting period. An AI extractor can correctly read the number while the record remains unsuitable for the intended calculation.
Record the supplied boundary and period exactly. Mark the intended-use decision as unresolved, identify the missing subsidiary/product/activity information and assign the follow-up. Do not silently allocate the group total by spend unless the reporting owner approves that method as appropriate and records its basis and uncertainty.
If the supplier later provides a corrected response, preserve both versions, identify calculations using the earlier value and obtain review of the change. Where a permitted estimation method is used, label the estimate and retain the factor source, version and units. More decimal places do not make weak input evidence precise.
Test the register before scaling preparation
Ask someone who did not prepare the line to reproduce it from the retained records. Test a duplicate file, a changed period, a unit mismatch, an amended supplier response and a missing factor. The reviewer should be able to find the unresolved item and its owner without asking the model to reconstruct history.
The GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard provides the value-chain accounting context. Check the entity's current position against ACRA's reporting and assurance schedule before using a regulatory deadline in the project plan. Neither source eliminates the need for entity-specific methodology and review.
Read our editorial principles for evidence, contribution and correction standards.