A quick inventory snapshot

• How would you summarize your most recent annual GHG inventory in one sentence?
• Which greenhouse gas scopes did that inventory cover and which were excluded? Options: Scope 1, Scope 2, Scope 3 - Purchased goods and services, Scope 3 - Capital goods, Scope 3 - Fuel- and energy-related activities, Scope 3 - Upstream transportation and distribution, Scope 3 - Waste, Scope 3 - Business travel, Scope 3 - Other (specify in next field)
• Give the reporting boundary you used, for example consolidated, equity share, or operational control. Options: Consolidated, Equity share, Operational control, Other, please describe
• Who on your team owns the inventory and who approves the final submission?
• If you had to deliver next year's inventory unchanged, what single gap is most likely to make it fail verification?

Where the data actually lives and where it gets stuck

• How often does your metering, fuel, and activity data arrive in a centralized, reviewable format? Options: Always, Mostly, Partially, Rarely, Never
• List the systems, file formats, and manual processes you rely on today, for example utility bills, ERP spend exports, travel bookings, fuel card statements.
• Which supplier categories produce the largest unknowns in your Scope 3, and roughly how many suppliers in each category do you expect to survey? Options: Purchased goods and services, Upstream transportation, Fuel and energy related, Waste, Business travel, Downstream transport and distribution, Use of sold products, End-of-life treatment
• Walk me through a recent month where data quality delayed consolidation, what broke and who had to intervene?
• What single missing data feed or inaccessible system would stop the project before integration?

Where the calculations tend to get questioned

• If an auditor examined your Scope 3 methodology, which line item would be most vulnerable to challenge?
• Name the emission factor sources and versions you currently apply for your most material categories. Options: Internal factor library, National inventory or government database, Industry-specific database, Vendor-provided factors, Custom factors
• Describe any internal rules or custom calculations you run that differ from GHG Protocol defaults.
• When was the last time you restated prior-period emissions, and who signed off on that restatement? Options: Within last 6 months, 6-12 months ago, 1-2 years ago, More than 2 years ago, Never
• What calculation or methodological disagreement would lead your finance or audit teams to reject the platform's outputs?

The cost of uncertainty and who notices first

• When inventory numbers change mid-year, who inside your organization feels the pressure first and what do they lose?
• Estimate the internal cost if a material Scope 3 line were off by 20 percent, in terms of time, budget, or reputational impact. Options: Negligible, Minor but manageable, Moderate, requires rework, Major, requires executive attention, Critical, likely delays or penalties
• Share an example where conflicting inventories caused a stakeholder decision to pause or change direction.
• List the internal metrics or KPIs you would want the platform to produce to make numbers specific for finance or operations. Options: Emissions by facility, Emissions intensity per unit, Month-over-month variance, Supplier contribution breakdown, Verification readiness score
• Name the approvals or budget steps that would still be required before you could move to full deployment if the pilot proved the numbers.

Who's accountable and who needs a seat at the table

• Who must sign off for this work to be accepted as auditable by procurement, finance, and legal? Options: Sustainability director, Head of Finance, Head of Procurement, General counsel, Internal audit, Other
• Specify the stakeholders who will need view-only access versus those who need edit or admin privileges on the platform. Options: View-only: executives, auditors, Edit: sustainability analysts, EHS, Admin: IT, system owners, Other
• Describe how procurement, IT, and sustainability typically coordinate on data access requests in your organization.
• Approximately how many people will need training, and who in your organization would administer that training? Options: 1-5, 6-15, 16-50, More than 50
• Identify the single internal stakeholder objection that would stop this from getting final signoff.

Practical readiness: integrations, data, and timeline constraints

• Assume three critical APIs are required, which one is most likely to be delayed and why?
• Identify the back-end systems we must integrate with, for example your ERP, utility management, travel booking, or procurement system. Options: ERP / Finance system, Utility billing system, Fuel card or fleet management, Travel booking system, Procurement / P2P system, Custom databases
• Point to the team or role that owns API keys, credentials, and security reviews, and how quickly can they grant access? Options: IT security, API team, Cloud ops, Procurement, Other
• Select your preferred timeline for a first-phase deployment that covers Scope 1 and 2. Options: 4 weeks, 6 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks, Other
• Point to the compliance or regulatory approval that, if delayed, would force us to pause the project.

The other options on your table

• Assuming you stay with your current approach, what would need to be true for it to remain acceptable?
• Select the alternatives you are actively evaluating from this list. Options: Incumbent carbon platform, Build an internal solution, Consulting firm to run annual inventory, Spreadsheet-based manual process with QA, Another vendor trial, No alternative yet
• Tell me who internally is proposing an internal solution and the capacity they say they can dedicate.
• Explain the specific change in your incumbent or current process that would prompt a switch within 3 months.
• Share the single competitive offer or internal solution that would cause you to cancel a pilot with us.

Decision drivers: acceptance criteria and next steps

• Should the pilot reproduce your baseline within your acceptance thresholds, what would stop your team from signing an expansion contract that week?
• Choose the measurable acceptance criteria your team requires from this pilot. Options: Emissions match within a percent threshold for Scope 1/2, Data integration completeness above threshold, Verification-ready documentation produced, Repeatable API sync without manual intervention, Supplier response rate target met, Other
• Specify the final signatory for pilot acceptance and subsequent phases, and list who needs to be consulted before they sign.
• Estimate how quickly your team can provide the initial datasets needed to start a pilot once the statement of work is signed. Options: Immediately (within 1 week), 2-4 weeks, 4-8 weeks, Longer than 8 weeks, Dependent on approvals
• Declare the single contractual term, commercial condition, or data-privacy requirement that would block you from proceeding even if the pilot succeeds.

• Solution Experience — Audit-ready Inventory Walkthrough

• Confirm the current state and its cost to your team
• You confirm the demonstrated workflow eliminates the manual reconciliation steps you described and reduces the inventory cycle time.
• Provide sample datasets for the agreed scenario, including one facility's utility, fuel, procurement, and travel extracts for the pilot window.
• You confirm the calculation lineage and emission factor choices meet your methodological and verifier expectations.
• Review the buyer scenario and acceptance criteria
• Provide the verifier acceptance criteria or a short checklist of verification questions you expect the inventory to answer.
• Run the sample inventory using the provided scenario and deliver a comparison report against the buyer's baseline inventory, highlighting variances and reconciliation notes.
• You confirm the verification-ready outputs and evidence package align with the verifier acceptance criteria you provided.
• Walk the data flow for the chosen scenario end-to-end
• Demonstrate calculation lineage and methodological defensibility
• You agree the selected scenario and success criteria for a scoped pilot that will validate integration and calculation accuracy.
• Confirm the pilot scope, timeline, and decision criteria for acceptance so next steps can be scheduled.
• Show verification-ready outputs and evidence package
• Validation checkpoint — confirm this maps to your needs

• Solution Experience — Audit-ready Inventory Walkthrough
• Solution Experience Deck
• Solution Brief — Inventory Experience

• meeting
• slides
• document

• Connect Utility and Metering Feeds
• Ingest Fuel and Fleet Usage Data
• Integrate Travel Booking and Expense Systems
• Integrate Procurement Spend Data
• Configure Facility Boundaries and Hierarchies
• Deploy Emission Factor Library and Updates
• Implement Scope 3 Supplier Survey Workflows
• Apply Hybrid Scope 3 Calculation Methods
• Validate Calculations Against Prior Inventory
• Run Data Quality and Completeness Rules
• Export Audit Trail and Calculation Documentation
• Produce Verification-Ready Inventory Report
• Deliver Annual Inventory Update and Rebaseline
• Train Teams on Carbon Accounting Workflows

Connect Utility and Metering Feeds

• Which categories of metering sources must be connected for your sites (select all that apply)? Options: Utility supplier portals, Advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), Meter data management system (MDMS), Manual bill PDFs/CSV uploads, Other
• Do you maintain a canonical mapping of meter serial numbers or meter IDs to your facility site codes in a CSV or database? Options: Yes - CSV export available, Yes - database table available, No mapping exists yet
• How frequently are meter reads published by your suppliers or AMI (choose the closest)? Options: Hourly, Daily, Monthly, Irregular / ad-hoc
• Which identifiers appear on your utility bills that we should use for matching (for example account number, meter ID, billing reference)?
• Do you need automated ingestion of PDF bill attachments or structured API/CSV feeds for each utility account? Options: PDF bill ingestion required, Structured API/CSV feeds available, Both PDF and structured feeds required
• Are there regional billing formats or regulator-specific meter references (for example meter point IDs or grid zone codes) we must support? Options: Yes - we will supply examples, No regional exceptions, Not sure

Ingest Fuel and Fleet Usage Data

• Which fuel types and fuel purchase records must be ingested (select all that apply)? Options: Diesel, Gasoline, Natural gas, Propane, Biofuels, Other
• How are fuel transactions currently captured (for example fuel card transaction CSV, fuel receipts, or pump meter exports)? Options: Fuel card exports (CSV), Scanned receipts, On-site pump meter data, Telematics feed, Other
• How many on-road and off-road vehicles are in scope and do you have a vehicle identifier list (VIN or internal fleet ID)? Options: Less than 50, 50-250, 251-1,000, More than 1,000
• Do you provide telematics or OEM usage exports that include distance and fuel consumption per VIN? Options: Yes - telematics CSV/API available, No telematics available, Partial coverage
• Who owns fleet fuel reconciliations and can provide the fuel card provider export mapped to cost centers?
• Do you require greenhouse gas breakdowns by gas species (CO2, CH4, N2O) for combustion sources or is CO2e sufficient? Options: CO2e only, CO2 and CH4/N2O disaggregated, Prefer both but CO2e acceptable

Integrate Travel Booking and Expense Systems

• Which travel and expense source types must be connected for business travel emissions (select all that apply)? Options: Corporate booking tool exports, Global distribution system (GDS) PNR exports, Expense management system (card + receipt exports), Travel agency CSVs, Other
• Do you have employee identifier mapping between HR (employee ID) and your travel/expense exports to attribute trips to business units? Options: Yes - HR mapping available, No - will provide manual mapping, Not applicable
• How do you capture cabin class and routing for air travel today (for example PNR export, itinerary PDF, or distance-based calculation)? Options: PNR / itinerary extracts, Itinerary PDFs, Expense descriptions only, Other
• Do you centralize travel on corporate cards so airfare and hotels appear in AP exports, or do employees primarily expense travel individually? Options: Mostly corporate card, Mostly employee expense, Mixed
• Which frequency do you prefer for travel ingestion for inventory purposes (monthly, quarterly, or on-demand)? Options: Monthly, Quarterly, On-demand
• Are rail, ferry, and ground transport modes captured in your travel system with distance or ticket class information? Options: Yes - modes and distance captured, Partially captured, No

Integrate Procurement Spend Data

• Which procurement data sources must be integrated (select all that apply)? Options: ERP purchase ledger (AP), Procurement module (PO line items), Card/virtual card spend exports, Supplier invoices CSV, Other
• Do your procurement exports include supplier identifiers we can use to join with supplier master (for example tax ID, vendor code)? Options: Yes - vendor codes provided, Yes - tax ID provided, No unique supplier identifier
• Do you require spend-based emissions for categories using GL code to category mapping or line-item activity data for product-level emissions? Options: Spend-based (GL mapping), Line-item activity data required, Hybrid per category
• How do you handle multi-currency procurement data and do you have a currency normalization source for the baseline year? Options: We provide normalized currency, Require platform to normalize using exchange rate file, Not sure
• What percentage of spend do you aim to cover with supplier-level emissions (for example top 80% by spend)? Options: Top 50% by spend, Top 80% by spend, Top 95% by spend, Custom threshold
• Which procurement artifacts can you share for mapping: PO line export, GL-to-category mapping table, or supplier master extract? Options: PO line export, GL mapping table, Supplier master extract, None available

Configure Facility Boundaries and Hierarchies

• Which operational boundary approach will you use for each site (for example control-based operational boundary: operational control, financial control)? Options: Operational control, Financial control, Equity share, Mixed by site
• Do you already have a master list of facility site codes, legal entity, and geographic coordinates to import? Options: Yes - master list (CSV), Yes - database export, No master list
• How many hierarchy levels do you require (for example site > campus > plant > line)? Options: Site only, Site > Plant, Site > Plant > Line, Custom hierarchy
• Which site attributes must be captured for reporting and allocation (for example NAICS code, meter-to-site mapping, site opening/closing dates)?
• Are there shared facilities or co-located tenants where allocation rules (for example area-based or revenue-based) must be defined? Options: Yes - area-based allocation, Yes - revenue-based allocation, No shared tenants
• Who will be the owner for maintaining the facility hierarchy after configuration (team or role)?

Deploy Emission Factor Library and Updates

• Which emission factor sources do you prefer for calculations (select all that apply)? Options: GHG Protocol default factors, National inventory / government factors, Industry-average published factors, Supplier-provided factors, Custom factors uploaded by you
• Which emission factor version or effective year will you accept as the baseline for the inventory (for example 2024 emission factor set)?
• How often should the platform refresh emission factor data for your reporting (for example quarterly, annually, or on-demand when published)? Options: Quarterly, Annually, On-demand
• Do you require traceability in the library showing source documents and version dates for each factor used in calculations? Options: Yes - full traceability required, No - summary list acceptable
• What acceptance criteria will confirm the emission factor set is approved for reporting (for example published source list, version date, and stakeholder sign-off)?

Implement Scope 3 Supplier Survey Workflows

• Which supplier categories should be targeted for survey outreach (for example top suppliers by spend, strategic suppliers, indirect procurement)? Options: Top suppliers by spend, Strategic suppliers, Indirect procurement categories, All suppliers
• Do you have a supplier contact list that includes email, primary contact name, and supplier ID ready for survey distribution? Options: Yes - complete contact list, Partial list, No list available
• Which survey modes do you prefer: hosted webform, emailed survey link, or API-based supplier push into their portal? Options: Hosted webform, Emailed survey link, API supplier push, Mixed
• What coverage threshold do you require before closing supplier outreach for a category (for example 70% of spend or 50 suppliers)? Options: Top 50% by spend, Top 70% by spend, Respondent count threshold
• Which supplier data fields must be captured from the survey (for example activity data, purchase volumes, product-specific emissions factors)?
• How should non-responding suppliers be handled for Scope 3 calculation (for example default factors, spend-based proxy, or third-party data purchase)? Options: Default factors / spend-based proxy, Third-party data purchase, Escalate supplier outreach

Apply Hybrid Scope 3 Calculation Methods

• Which Scope 3 categories will use hybrid methods versus strictly spend- or activity-based calculation (list categories and preferred method)?
• Do you have mapping rules that link GL codes or procurement categories to GHG Protocol Scope 3 categories? Options: Yes - mapping table available, Partial mapping exists, No mapping yet
• What threshold should trigger using supplier-specific factors instead of industry averages (for example supplier provides verified data, or spend above X)? Options: Verified supplier data required, Spend threshold (percent or amount), Other condition
• How should multi-output suppliers be allocated across your product lines (for example allocation by spend, physical units, or direct activity data)? Options: Spend allocation, Physical units, Supplier-provided allocation, Custom rule
• Which deliverable documentation do you need for hybrid method choices (for example calculation trace with lineage, assumption log)? Options: Calculation trace with lineage, Assumption log, Methodology appendix, All of the above
• Do you require uncertainty estimates or sensitivity analysis for Scope 3 categories using proxies? Options: Yes - include uncertainty estimates, Optional, No

Validate Calculations Against Prior Inventory

• Which prior inventory artifacts will you provide for validation (for example prior-year spreadsheet, auditor report, or published inventory file)? Options: Prior-year spreadsheet, Third-party audit report, Published inventory file, Other
• Which level of comparison do you require: facility-level, category-level, or consolidated enterprise-level variance analysis? Options: Facility-level, Category-level, Enterprise-level, All levels
• What tolerance or variance threshold will you accept before remediation is required (for example +/- 5% by facility or +/- 10% by category)? Options: +/- 5% by facility, +/- 10% by category, Custom threshold
• Who will own discrepancies remediation and what system will they update (for example site operations updating meter IDs in the asset registry)?
• What comparison period should be used (for example calendar year baseline, fiscal year, or 12-month rolling period)? Options: Calendar year, Fiscal year, 12-month rolling
• What acceptance criteria will confirm the platform calculations validate against your baseline inventory (for example documented variance sign-off and remediation log)?

Run Data Quality and Completeness Rules

• Which data completeness thresholds should trigger remediation (for example percent of meters with missing reads or percent of spend with no supplier identifier)?
• Which mandatory fields must be present on an input file for it to be considered valid (for example meter ID, reading date, consumption kWh)?
• What anomaly detection thresholds do you want for meter and fuel data (for example daily usage > X standard deviations)?
• Who will be notified when a data quality rule fails and what remediation SLA do you require (for example 5 business days)? Options: Notify site owner, Notify central sustainability team, Notify IT integration owner
• Do you permit automated imputation of missing monthly consumption using historical averages, or must all imputations be flagged for manual review? Options: Automated imputation allowed, Imputation flagged for review, No imputation allowed
• In which format should data quality reports be exported (for example CSV with row-level issues, PDF summary, or dashboard alerts)? Options: CSV row-level export, PDF summary, Dashboard alerts

Export Audit Trail and Calculation Documentation

• Which artifacts must appear in the audit trail for each inventory line (for example raw input file, transformation log, applied emission factor and factor source)?

• desired_state
• current_state
• stakeholders
• gaps
• success_criteria
• decision_readiness
• desired_state
• decision_readiness
• current_state
• success_criteria
• gaps
• stakeholders
• desired_state
• success_criteria
• stakeholders
• gaps
• current_state
• decision_readiness
• decision_readiness
• decision_readiness
• decision_readiness
• decision_readiness

• Master Services Agreement (MSA)
• Statement of Work (SOW)
• Subscription Order Form
• Data Processing Agreement (DPA)
• Data Access Authorization
• Phase Acceptance Criteria & Pilot Acceptance Certificate
• Verification Responsibilities Agreement
• Service Level Agreement (SLA)
• Change Order Agreement
• Industry Compliance Addendum (conditional)

• Go-live Health Check
• First Measurement Review
• Acceptance Gate — Inventory Validation and Acceptance
• Quarterly Success Review

• Update the emission factor and calculation version log and publish any changes affecting year-to-date inventory figures.
• Launch targeted supplier follow-up to increase Scope 3 response rate in the top two material categories.
• Schedule remediation verification tests for corrected integrations and mapping updates ahead of the acceptance gate.
• Restate acceptance criteria and numeric targets
• Produce a single documented acceptance decision with pass/fail status for each Pilot Evaluation criterion.
• Capture the named signatory and date for formal acceptance when applicable to managed engagements.
• List remediation items with firm resolution dates for any conditional or failed criteria.
• Publish the acceptance decision, accompanying evidence package, and remediation list to the shared workspace.
• If acceptance is conditional or failed, schedule the remediation verification checkpoint and define success criteria for re-evaluation.
• Finalize the verification engagement readiness packet for third-party review if acceptance is granted.
• Review year-to-date inventory outputs
• Confirm that annual inventory completeness and Scope 3 supplier response rate remain on track relative to Pilot Evaluation targets or have a documented remediation plan.
• Ensure verification readiness checklist is progressing and identify any outstanding evidence required for auditors.
• Maintain a prioritized backlog of Scope 3 improvements with target delivery windows for the coming quarter.
• Maintain the shared issue channel for post-deployment tickets and publish SLAs for bug and data-quality resolution.
• Deliver the supplier improvement sprint plan for the next quarter focused on the top two material Scope 3 categories.
• Re-confirm success criteria and owners
• All production integrations report green or have documented remediation plans with target dates.
• Named owners confirmed for data ingestion, verification readiness, and Scope 3 outreach workstreams.
• Critical open issues logged with severity and target resolution windows.
• Run an end-to-end ingestion test for each active integration and publish the results to the shared channel.
• Publish the user access and training status summary and schedule follow-up training where needed.
• Document all critical defects in the issue tracker with target resolution dates.
• Present platform inventory vs buyer baseline
• Determine whether calculation variance vs baseline and Scope 3 supplier response rate are within the tolerance recorded in Pilot Evaluation, or identify specific causes if not.
• Agree a prioritized remediation plan with dates that will bring the measured metrics to Pilot Evaluation targets by the acceptance gate.
• Confirm which inventory categories require further data collection or calculation adjustments before vendor verification.
• Produce a side-by-side variance report by facility and category and circulate it to the shared channel.
• Present outcome evidence against each criterion
• Verification readiness status
• Deployment and integration validation
• Scope 3 supplier response and data quality review
• Document pass or fail per criterion
• Early adoption signals and access
• Scope 3 data improvement progress
• Root-cause diagnosis for discrepancies
• Open issues, incident log, and data-quality trends
• Formal acceptance decision and signatory (managed engagements)
• Open issues and blocker triage
• Integration health and corrective actions
• Agree remediation plan and timeline to acceptance gate
• Agree remediation items and closure timelines
• Agree next-quarter action plan
• Agree immediate remediation actions