• Where is the data coming from?
• How do I know the data is accurate?
• What can I do with the data?
• How much data do you really have - or do you need to look it up upon request?
• How often do you add new data?
• How do you differ from carbon disclosure registries (CDP, EU ETS,...)?
• Who are your analysts?

Where is the data coming from?

• A team of analysts extracts data from various sources, inclusing sustainability reports, websites and registries.

How do I know the data is accurate?

• Subscribers to our Carbon Screener service will be able to view all source data and references (links to the original report). 
• Our high volume of data enables us to perform statistical quality checks: for example, new entries that vary significantly from the sector averages are double-checked for accuracy. We also perform systematic sample checks for new batches of data. 

What can I do with the data?

There are many ways to use our data, for example:

• Assess how environmentally friendly your suppliers are relative to each other
• Assess how environmentally friendly your investments are relative to each other
• Assess how fast other production plants are becoming more green (% decrease YoY)
• Identify best-in-class performers per sector
• Craft business cases: you can backup assumptions and identify multipliers for business case analysis; for example, if you are food manufacturer and you want to implement a new IT system, you can use the carbon efficiencies of typical desk/IT based professions to quantify the projected carbon savings over time (instead of using data from other food manufacturers)
• Identify trends in carbon efficiencies across different sectors
• Link efficiency measures to overall results: how are success stories published in the press impacting to the overall bottom line?
• Compare what companies are reporting vs. what they are being allocated on the EU ETS
• Set reduction targets that are realistic, based on general observations of a relevant set of benchmarks

How much data do you really have - or do you need to look it up upon request?

• We don't wait for a customer request to look up data. At any point, customers can login to our database and view emissions details of 3,000 companies. Details of the data that we hold can be read on http://co2benchmark.com/carbon-data-details

How often do you add new data?

• Our data is updated continously, following our quality process that is batch-based.

How do you differ from other major carbon disclosure registries?

• We continuously update our data based on the latest reports. Many registries only publish information once a year.
• We are not limited by those companies that participate to the registries (e.g. those who respond to the CDP surveys).
• We aggreate data from many different registries - e.g. we also have 40,000 ETS credits to complement corporate level carbon footprint data.
• We offer a service to answer your questions: if you need help with data or if you need a custom benchmarking report, simply call us. Carbon disclosure registries mainly drive the process pushing companies to participate.
• We perform benchmarking calculations in real-time based on your criteria, factoring in electricity supply, employees or turnover. Other organisations only publish reports occasionally based on a pre-dtermined set of data.
• We use multiple industry classification methods to best suit your needs - up to 90 different sectors.  Other registries (EU ETS, CDP) offer less granularity in terms of sector defintion. 
• Our web interface provides cutting edge business-intelligence functionality. A search doesn't only yield a word report that pops up - our database driven system lets you slice and dice through the numbers in any way you want.

Who is collecting the information?

• Our team of analysts has a mixed background. Academic credentials span engineering and business degrees e.g. Imperial College, LSE, Durham, Kellogg (Northwestern University). Some of the team members are formally trained for ISO 14064 for GHG accounting and verification (see http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=38381)