Data Quality & Sources
Our Approach
We believe carbon tracking should be both accessible AND credible. That's why we combine multiple official data sources to give you the most accurate emission factors for Nordic freelancers.
Primary Data Sources
Nordic Electricity (Updated Quarterly)
- Norway: NVE (Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate)
- Sweden: Energimyndigheten (Swedish Energy Agency)
- Denmark: Energistyrelsen (Danish Energy Agency)
- Finland: Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus)
Official government data reflects the actual energy mix in each country, including high renewable percentages in Nordic grids.
Transportation (Updated Annually)
- UK DEFRA Government Conversion Factors
- US EPA GHG Emission Factors
DEFRA factors are used by thousands of UK businesses and are recognized internationally. Updated annually.
Heating & Fuels (Updated Annually)
- IPCC Emission Factor Database
- National energy statistics
IPCC factors are used in national greenhouse gas inventories and represent the scientific consensus.
Materials & Supply Chain
- ELCD (European Life Cycle Database)
- US LCI Database
These databases use life cycle assessment to capture full supply chain emissions, not just direct emissions.
Standards Compliance
Our calculations follow:
- GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard
- ISO 14064-1 for organizational carbon inventories
- ISO 14067 for product carbon footprints
Data Updates
- Nordic electricity: Quarterly (as new data published)
- Transport factors: Annually (July, with DEFRA updates)
- Other factors: Annually or as sources update
- Major methodology changes: Communicated to all users
Quality Assurance
- Multi-source verification where possible
- Factors reviewed by sustainability experts
- Aligned with international reporting standards
- Transparent methodology documentation
Limitations & Uncertainty
All emission factors have inherent uncertainty:
- Regional variations may exist within countries
- Actual emissions depend on specific circumstances
- Typical uncertainty: ±10-15% for most activities
- We err on the side of slightly overestimating
Questions?
For detailed methodology questions, contact: methodology@susti.fi