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Emission Compass

Tom Hallam avatar
Written by Tom Hallam
Updated over 7 months ago

What is Emission Compass?

Emission Compass is a unique tool developed by CarbonTrail that uses AI to read the data in your invoices, bills, and receipts and turn that into high-quality emissions data.

This innovative AI feature helps you turn your invoices and receipts into activity data, moving beyond traditional spend-based emissions calculations to provide activity-based measurements and increase your data quality rating.

How Emission Compass Works

Automated Document Processing

On supported plans, Emission Compass automatically downloads Xero attachments for relevant categories and extracts the activity based emissions data from your documents.

The system focuses on automated activity-based measurement across key emissions categories, looking for expenses in areas such as:

  • Flights: passenger kilometres, aircraft type

  • Fuel: Litres, fuel type

  • Car Transport/Taxis: Car type, kilometres

  • Waste: type, weight

  • Freight: distance travelled, type of transport

  • Accommodation: number of nights

Enhanced Data Quality

Each expense is enriched with high-quality emissions data based on the actual activity represented, providing accurate, auditable emissions data rather than spend-based estimates.

This means instead of estimating emissions based on how much you spent, Emission Compass calculates emissions based on what you actually consumed or used.

This will move your data quality from

How to use Emission Compass to Increase Data Quality

Emission Compass suggests activity data on your expense when it falls within a specific category and has an invoice attached. Our AI is accurate, but still requires you to review the expense.

  1. Click on Improve Data Quality on an expense in an Emission Category page.

  2. Review the suggestions from Emission Compass or add activity data manually by clicking Manual.

NOTE: It is common to have multiple activities per transaction. For example, a flight invoice might show a round trip, which would result in two or more activities, one for each flight.

  1. Reject incorrect or duplicate activities by clicking

    or .

  2. Accept activity by selecting from the list or clicking .

  3. Edit activity if there are incorrect details.

Once you add the activity data, your data quality will update, and the activity data will replace the less accurate spend based estimate in your emission estimate.

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