👩‍🔬Configuring and Customizing Emissions Factors

Brightest is a calculation-based platform that uses default carbon emissions factors (EF) from established sources like the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the United Kingdom’s Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (formerly BEIS and DEFRA), and others, to calculate carbon emissions.

However, you also have the flexibility to add your own emissions factors (EF) to your account EF library or select EFs from the Brightest Emissions Factors Library.

Table of Contents

Working with Emissions Factors in Brightest

How to add emissions factors using the Brightest Library

Field options for an emissions factor

How to add custom emissions factors using the Add Tool

How to add custom emissions factors using the CSV File Importer

How to use custom emissions factors - Assets

How to use custom emissions factors - Transit

How to use custom emissions factors - Materials

How to use custom emissions factors - Products

How to use custom emissions factors - Spend items

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Working with Emissions Factors in Brightest

To manage your account emissions factors (EFs) navigate to your general account settings then “ESG and Sustainability Settings”.

The landing page for ESG and Sustainability Settings will open up to the Emissions Factors section.

In the Emissions Factors section, you'll see three tabs: Activity, Spend, Library.

Activity: Here you can add all of your activity-based emissions factors using the add tool or csv file importer

Spend: Here you can add all of your spend-based emissions factors using the add tool or csv file importer

Library: Here you can browse or search through the Brightest database of activity and spend-based emissions factors.

Navigate to your account settings to find your emissions factors library.

Click on "Edit ESG and sustainability settings".

Your emissions factors library is the landing page for your ESG and sustainability settings.

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How to add emissions factors using the Brightest Library

Access thousands of activity and spend-based emissions factors from reputable government and international organization sources.

You can select emissions factors from the Brightest Library and add them to your organization’s emissions factors library.

To add emissions factors to your account using the Brightest library:

1. Select the “Library” tab in the Emissions Factors management settings. The Brightest emissions factors library will appear.

2. Search the library for emissions factors by name, description, calculation source, emissions source, or emissions type.

3. Check the box next to the emissions factor. Then click on the green button “+Save” and the emissions factor will be added to your account library.

Check the emissions factors you want to transfer to your library and click save.

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Field options for an emissions factor

Below are the field options for an emissions factor.

Field	Required	Description
Name	Yes	Type the name of the emissions factor.
Description	No	Optional to provide a description of the emissions factor
Unit	Yes - for activity-based emissions factors	Select the metric unit for your activity. For example, kg for waste.
Factor type	Yes	Select spend or activity
Spend currency	Yes - for spend-based emissions factors	Select the spend currency
Calculation source	No - but recommended	Enter the name of the institution that published or developed this emissions factor
Emissions source	No	Enter the source of the emissions for example: purchased goods & services, food & agriculture, mobile combustion etc.
Emissions type	Yes	Select the type of emissions this emissions factor is used to calculate: eGRID (eletricity grid), fuel, steam & heat, vehicle, value chain, other
Sub type	No
Documentation reference	No - but recommended	Enter a link or further documentation source to easily trace the original source
CH4	Enter if relevant - Brightest will auto-convert the CH4 into CO2e	Enter the value of CH4 that is composed in this emissions factor (if known)
CH4 unit	Yes - if a value has been entered	Select the measurement unit e.g. g, kg, tonne etc.
CO2	Enter if relevant - you can enter CO2e in this field	If you only have CO2 or CO2e information, enter that here. Many emissions factors are shown in CO2e
CO2 unit	Yes - if a value has been entered	Select the measurement unit e.g. g, kg, tonne etc.
N2O	Enter if relevant - Brightest will auto-convert the N2O into CO2e	Enter the value of N2O that is composed in this emissions factor (if known)
N2O unit	Yes - if a value has been entered	Select the measurement unit e.g. g, kg, tonne etc.
Other GHG	Enter if relevant - Brightest will auto-convert the other GHG into CO2e	Enter the value of the other GHG that is composed in this emissions factor (if known)
Other GHG unit	Yes - if a value has been entered	Select the measurement unit e.g. g, kg, tonne etc.
Is Locked?	No	Toggle this switch "on" if you would like to "lock" this emissions factor to prevent future editing

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How to add custom emissions factors using the Add Tool

Add your own custom emissions activity or spend-based emissions factors to your emissions factors library.

1. Select the activity or spend emissions factors tab.

2. Click on the green “+Add Emissions Factor” button

3. The emissions factors form will appear. Fill out the form with all relevant information. The fields “name”, “unit”, "factor type", "emissions type" and “currency” (if spend-based) are required.

4. Once you click “save”, the emissions factor will be added to your library and you will be able to use it for carbon footprint calculations in your sustainability module.

Manually add an emissions factor to your library using the Add Tool.

Emissions factor form using the Add Tool.

Be sure to double check that the units you enter for each greenhouse gas is correct. Brightest calculates emissions in metric tons and will auto-calculate the emissions factor into metric tons of CO2e in your emissions factors library.

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How to add custom emissions factors using the CSV File Importer

Use the csv file importer to upload multiple emissions factors to your emissions factors library at one time.

1. Click on the gray “+CSV Import” button.

2. The .csv file importer will appear with a link to download the csv file template. Download the template. This is necessary for mapping the correct fields in Brightest.

3. Fill out the csv file template. Then upload the file to the .csv file importer.

4. The importer will walk you through “mapping” the fields in Brightest with the fields in your .csv file. Ensure that the correct fields and required fields are selected.

   1. Not mapped highlighted in gray indicates a field that was not detected in your .csv file. If you would like to add this field, select the field from the drop down menu or add it to your csv file and re-upload it.

   2. Not mapped highlighted in red indicates a required field that was not detected in your csv file. This field must be included, so to continue, select the field from the drop down menu or add it to your .csv file and re-upload it.

5. Once you approve the mapped fields, you have an opportunity to review the uploaded data before saving it to your library. If the information looks correct, click “save” and your emissions factors will be uploaded to your emissions factors library.

Activity and spend-based emissions factors can be uploaded in the same csv file. Be sure to enter the "unit" for activity-based and "currency" for spend-based.

To use the csv file import function, click on the csv file import button to start the process.

Csv file importer walks you through downloading / uploading the csv file template, field mapping and data review.

Csv importer data mapping. Ensure all required and relevant fields are mapped.

After field mapping, you can review your data before saving to your emissions factors library.

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How to use custom emissions factors - Assets

Use your custom emissions factors to calculate the carbon footprint of your assets.

First, navigate to your Sustainability Module.

To add assets use the add tool or upload multiple assets using the csv file import (assets can represent a variety of Scope 1 or Scope 3 items that are controlled or operationally controlled by your company or third parties).

1. In your asset library, locate the asset you want add the carbon footprint.

2. Click on the “Add or Edit Data” button in the column labeled “Footprint”.

3. The footprint data page for that asset will appear.

4. Select the category you want to add data e.g. electricity, heating, water etc.

5. Emissions factors from your library will appear in the drop-down menus in each category. Select the desired emissions factor. Note: The drop-down menu of emissions factors will only be visible once the factors are saved or uploaded to your Activity Emissions Factor Library.

6. If you would like to use the same emissions factor for all years, toggle the switch "on" in the "Apply Emissions Factor to All Years" field.

7. Click “save and update”. Brightest will use your custom emissions factor to calculate the items carbon footprint.

Click "Add" or "Edit Data" to open an asset's footprint page

Once in the desired tab (electricity, heating, etc.), use the emissions factor drop-down menus to select your emissions factor.

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How to use custom emissions factors - Transit

Use your custom emissions factors to calculate the carbon footprint of your transit activity.

First, navigate to your Sustainability Module and click on the “Transit” tab. This will open your transit activity library.

1. Use the add tool “+ Create” to add a new transit activity.

2. The transit activity form will appear. Fill out all relevant information. In the field "Emissions factor" select the desired custom emissions factor from the dropdown menu (if a custom emissions factor is not selected, Brightest will use a default emissions factor).

3. After filling out all relevant information, click “save” and Brightest will calculate the carbon emissions using your custom emissions factor.

Use custom emissions factors for calculating the carbon footprint of your transit activities.

Select your custom emissions factor from the dropdown menu.

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How to use emissions factors - Materials

Use your custom emissions factors to calculate the carbon footprint for your materials.

To create a Material and link it to your emissions factors, go to your account Settings.

1. Navigate to the ESG & Sustainability Settings, then to the “Materials” tab.

2. Use the add tool “+ Add Materials” to create a new material.

3. The materials form will appear. Fill out the form with all relevant information and select your custom emissions factor from the dropdown menu.

4. Once you click “save”, the material will be stored to your materials library.

Navigate to your ESG and sustainability settings to add custom emissions factors to your materials.

Click on the "Materials" tab to enter your materials library.

Fill out the materials form to link a custom emissions factor to a material.

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How to use custom emissions factors - Products

Use your custom emissions factors to calculate the carbon footprint for your products.

To create a Product and calculate its carbon footprint, navigate the Sustainability Module.

1. Navigate to the “Product” tab in the Sustainability Module. Use the add tool “+ Add Product”.

2. The new product form will appear. You have the option to select a product or material-based carbon accounting method.

3. Product-based method: select your custom emissions factor from the dropdown menu or use the green “+” symbol to add an emissions factor.

4. Material-based method: use the “+ Add Material” tool to select your material, its emissions factor and provide the percentage of the material composition in the product.

5. Once you click “create”, the product will be added to your product library.

To enter or edit footprint data, navigate to the “Footprint” column on the far right.

Enter the amount, month and year. Brightest will then calculate the products carbon footprint using the assigned emissions factors.

Navigate to the Product section of the Sustainability Module.

Fill out the new product form.

Select the carbon accounting method you want to use, product or materials.

Select the product if using the product method or select the material(s) if using the material method. Then selec the emissions factor and percentage composition of the material.

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How to use custom emission factors - Spend

Use custom emissions factors to calculate the carbon footprint of spend items and financial transactions.

Navigate to your Sustainability Module, then to the “Spend” tab.

1. Use the add tool “+ Add new” to create a spend item ( use the csv file import).

2. The new spend item form will appear. Fill out all relevant information. You can select the custom emissions factor from the dropdown menu as well as the emissions scope and category.

3. Once you click “save”, the spend item will be added to your spend library and the carbon emissions will be calculated using the selected emissions factor.

Navigate to the Spend section and use the Add tool to create a new spend item.

Fill out the form and select the custom emissions factor from the dropdown menu.

If you don't assign an emissions factor to a transaction, Brightest will automatically recommend an emissions factor from our Emissions Factor Library which you can review and confirm (or reject and assign a better choice).

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