🛍️Product and Materials Data
If you're producing or sourcing certain types of materials and/or products, you can enter data at the product level to track and calculate product carbon footprints (PCFs).
The most efficient workflow for creating products to track and measure in Brightest:
Do more with Products:
Step 1 : Add Emissions Factors
The first step to calculate emissions for materials and/or products will be to upload or add emissions factors to your emissions factor library.
Navigate to Settings, and select Edit ESG and Sustainability Settings
In the Emissions Factors tab, you can add your own emissions factors or save emissions factors from Brightest's emission factor library.
For more information on Emissions Factors, check out the articles below:
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Step 2 : Add Materials
Next, you'll need to add or upload your materials.
In Settings, select Edit Sustainability and ESG Settings, and then select the Materials Tab
In the Materials Tab, you can add or upload materials that your organization sources, produces, or works with.
You can add materials manually by clicking the "+ Add New" button, or bulk upload materials via CSV (click "+ CSV Import" to download the import template).
Fill out the materials form:
Name
Yes
Enter the name of the material.
Description
No
Enter a description or any necessary documentation for the material.
Emissions Factor
No, but necessary if you would like to calculate carbon emissions
Select the name of the material's emissions factor that you uploaded or added to your Activity Emissions Factor Library in the previous step
Packaging
No
Toggle "on" if this material is used for packaging
Recyclable
No
Toggle "on" if this material is recyclable
Made from Recycled Materials
No
Toggle "on" if this material is made from recyclable materials
Recycled Content Percentage
Yes
Enter the percentage of the recycled content in this material. If the material doesn't contain recycled content, enter "0"
Made from Sustainable Materials
No
Toggle "on" if this material is made from made from sustainable materials
Sustainable Content Percentage
Yes
Enter the percentage of sustainable material content If the material isn't made of sustainable materials, enter "0"
Biogenic
No
Toggle "on" if this material contains biogenic carbon.
Biogenic Emissions Factor
No
If this material does contain biogenic carbon, select the biogenic emissions factor that you uploaded or added to your Emissions Factor Library in the previous step
Certifications
No
Use the drop-down menu to select any certifications related to this material. Note: Certifications need to be uploaded in the Certifications tab of your Governance Dashboard in order to be visible in the drop-down menu.
Partners
No
Use the drop-down menu to assign this material to a specific supply chain partner. Note: Partners need to have been added/invited in the Partners Module in order to visible in the drop-down menu.
Meta Tags
No
Use the drop-down menu to assign tags to this material for easy filtering and organization. Note: Tags need to have been created in the tag management area in order to visible in the drop-down menu.
Documents
No
Upload any documents related to this material.
Origin Countries
No
Use the drop-down menu to select the origin country(ies) of this material.
HS Code
No
If your material has a Harmonized System code for EUDR, CBAM or other regulatory compliance (only required for regulated commodities), select it here.
Click "Save"
If you need to edit the data for an existing material, click on the name of the material, or select the 
icon next to the material.
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Step 3 : Add Products
To track and calculate product carbon footprints:
Navigate to your Sustainability Module, and select the Products Tab
Product Item Fields
Below are descriptions for the fields for the product add tool and CSV file template.
Name
Yes
Name of the product
SKU
Yes
Unique identifier for the product - likely how you identify the product internally, but if you don't have a code for each product internally you could create a naming method
Description
No
You can add a description of product
Link
No
You can add an external link to product
Partners
No
You can link the product to a partner from your Brightest partner directory
Meta Tags
No
You can tag the product with any meta tags from your tag library
Assets
No
You can link the product to an asset in your asset library
Measurement Unit
Yes
You can decide how you want to measure the product emissions. You can measure by: - Units - Weight (g, kg, ton, MT, lb) - Volume (gallon, liter, ft^3, m^3, y^3) - Spend Amount (and option to select currency)
Weight Unit
Only if you're measuring your product in weight
Select the weight unit used to measure the product
Spend Currency
Only if you're measuring your product in the monetary amount spent
Select the necessary currency
Volume Unit
Only if your measuring your product in volume
Select the volume unit used to measure the product
Carbon Accounting Method
Yes
You can decide if you would like to measure emissions at the product level or the material level For instance, you may choose to assign an emissions factor to the entire product if you have completed an LCA, or you may assign factors to individual materials and specify the percentage each contributes to the product.
Multiply Factor Unit
No
If you would like to measure your product in more than one way, you can select the secondary measurement unit you would like to use. For example, if your main measurement unit is 'Unit,' you can additionally define a weight unit, allowing you to measure the product by weight as well.
Multiply Factor
No
If you've chosen to measure your product in a secondary way, here you'll enter the factor used to make that calculation. For example, if your primary unit of measurement is "Unit," but you've also chosen "kg" as the "Multiple Factor Unit," in this field, you'll enter the number of kilograms in one unit of the product.
Documents
No
You can upload any relevant documents to the product
Emissions Factor
Yes
Select your emissions factor if you are using the product for the carbon accounting method *Note: The emissions factor choices in the drop-down menu are dependent on the measurement unit. If the emissions factor that you selected does not have the same measurement unit, it will not appear in the menu. If you are using the individual materials for carbon accounting, you'll need to add the material(s) that make up the product and assign the percentage of the material present in the product.
Using the Add Tool
Select the green "+ Add Product" button to open the product item form.
Fill out the form with all relevant and required information. Once you click "Save" the product will be added to your products library.
Uploading Products via CSV
Select the gray "+ CSV Import" button to open the CSV importer.
Download the CSV file template and fill it out.
Upload the filled out template to the CSV importer and follow the steps for field mapping and data review. Once you click "Save" the data will be saved to your products library.
When filling out the CSV template, you can add more columns for materials, material percentage, and material emissions factor to accommodate products with multiple materials.
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Step 4: Add or Upload Product Footprint Data
Select "Create or Edit Footprint" in the Footprint Column of your products library.
In the "Edit Footprint" Tab: you can add the amount of products produced or sold throughout the year, as well as basic financial information.
Product Footprint Data Fields:
Amount
Yes
Amount of product sold or manufactured during this period. Note: This is the amount that will be used to calculate carbon emissions
Month
Yes
Year
Yes
Units Sold
No
Enter the number of units sold during this period.
Retail Price
No
Average retail selling price (ASP) during this period
Whole Sale Price
No
Average wholesale price of the product during this period
Whole Sale Percentage
No
Percentage of units sold through wholesale channels vs. retail
Unit Cogs
No
Cost of goods sold per unit
Packaging Cost
No
Average packaging cost per unit during this period
Click "Save" or "Update"
You can also bulk upload product footprint data via CSV. To do this, click the "CSV Upload" button, download the Brightest template, add your data, then upload.
Assign GHG Allocation Percentages – In the GHG Allocation tab, assign the appropriate percentage of product emissions to each relevant emissions scope category, based on your emissions factors and carbon accounting structure. Brightest provides the same default percentages for all products, but you should update these to reflect your own products and data.
Product GHG scope categories:
Emissions from purchased goods and services
Upstream transportation and distribution emissions
Downstream transportation and distribution emissions
Processing of sold products
Use of sold products
End-of-life treatment of products
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Product Insights
In the Insights tab of the Sustainability Module, you can find graphs and analytics related to your product data.
In the Insights > Products Tab, view charts related to your product emissions.
In the Insights > Financial & ROI Tab, view sustainability information for your product(s) based on the material data you entered (Step 2), as well as financial analysis if you entered basic finacial information with your product footprint data (Step 4).
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Life Cycle Assessment Documentation and Environmental Product Declarations
Document your product's lifecycle assessment and create EPDs in Brightest.
After following the initial steps to define your materials, create your products, and calculate product emissions, use the following process to generate your LCA documentation and EPDs.
Once your product is created, the "Design Specs" button will appear next to it. Click on the "Add" or "Edit Specs" button to enter your product information.
Complete the Product Specs form:
Product Type
No
Type or category of this product
Declared Unit
Yes
The declared unit for the product (e.g., "1 unit", "1 m²", "1 kg"). This should always be 1 quantity of the product
Declared Unit Measurement Unit
Yes
The measurement unit for the declared unit (area, volume, or weight)
Declared Unit Mass
Yes
The mass of one declared unit of this product (excluding packaging)
Declared Unit Mass Unit
Yes
The declared unit mass or weight (e.g., kg, g, MT)
Declared Packaging Mass
Yes
The mass of any packaging for one declared unit of this product
Declared Packaging Mass Unit
Yes
The unit for packaging mass or weight (e.g., kg, g, MT)
Place of Production City
No
City where the product is produced or manufactured
Place of Production Country
No
Country where the product is produced or manufactured
Product Image
No
Image of the product (max 5 MB file size)
Reference Service Life Years
Yes
Expected service life of the product in years
Reach Substances
No
REACH substances information if this product contains any substances of very high concern (SVHC). For more see: https://echa.europa.eu/candidate-list-table
Lifecycle Flow Image
No
Lifecycle flow diagram image (max 5 MB file size)
Documents
No
Upload any relevant documents
Places of Installation Use
No
Countries or regions where the product is installed, distributed, or used (list one or multiple countries or regions, separated by commas)
Attachments
No
Attach any documents currently uploaded to Brightest in the Documents tab of the Governance Dashboard.
Click "Save"
You can also import design specs for multiple products using the "Import" button. Download our template, enter your product information, and upload.
Once your product design specs are entered, the "Create" or "View EPD" button will appear in the EPD & LCA column next to the product(s). Click on this button to enter your LCA or EPD information.
Complete the EPD/LCA Information Form:
Period Start
Yes
Start date of the EPD validity period
Period End
No
End date of the EPD validity period (defaults to 1 year minus 1 day from start date if not provided)
Sector
Yes
Industry sector classification for this EPD
Reference Standard
No
Reference standards (e.g., "ISO 14025", "EN 15804").
Scope
No
EPD scope (e.g., "Cradle to Gate", "A4", "B1").
Author
Yes
Name and organization of the person, team, or entity who authored this EPD.
Verification
No
Third-party verification body or verifier name and information (if applicable)
Averaging
No
Indicates if this EPD uses averaged or grouped data from multiple production sites or time periods
Manufacturing and Packaging Comments
No
Comments and methodology explanation related to manufacturing and packaging (A1-A3)
Transportation and Installation Comments
No
Comments and methodology explanation related to transportation and installation (A4-A5)
Product Use and Maintenance Comments
No
Comments and methodology explanation related to product use and maintenance (B1-B7)
End of Life Comments
No
Comments and methodology explanation related to end-of-life treatment and disposal (C1-C4, D)
Data Estimates and Assumptions
No
Documentation of data estimates, assumptions, limitations, and other relevant information or disclosures
Appendix
No
Additional appendix information, documentation, or supplementary data
Attachments
No
Upload any relevant documentation
LCA Module Factors
No
Select LCA factors for each lifecycle module included in your EPD scope. Only factors with LCA data will be available for selection. These factors should already be uploaded to your LCA emissions factor library. Please note: the factors you apply here are for documentation purposes. The factors you applied upon creating your products in Brightest are the ones used for calculating product carbon emissions.
Attachments
No
Select any relevant documents that have already been uploaded to Brightest in the Documents tab of the Governance Dashboard.
Click "Save"
You can also import LCA/EPD information for multiple products using the "Import" button. Download our template, enter your product information, and upload.
You can then click "Generate PDF Report" to create a LCA/EDP report that can be downloaded and shared as needed.
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