Smart emission factor module

In addition to the manual entry of individual data and activities, the Climate Hub provides an AI feature. The smart emission factor module automatically analyzes content and links it to the most suitable emission factors.

The AI function can be used in two ways:

combined with the specific CSV upload
via the activity-based search

1. CSV upload

If an activity is entered via the stage-specific CSV upload without an emission factor, the Climate Hub can either

create the activity with an emission factor set to “zero” (which can be manually added later), or
automatically link it to a suitable emission factor using AI.

Rules for using the AI function with CSV Upload

Name: can be provided in German or English, or in any of the following languages: Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Polish, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Mandarin Chinese; automatically translated into English if needed.
Emission factor and emission factor unit: must remain empty so that the AI can determine the correct values.
Value: optional entry
Unit: optional entry
If a unit that is not AI-compatible (e.g. %) is specified, the activity will be created with an emission factor of 0 and will be marked with the following icon. This activity will not be included in the AI search and must be edited manually afterwards.
ISO country code: optional entry, a two-character ISO country code based on the ISO 3166-1 standard.

If no matching emission factor is available for the specific country, the system will automatically fall back to a broader geographical region. It is recommended to cross-check the country entered in the CSV with the region shown in the detail view. The detail view can be opened via the AI suggested button.
Year: The reporting year is automatically applied; no input is required.
System boundary (LCA): optional entry, selectable from the following predefined list:

agriculture	fuel_upstream-manufacturing-use_phase	transport
biogenic_co2_combustion	fuel_upstream-plant_amortization	transport_to_manufacturing
carbon_storage	fuel_upstream-plant_amortization-fuel_combustion-fugitive_emissions	transport_to_site
carbon_storage-cradle_to_gate	fuel_upstream-plant_amortization-fuel_combustion-transport_and_delivery	transport_to_waste_processing
consumption	fugitive_release	unknown
cradle_to_farm_gate	fugitive_release_combined	upstream
cradle_to_gate	fugitive_release_non_kyoto	upstream-electricity_consumption
cradle_to_gate_inc_capital_endogenization	gate_to_grave	upstream-electricity_generation
cradle_to_grave	indirect	upstream-electricity_generation-transmission_and_distribution
cradle_to_plant_gate	installation	upstream-end_of_life
cradle_to_processing_gate	land_use_change	upstream-fuel_combustion
cradle_to_shelf	maintenance	upstream-fuel_combustion-fugitive_emissions
deconstruction	manufacturing	upstream-manufacturing
direct	manufacturing-electricity_consumption	upstream-manufacturing-fuel_combustion
disposal	na	upstream-manufacturing-use_phase
downstream	operational_energy_use	upstream-transmission_and_distribution
electricity_consumption	operational_water_use	upstream-use_phase
electricity_consumption-fuel_combustion	packaging	upstream-use_phase-transport
electricity_generation	plant_amortization	upstream-use_phase-transport-transmission_and_distribution
electricity_generation-transmission_and_distribution	processing	use
end_of_life	production	use_phase
fabrication	raw_material_supply	use_phase_carbon_removal
farm	recycling	waste_processing
farm_input	refurbishment	well_to_propeller
feed	repair	well_to_tank
fuel_combustion	replacement	well_to_tank-electricity_generation
fuel_combustion-electricity_generation-transmission_and_distribution	retail	well_to_tank-electricity_generation-transmission_and_distribution
fuel_upstream-fuel_combustion	supermarket_and_distribution	well_to_tank-plant_amortization
fuel_upstream-fuel_combustion-fugitive_emissions	tank_to_wheel	well_to_tank-plant_amortization-fuel_combustion-transmission_and_distribution
fuel_upstream-fuel_combustion-transport_and_delivery	total	well_to_tank-transmission_and_distribution
fuel_upstream-manufacturing	transformation	well_to_wheel
fuel_upstream-manufacturing-fuel_combustion	transmission_and_distribution

Upload succesful

After a successful upload, the AI automatically links appropriate emission factors to the entries and displays them in the Climate Hub. AI suggestions are marked with this button:

To minimize potential risks of using AI, each suggested factor should be checked for accuracy.
If no emission factor is found, clicking the error button will display two messages:

No AI match: The factor could not be determined by the AI. Changing the name or reducing filters (e.g. unit type, ISO country code) may improve the match rate.
Server error: A query is currently not possible. Please try again later.

Adjusting suggestions

If a suggestion is not suitable, it can be modified using the AI suggested button. For the selected AI match, four alternative suggestions are also displayed, which can be adopted. The green icon indicates the high mapping quality between the entered activity and the displayed emission factor, while an orange icon indicates low mapping quality.

There is a special case for AI suggestions of the Currency type. In this case, only alternative suggestions with the same currency are shown, so there may be fewer than five results.

Alternatively, it is still possible to create a completely new factor through spend-based or activity-based search. Please note that doing so will completely delete any AI-generated suggestions, which cannot be retrieved afterwards.

2. Activity-based search

As before, an emission factor can be directly searched for and applied via the Add own activity button and the activity-based search - based on an exact text match.

In AI mode, five emission factors are now suggested that logically match the entered keyword.

Keyword: can be provided in German or English, or in any of the following languages: Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Polish, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Mandarin Chinese; automatically translated into English if needed.
Region, Year, Unit Type, LCA Activity: selectable via dropdown menus.

After confirming via Suggest smart emission factor, the five best suggestions are displayed. A suitable factor can be selected and imported. Please note that once a factor is applied, the AI logic is reset. This means the remaining four suggestions are not saved, and there is no longer any connection to the original AI search.

3. General

Display of emissions factors

The emission factors used and their sources are transparently reported in the corresponding PDF report.

Which databases does the AI use?

The AI-powered emission factor search accesses all databases available through the external Climatiq database. A list of these databases can be found here, and full documentation of the interface is available here.

Risks when using the AI function

Using the AI-assisted emission factor search may lead to inaccurate or incomplete results, especially if keywords are unclear or ambiguous. Regional differences or newer data sources may also be disregarded. Therefore, all AI suggestions should be carefully reviewed before being used in reports or decision-making. Responsibility for the final selection of the emission factor always lies with the users.