Public Transparency
Why Evidence-Based Climate Reporting Builds Trust
How attaching evidence to every data point transforms climate reports from marketing claims into credible, auditable documents.
Climate reports are only as trustworthy as the evidence behind them. A number on a page means nothing without a traceable path back to the invoices, meter readings, and calculations that produced it.
The Trust Problem
Public trust in climate claims is declining. The term "greenwashing" has entered mainstream vocabulary. The root cause: most climate data is presented as a final number without showing the work.
What Evidence-Based Reporting Looks Like
- Source documents: Utility bills, fuel receipts, procurement invoices
- Activity data: Quantified activity extracted from sources
- Emission factors: The specific factor, its source, version, and vintage
- Calculations: The formula used
- Methodology notes: Assumptions and boundary decisions
- Change log: Who entered the data, when, and modifications
Benefits Beyond Compliance
- Error detection: Anomalies become visible when data links to evidence
- Year-over-year consistency: Documented methodologies ensure like-for-like comparison
- Stakeholder confidence: Councils, investors, and the public support action backed by data
- Regulatory readiness: CSRD requires limited assurance — evidence makes this achievable