How Persefoni works

Requirement evaluated: The platform must calculate a full Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse-gas inventory aligned to the GHG Protocol, explicitly covering the hard Scope 3 categories (purchased goods and services, upstream and downstream transportation, use of sold products, investments, and employee commute) without requiring manual spreadsheet assembly. Each category calculation must identify whether the underlying activity data is primary (supplier-measured) or estimated (spend-based or average-data method), with that distinction surfaced in the output.

For a publicly traded company replacing a consultant-built spreadsheet with an auditable inventory, Persefoni's integrated Emissions Calculation Engine ingests activity and spend data and calculates a full Scope 1, 2, and 3 inventory without manual spreadsheet assembly. <cite index="12-1">The engine is aligned with both the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), leverages a global set of out-of-the-box emission factors, and allows creation of custom emission factors unique to the business.</cite> All 15 GHG Protocol Scope 3 categories are pre-built into the platform. …

Limitations: The AI-powered natural language emission factor mapping for spend files (which would further automate Category 1 spend-based calculations) is <cite index="5d7bd313-950f-48fb-a5d5-95d0b52d1bf9">labeled 'Coming Soon'</cite>, so buyers relying on automated spend-file-to-emission-factor mapping at scale today will need to …

Requirement evaluated: The platform must operate at a cadence faster than the buyer's current annual refresh cycle, supporting at minimum quarterly inventory closes with the ability to produce interim snapshots on demand, so that management and assurance providers can review near-final figures before the annual reporting deadline rather than receiving a single year-end output from a consultant.

For a publicly traded company replacing an annual consultant spreadsheet, Persefoni's Footprint Ledger is designed to support sub-annual inventory management in a way that directly mirrors financial accounting cadences. The platform's pricing page explicitly lists 'Calculation Frequency' as a differentiating feature, with advanced and enterprise tiers offering 'Custom & Real Time' calculation frequency rather than the base plan's annual-only setting. Operationally, the product page documents period-level locking ('Lock reporting periods and approve data before it's merged into your Footprint Ledger') …

Limitations: The 'Custom & Real Time' calculation frequency is available on the advanced/enterprise tier, not the base plan, so the buyer must be on the appropriate plan to unlock sub-annual closes; the base plan is annual-only. …

Requirement evaluated: The platform must produce framework-mapped disclosure outputs that simultaneously satisfy the GHG Protocol inventory requirements, CSRD/ESRS E1 climate disclosures for EU operations, SEC climate-disclosure rule data points, and California SB 253/SB 261 reporting requirements. Mappings must be maintained by the vendor as regulations evolve, and the output must identify which data points satisfy which framework obligation to support the buyer's multi-regime compliance posture as a publicly traded company.

As a publicly traded company managing simultaneous obligations under GHG Protocol, CSRD/ESRS E1, SEC climate rules, and California SB 253/SB 261, you are the exact buyer Persefoni markets to. The platform's core mechanism begins with its GHG Protocol-aligned Footprint Ledger, which calculates Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions and provides the single auditable inventory that feeds all downstream framework outputs. On top of that inventory, Persefoni has introduced a named 'Sustainability Reporting' feature (included in Pro and Advanced tiers, no additional cost) …

Limitations: The documented mechanism delivers framework-specific outputs in parallel rather than a unified cross-walk that explicitly tags each calculated data point to simultaneous ESRS E1 paragraph citations, SEC Reg S-K line items, and SB 253 categories in a single view; the buyer's requirement for data-point-level identificati …

Requirement evaluated: The platform must calculate a full Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse-gas inventory aligned to the GHG Protocol, explicitly covering the hard Scope 3 categories (purchased goods and services, upstream and downstream transportation, use of sold products, investments, and employee commute) without requiring manual spreadsheet assembly. Each category calculation must identify whether the underlying activity data is primary (supplier-measured) or estimated (spend-based or average-data method), with that distinction surfaced in the output.

For a publicly traded company replacing a consultant-built spreadsheet with an auditable inventory, Persefoni's integrated Emissions Calculation Engine ingests activity and spend data and calculates a full Scope 1, 2, and 3 inventory without manual spreadsheet assembly. <cite index="12-1">The engine is aligned with both the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), leverages a global set of out-of-the-box emission factors, and allows creation of custom emission factors unique to the business.</cite> All 15 GHG Protocol Scope 3 categories are pre-built into the platform. …

Limitations: The AI-powered natural language emission factor mapping for spend files (which would further automate Category 1 spend-based calculations) is <cite index="5d7bd313-950f-48fb-a5d5-95d0b52d1bf9">labeled 'Coming Soon'</cite>, so buyers relying on automated spend-file-to-emission-factor mapping at scale today will need to …

Requirement evaluated: The platform must maintain a complete, immutable audit trail covering every data input, emission factor selection, calculation step, methodology change, and user action, sufficient to support third-party limited assurance engagements without supplemental documentation from the buyer. The audit trail must be exportable in a format that an external assurance provider can independently review, directly addressing the buyer's stated problem that the current spreadsheet is not auditable.

For a publicly traded company replacing an un-auditable consultant spreadsheet, Persefoni's Footprint Ledger is the core mechanism. The platform's named 'Activity & audit logs' feature records every data addition, modification, and deletion alongside the identity of the user who made the change, directly addressing the buyer's stated problem of non-auditable spreadsheet processes. …

Limitations: Persefoni's public documentation describes the audit log in terms of user-stamped add/modify/delete events and per-calculation factor visibility, but does not publicly document cryptographic immutability (e.g., hash-chaining or write-protected append-only storage) …

Requirement evaluated: The platform must apply emission factors from maintained, versioned libraries and document the methodology selection for each factor, including the factor source, version date, and the rationale for choosing it over alternatives. This must replace the undocumented factor application in the current spreadsheet model and be accessible to third-party assurance providers without requiring a consultant intermediary.

For a publicly traded company replacing an undocumented consultant spreadsheet, Persefoni addresses this requirement through two connected mechanisms. First, its Emissions Calculation Engine and Footprint Ledger (also referenced as the CO2e Ledger) expose accounting frameworks, calculation formulas, conversion factors, emission factors, and Global Warming Potential on a per-calculation level, meaning every emissions line item is traceable to the specific factor, methodology, and source used at the time of calculation. …

Limitations: Public product documentation confirms per-calculation visibility of emission factors, sources, and frameworks, but does not explicitly describe whether prior-period calculations are locked to the factor version active at calculation time or whether library updates can silently affect historical inventory records; buyer …

Requirement evaluated: The platform must maintain a complete, immutable audit trail covering every data input, emission factor selection, calculation step, methodology change, and user action, sufficient to support third-party limited assurance engagements without supplemental documentation from the buyer. The audit trail must be exportable in a format that an external assurance provider can independently review, directly addressing the buyer's stated problem that the current spreadsheet is not auditable.

For a publicly traded company replacing an un-auditable consultant spreadsheet, Persefoni's Footprint Ledger is the core mechanism. The platform's named 'Activity & audit logs' feature records every data addition, modification, and deletion alongside the identity of the user who made the change, directly addressing the buyer's stated problem of non-auditable spreadsheet processes. …

Limitations: Persefoni's public documentation describes the audit log in terms of user-stamped add/modify/delete events and per-calculation factor visibility, but does not publicly document cryptographic immutability (e.g., hash-chaining or write-protected append-only storage) …

Requirement evaluated: The platform must apply emission factors from maintained, versioned libraries and document the methodology selection for each factor, including the factor source, version date, and the rationale for choosing it over alternatives. This must replace the undocumented factor application in the current spreadsheet model and be accessible to third-party assurance providers without requiring a consultant intermediary.

For a publicly traded company replacing an undocumented consultant spreadsheet, Persefoni addresses this requirement through two connected mechanisms. First, its Emissions Calculation Engine and Footprint Ledger (also referenced as the CO2e Ledger) expose accounting frameworks, calculation formulas, conversion factors, emission factors, and Global Warming Potential on a per-calculation level, meaning every emissions line item is traceable to the specific factor, methodology, and source used at the time of calculation. …

Limitations: Public product documentation confirms per-calculation visibility of emission factors, sources, and frameworks, but does not explicitly describe whether prior-period calculations are locked to the factor version active at calculation time or whether library updates can silently affect historical inventory records; buyer …

Requirement evaluated: The platform must support science-based or internally defined decarbonization target setting, allow the buyer to track actual emissions trajectories against those targets by scope and business unit, and model abatement scenarios. This capability must be connected to the same verified inventory data used for external disclosure, so that target progress reporting is consistent with the publicly disclosed figures required under the SEC and CSRD regimes.

For a publicly traded company needing target progress to reconcile exactly with SEC and CSRD disclosed figures, Persefoni addresses this through two connected components that both draw from the same Footprint Ledger inventory. First, the 'Reduce Footprint' feature, embedded in the core Climate Management and Accounting Platform (CMAP), lets users model percent-reduction scenarios across Scopes 1, 2, and 3 individually, visualize year-over-year progress against a target reduction goal, and identify which footprint sources offer the greatest abatement opportunity. …

Limitations: Publicly available documentation for CTM and Reduce Footprint describes tracking against a 'corporate target' and scope-level decomposition, but does not explicitly confirm that sub-targets can be configured at the business-unit or subsidiary hierarchy level and rolled up to the consolidated group total; buyers with ES …

Requirement evaluated: The platform must support science-based or internally defined decarbonization target setting, allow the buyer to track actual emissions trajectories against those targets by scope and business unit, and model abatement scenarios. This capability must be connected to the same verified inventory data used for external disclosure, so that target progress reporting is consistent with the publicly disclosed figures required under the SEC and CSRD regimes.

For a publicly traded company needing target progress to reconcile exactly with SEC and CSRD disclosed figures, Persefoni addresses this through two connected components that both draw from the same Footprint Ledger inventory. First, the 'Reduce Footprint' feature, embedded in the core Climate Management and Accounting Platform (CMAP), lets users model percent-reduction scenarios across Scopes 1, 2, and 3 individually, visualize year-over-year progress against a target reduction goal, and identify which footprint sources offer the greatest abatement opportunity. …

Limitations: Publicly available documentation for CTM and Reduce Footprint describes tracking against a 'corporate target' and scope-level decomposition, but does not explicitly confirm that sub-targets can be configured at the business-unit or subsidiary hierarchy level and rolled up to the consolidated group total; buyers with ES …

Requirement evaluated: The platform must ingest activity and spend data from at least four named source systems: utility bills, ERP spend exports, corporate travel systems, and supplier survey responses. Each data connection must maintain a documented lineage record showing the source, ingestion timestamp, and transformation applied, replacing the current consultant-built annual spreadsheet with a continuously updatable data pipeline.

For a publicly traded company replacing a consultant-built spreadsheet with a continuously auditable pipeline, Persefoni's Integration Hub provides named connectors to each of the four required source types: 9,000+ utility providers for Scope 1/2 consumption data, SAP Concur and Navan/TripActions for corporate travel activity, NetSuite and SAP Ariba/Coupa for ERP spend exports, and the Scope 3 Data Exchange module for supplier survey responses. Once connections are authenticated, the platform automatically extracts activity data on a configurable cadence and calculates footprints. …

Limitations: The documented audit log captures user-action timestamps and per-calculation factor transparency, but available public documentation does not explicitly confirm that connector-level ingestion events are stamped and stored as individual provenance records per raw activity row (versus per-import batch or per-user action) …

Requirement evaluated: The platform must ingest activity and spend data from at least four named source systems: utility bills, ERP spend exports, corporate travel systems, and supplier survey responses. Each data connection must maintain a documented lineage record showing the source, ingestion timestamp, and transformation applied, replacing the current consultant-built annual spreadsheet with a continuously updatable data pipeline.

For a publicly traded company replacing a consultant-built spreadsheet with a continuously auditable pipeline, Persefoni's Integration Hub provides named connectors to each of the four required source types: 9,000+ utility providers for Scope 1/2 consumption data, SAP Concur and Navan/TripActions for corporate travel activity, NetSuite and SAP Ariba/Coupa for ERP spend exports, and the Scope 3 Data Exchange module for supplier survey responses. Once connections are authenticated, the platform automatically extracts activity data on a configurable cadence and calculates footprints. …

Limitations: The documented audit log captures user-action timestamps and per-calculation factor transparency, but available public documentation does not explicitly confirm that connector-level ingestion events are stamped and stored as individual provenance records per raw activity row (versus per-import batch or per-user action) …

Requirement evaluated: The platform must include a supplier data collection module that enables the buyer to send data requests to suppliers, receive primary emissions data or product-level carbon footprints directly into the platform, and distinguish that primary data from spend-based estimates in Scope 3 Category 1 and other relevant categories. This replaces ad hoc supplier survey management and is required to improve data quality for the hard Scope 3 categories beyond the spend-based default.

For a publicly traded company moving off a consultant spreadsheet and toward assurance-grade Scope 3 reporting, Persefoni addresses this requirement through two integrated, natively built components: the Scope 3 Data Exchange module and Persefoni Pro. The buyer's sustainability team initiates the workflow inside the platform by sending auditable data requests to suppliers; suppliers do not need to be existing Persefoni customers, and those who have never calculated a footprint can respond by creating a free Persefoni Pro account to measure and share their own emissions. …

Limitations: Published documentation describes requests as 'auditable' and the workflow as replacing spend-based estimates, but granular technical detail on exactly how the platform tags incoming supplier responses as 'primary data' versus retained spend-based estimates in the calculation engine (the precise provenance distinction …

Requirement evaluated: The platform must include a supplier data collection module that enables the buyer to send data requests to suppliers, receive primary emissions data or product-level carbon footprints directly into the platform, and distinguish that primary data from spend-based estimates in Scope 3 Category 1 and other relevant categories. This replaces ad hoc supplier survey management and is required to improve data quality for the hard Scope 3 categories beyond the spend-based default.

For a publicly traded company moving off a consultant spreadsheet and toward assurance-grade Scope 3 reporting, Persefoni addresses this requirement through two integrated, natively built components: the Scope 3 Data Exchange module and Persefoni Pro. The buyer's sustainability team initiates the workflow inside the platform by sending auditable data requests to suppliers; suppliers do not need to be existing Persefoni customers, and those who have never calculated a footprint can respond by creating a free Persefoni Pro account to measure and share their own emissions. …

Limitations: Published documentation describes requests as 'auditable' and the workflow as replacing spend-based estimates, but granular technical detail on exactly how the platform tags incoming supplier responses as 'primary data' versus retained spend-based estimates in the calculation engine (the precise provenance distinction …