Activities
What an activity needs to get calculated, and how the side panel gets you there.
An activity is one good or service your organization bought, with its spend or quantity, where it was produced, and who supplied it. Nios calculates impacts per activity, so the quality of your activities decides the quality of your results.
What Nios needs
Nios works on an activity in two stages. Sector matching finds its base sector, unless you select one yourself. The calculation then turns it into a result per environmental pressure (metric), such as GHG emissions. Each stage needs different columns.
For sector matching
Activity is required and is the main signal. Supplier helps sector matching find the right sector. See Sector matching.
For calculation
What a metric needs depends on where its factor comes from:
| Factor | Needs on the activity |
|---|---|
| Default factors, from the base sector or another sector you select for the metric | Spend, Currency, Activity year, Country of production |
| Tier A impact input | Nothing |
| Tier B impact input | Quantity and Unit |
| Tier C impact input | Spend and Currency. Also Activity year and Country of production if the impact input has a reference year |
- Activity year and Country of production: Nios adjusts spend for inflation from the activity year to the factor's year, using the production country's series. The country of production also sets the factor geography. Where a dataset has no factor for the country, Nios uses a regional or global one.
- Country used: Optional. Set it to Purchase to take the factor geography from Country of purchase instead.
- Price type: Optional. Default factors assume basic prices, without taxes and margins. Unless the price type is Basic, Nios calculates the activity but flags its default results with "Review price type".
- Spend: An activity without spend isn't counted in intensities, even when an impact input gives it results.
Every other column, such as Entity name, Asset name, Internal ref, Source, and your own custom columns, doesn't change the numbers. Entity name, Asset name, Supplier, and custom columns become sources you can rank impacts by on the Impact dashboard. See Spreadsheet template for every column.
The side panel at a glance
Click Open panel in the top right to open the side panel on Activities.
| Tab | What it's for | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Issues | Find and fix data, matching, and calculation problems | Issues |
| Matching | Review base sectors (Review) and inspect one activity (Activity) | Sector matching |
From import to refined results
Fix errors
Open the Issues tab and fix the errors. An error marks a value Nios can't use, such as an unknown currency. See Data issues.
Match
Click Match to find a base sector for every activity that has none. To match only some activities, select their rows and choose Match row from the row menu. You can also select base sectors yourself. See Sector matching.
Nios then calculates the matched activities in the background, and the status bar shows when it's done.
Review the matches
In Matching > Review, fix activities without a base sector or metric sector, and check the good matches. See Review and improve matches.
Refine single activities
In Matching > Activity, check each metric's result for the selected row. Change the base sector, or a metric's metric sector or country, where they don't fit the purchase. See Sector matching.
Nios recalculates an activity after every change to a value its calculation uses, in the grid or in the side panel. You don't need to start the calculation yourself. If activities stay uncalculated, see Matching issues and Calculation issues.
Status bar
The status bar above the grid shows how far your activities have come and what to do next.
| Status bar | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Import spreadsheet to calculate activities. | The project has no activities yet | Add data, see Import and export |
| 21 activities ready for matching. | These activities have no base sector yet | Click Match or select base sectors, see Sector matching |
| Matching activities to sectors | Sector matching is running | Wait for it to finish |
| Calculating impacts | Nios calculates the activities with a base sector | Wait |
| 18 of 21 activities calculated · 3 errors | Errors keep some activities from being calculated | Fix the errors, see Issues |
| All 21 activities calculated. | Every activity has results | Click View impacts |
Reference other data from a cell
You don't have to leave Activities to add the data an activity points to:
- Entity name: Choose Add entity in the cell to create an organization entity.
- Metric columns: Choose Add impact input or Duplicate in the cell to create an impact input for that metric. See Impact inputs.
A short form opens in place. The new row appears on its Collect page, and the cell selects it.
Tips for better matches
- Be specific: "Rapeseed oil, refined" matches better than "Oil".
- Add the supplier: A supplier name helps tell apart similar purchases, such as freight and warehousing from a logistics company.
- Fill in the country of production: It doesn't change the match, but it decides which country's factors apply.