# How Nios works (/docs/how-nios-works)
Nios measures the environmental impacts of the goods and services your organization buys, from raw material extraction to the supplier's gate. You bring spend or quantity data, and Nios calculates environmental pressures, biodiversity impact in PDF·yr, and climate impact in t CO₂e.
## The workflow [#the-workflow]
### Collect [#collect]
Add your activities, the organization behind them, and your own impact inputs. See [Collect data](/docs/collect/overview).
### Match [#match]
Each activity gets a base sector. You select it yourself, or **Match** suggests one for every activity that has none. See [Sector matching](/docs/collect/sector-matching).
### Calculate [#calculate]
Nios calculates an activity in the background once it has a base sector, and again after you edit it. The status bar shows the progress. See [Methodology](/docs/methodology).
### Analyze [#analyze]
Find hotspots on the Nature and Climate dashboards, check the Results sheet, and export. See [Measure impacts](/docs/impacts/overview).
## The side panel [#the-side-panel]
**Open panel** in the top right of a page opens tools for that page. Activities has the **Issues** and **Matching** tabs, Organization and Impact inputs have **Issues**, and Impacts has **Coverage** and **Method**.
## Key concepts [#key-concepts]
| Concept | What it means in Nios | Where you see it |
| ----------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| **Project** | One organization's purchases for one reporting period, such as a year or a quarter. Data, settings, and results belong to a project. | Project selector, [Projects](/docs/projects/overview) |
| **Activity** | One good or service you bought: what it is, which supplier you bought it from, where it was produced, and how much, as spend with currency or quantity with unit. | [Activities](/docs/collect/activities) |
| **Organization entity** | A legal entity, site, or unit of your organization. Assign activities to entities to see impacts per entity. | [Organization](/docs/collect/organization) |
| **Metric** | One of the 17 environmental pressures Nios calculates for every activity, such as GHG emissions, land occupation, or water consumption. | [Metrics reference](/docs/methodology/metrics) |
| **Base sector** | The economic sector an activity belongs to, from HS/CPC product codes, GLORIA 120, or EXIOBASE 200. Nios derives the best sector for each metric from it, the **metric sector**, and uses that sector's default factor. | [Sector matching](/docs/collect/sector-matching) |
| **Impact input** | Your own result or factor for one metric, which replaces the Nios default. Tier A is a direct result, Tier B a factor per quantity, Tier C a factor per spend. | [Impact inputs](/docs/collect/impact-inputs) |
| **Pressure** | A metric's midpoint result, the environmental pressure before its effect on biodiversity, such as GHG emissions in kg CO₂e, land occupation in m², or water consumption in m³ H₂Oe. | [Metrics reference](/docs/methodology/metrics) |
| **Nature impact** | Biodiversity impact in PDF·yr, the potentially disappeared fraction of species over a year. Nios derives it from pressures with LC-Impact and groups it into Ecosystem Use, Climate Change, Resource Exploitation, and Pollution. | Impacts, Nature lens |
| **Climate impact** | GHG emissions in t CO₂e, shown as Total emissions. | Impacts, Climate lens |
| **Intensity** | Impact per unit of spend in the project's base currency, for example PDF·yr/EUR. Only activities with spend count. | Impacts, Display: Intensity |
The [Methodology](/docs/methodology) explains each calculation step, the datasets, and the limitations.
Organize data and results by reporting period.
Import, prepare, and match your activities.
Read, compare, and export your results.
How every number is calculated.
# Quickstart (/docs)
Nios measures the nature and climate impacts of the goods and services your organization buys (Scope 3.1, purchased goods and services). This quickstart takes you from sign-in to exported results with your own purchase data.
Each step shows what it looks like for **Aamu Foods**, a fictional Nordic food company that measures the impacts of its 2025 purchases.
## Set up [#set-up]
Create your organization and a project for the reporting period you want to measure.
### Sign in and create your organization [#sign-in-and-create-your-organization]
Go to [app.nios.earth](https://app.nios.earth) and sign in with Google or your email address. With an email address, you sign in with a code that Nios sends you. The first time, create your organization with a name and, optionally, a logo.
### Create a project [#create-a-project]
On the **Projects** page, click **Create project**. Enter a name and the reporting period. Aamu Foods names its project "Aamu Foods FY2025" with the reporting period "2025".
A project holds the data and results of one reporting period. See [Projects](/docs/projects/overview).
## Collect data [#collect-data]
Bring your purchases into Nios, from a spreadsheet or directly in the app, match them to sectors, and refine the results per activity. See [Collect data](/docs/collect/overview).
### Add your purchases [#add-your-purchases]
Add one row per purchase on **Activities**: at least the **Activity**, plus **Spend** and **Currency**, or **Quantity** and **Unit**. For spend, also add the **Activity year** and **Country of production**. A **Supplier** helps sector matching.
Use a spreadsheet for many purchases, for example an export from your ERP system. Click **Get started** to open **Add data**, then **Download** the **Spreadsheet template** and fill in the **Activities** sheet. Aamu Foods fills it with its 2025 purchases:
| Activity | Supplier | Activity year | Country of production | Spend | Currency |
| ----------------- | ------------------- | ------------- | --------------------- | ------- | -------- |
| Wheat flour | Kantele Mills | 2025 | Finland | 2450000 | EUR |
| Palm oil, refined | Sumatra Agri Oils | 2025 | Indonesia | 1350000 | USD |
| Cocoa mass | Côte Cacao Partners | 2025 | Côte d'Ivoire | 2100000 | USD |
The template uses the same sheets, columns, and lists as Nios, so the import reads it without any column mapping. Drop the filled template on **Add data**, or click **Choose file**. Nios imports Aamu Foods' 21 activities.
To try the workflow before you prepare your own file, click **Use** next to one of the examples in the same dialog. See [Import and export](/docs/collect/import-and-export) and [Spreadsheet template](/docs/collect/spreadsheet-template).
Enter purchases directly in the grid, for example to add a few purchases or complete an import. Click **Insert row** at the bottom of the grid and type the values into the cells. You can also paste values copied from a spreadsheet into existing rows.
Your changes save automatically. See [Activities](/docs/collect/activities) for what each column does.
### Fix errors [#fix-errors]
Nios checks your purchases when you import them and as you edit them. If it finds problems, the status bar shows errors. Open the side panel with **Open panel** in the top right and choose the **Issues** tab.
Two of Aamu Foods' rows have "Finnland" as country of production. The **Issues** tab groups them and suggests Finland, and **Fix** corrects both rows at once. See [Issues](/docs/collect/issues).
### Match activities to sectors [#match-activities-to-sectors]
The status bar reads "21 activities ready for matching." Click **Match**. Nios finds a base sector for each activity, derives from it the best sector for each environmental pressure (metric), such as GHG emissions or land occupation, and then calculates the impacts. The status bar shows "Matching activities to sectors" and then "Calculating impacts".
When the status bar reads "All 21 activities calculated.", every activity has results. If some activities stay uncalculated, the **Issues** tab tells you why. See [Sector matching](/docs/collect/sector-matching).
### Refine each activity [#refine-each-activity]
Select an activity and choose **Matching** > **Activity** in the side panel. It shows the activity's base sector, the metric sector behind each metric, and each metric's result.
If a result doesn't fit the purchase, select a better base sector, or expand a metric to change its metric sector or country. Nios recalculates the activity after every change, in the panel or the grid, so you see the effect right away.
Aamu Foods starts with its largest purchases, such as palm oil, and checks that each one resolves to sectors that describe it. See [Sector matching](/docs/collect/sector-matching#inspect-and-refine-one-activity).
## Measure impacts [#measure-impacts]
Nios shows your results in two places: charts on the **Impacts** page, and the **Results** sheet with every value per activity. You can export both. See [Measure impacts](/docs/impacts/overview).
### Explore the charts [#explore-the-charts]
Open **Impacts** in the sidebar. Its charts show the results of every calculated activity, even while some activities still have errors.
The page opens on the **Nature** lens with biodiversity impact in PDF·yr. Switch to **Climate** for GHG emissions in t CO₂e. The **Impact Source** card ranks what contributes most: for Aamu Foods, cocoa mass leads the Nature list. See [Impact dashboard](/docs/impacts/dashboard).
### Check the results per activity [#check-the-results-per-activity]
Click **Results** to open a sheet with one row per activity. It lists each metric's pressure and impact, and you can hover a value to see how Nios calculated it. See [Results and export](/docs/impacts/results-and-export#results-sheet).
### Export charts and results [#export-charts-and-results]
* **Charts:** **Export all charts** downloads every chart as PNG or SVG, for slides and reports.
* **Results:** **Export results** in the **Results** sheet downloads a workbook with the values you see.
See [Results and export](/docs/impacts/results-and-export).
## Need help? [#need-help]
* **Support:** Contact our team via [hello@nios.earth](mailto:hello@nios.earth).
* **Data security:** Review how we handle your confidential data in our [Data Processing Addendum](/legal/dpa).
* **Privacy:** Review our [privacy policy](/legal/privacy) to understand how your personal information is protected.
# Introduction (/docs/introduction)
## About Nios [#about-nios]
Nios measures the environmental impacts of the goods and services your organization buys, the boundary the GHG Protocol defines as Scope 3.1. Nios applies the same boundary to nature and climate impacts, from raw material extraction to the supplier's gate, called cradle to gate. You collect spend or quantity data, each purchase gets an economic sector, and Nios calculates environmental pressures and impacts with environmentally extended input-output data (GLORIA, EXIOBASE) and the LC-Impact method.
Nios is built for sustainability and procurement teams.
## Why Nios [#why-nios]
* **Nature and climate in one run:** Biodiversity impact in PDF·yr next to GHG emissions in t CO₂e, from the same data.
* **Works with the data you have:** Spend with currency, or quantity with unit, in a spreadsheet you can export, edit, and import again.
* **Mapping you can check:** **Match** suggests an economic sector for each purchase, and you can review and change every suggestion. Each activity shows its base sector, match quality, factor dataset, and geography.
* **Primary data where you have it:** Supplier results and factors replace the defaults, one environmental pressure (metric) at a time.
* **Find hotspots:** Rank impacts by goods and services, supplier, country, or entity, and compare reporting years.
* **Audit trail:** Version history, pinned dataset versions, the calculation behind every value, and a summary of coverage and method next to your results.
Go from sign-in to your first results with your own data.
The workflow and the concepts behind the numbers.
# Account and organization (/docs/administration/account-and-organization)
Your account belongs to one organization, and every member of an organization shares its projects. No one outside it can see them. Open **Account settings** from the menu under your name at the bottom of the sidebar. From there, admins also reach the **Organization** and **Members** settings.
## Account [#account]
* **Profile:** Your photo and first and last name. Your email address is shown for reference.
* **Theme:** **System**, **Light**, or **Dark**.
* **Analytics:** Share anonymous usage data to help improve Nios.
* **Leave organization:** You lose access to the organization's projects. Your account stays.
* **Delete account:** Deletes your personal account permanently. Leave your organization first. Type your email address to confirm.
## Organization [#organization]
* **General:** The organization's name and logo.
* **Organization ID:** A unique ID for your organization. **Copy ID** copies it, for example for a support request.
* **Delete organization:** Deletes the organization and all of its data, including every project. Type the organization name to confirm.
Deleting an organization can't be undone.
## Members [#members]
* **Invite members:** Enter an email address and choose the role **Member** or **Admin**. Click **Add more** to invite up to 25 people at a time.
* **Active:** The organization's members. Change a member's role, or remove a member.
* **Invitations:** Pending invitations until they are accepted. Resend or revoke an invitation.
An organization always needs at least one admin. Assign another admin before you change your own role or remove yourself.
# Activities (/docs/collect/activities)
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 [#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 [#for-sector-matching]
**Activity** is required and is the main signal. **Supplier** helps sector matching find the right sector. See [Sector matching](/docs/collect/sector-matching).
### For calculation [#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](/docs/collect/impact-inputs) | 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](/docs/impacts/dashboard). See [Spreadsheet template](/docs/collect/spreadsheet-template#activities) for every column.
## The side panel at a glance [#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](/docs/collect/issues) |
| **Matching** | Review base sectors (**Review**) and inspect one activity (**Activity**) | [Sector matching](/docs/collect/sector-matching) |
## From import to refined results [#from-import-to-refined-results]
### Fix errors [#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](/docs/collect/issues#data-issues).
### Match [#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](/docs/collect/sector-matching).
Nios then calculates the matched activities in the background, and the [status bar](#status-bar) shows when it's done.
### Review the matches [#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](/docs/collect/sector-matching#review-and-improve-matches).
### Refine single activities [#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](/docs/collect/sector-matching#inspect-and-refine-one-activity).
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](/docs/collect/issues#matching-issues) and [Calculation issues](/docs/collect/issues#calculation-issues).
## Status bar [#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](/docs/collect/import-and-export) |
| 21 activities ready for matching. | These activities have no base sector yet | Click **Match** or select base sectors, see [Sector matching](/docs/collect/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](/docs/collect/issues) |
| All 21 activities calculated. | Every activity has results | Click **View impacts** |
## Reference other data from a cell [#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](/docs/collect/impact-inputs#create-an-impact-input).
A short form opens in place. The new row appears on its Collect page, and the cell selects it.
## Tips for better matches [#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.
# Impact inputs (/docs/collect/impact-inputs)
Nios's default factors are sector averages. When you have better data, such as a supplier's product footprint or your own measurement, an **impact input** replaces the default for one environmental pressure (metric), such as GHG emissions, of one or more activities.
## Data quality tiers [#data-quality-tiers]
Every impact input has a tier, which decides how Nios uses it:
| Tier | In the app | What it is | Needs on the activity | Example |
| ----- | ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **A** | A = direct result | An absolute result for one activity, no denominator | Nothing | Wheat flour GHG from the supplier's environmental product declaration (EPD): 2,350,000 kg CO₂e |
| **B** | B = quantity IF | A factor per unit of quantity | **Quantity** and **Unit** | Cocoa mass land occupation: 21.4 m² per kg |
| **C** | C = spend IF | A factor per EUR or USD of spend | **Spend** and **Currency**, plus **Activity year** and **Country of production** if it has a reference year | Palm oil GHG: 2.6 kg CO₂e per USD |
IF stands for intensity factor. For a metric, Nios uses the best data available, in this order: a Tier A result, then a Tier B factor, then your Tier C factor, then the Nios default.
## Create an impact input [#create-an-impact-input]
You create an impact input from the metric cell of an activity on **Activities**, or in the **Impact inputs** grid. In a metric cell, the actions are at the bottom of the list, below the impact inputs for that metric.
### From scratch [#from-scratch]
Choose **Add impact input** in an activity's metric cell, or add a row in the **Impact inputs** grid. From a cell, the form starts with the cell's metric, country, and sector, a denominator that fits the activity, and its activity year. You add the name, the value, and the source. See [Spreadsheet template](/docs/collect/spreadsheet-template#impact-inputs) for every field.
### Duplicate an impact input [#duplicate-an-impact-input]
In a metric cell that uses an impact input, choose **Duplicate** followed by the input's name. In the **Impact inputs** grid, select rows and choose **Duplicate**. The copy has every field except the name. Use it for variants, such as the same supplier's factor for another year or region.
### Duplicate a system sector [#duplicate-a-system-sector]
In a metric cell that uses the Nios default or a selected sector, choose **Duplicate** followed by the sector's name. The copy is the system factor behind the cell as a Tier C spend factor, in the dataset's currency and reference year. Unedited, it calculates the same result as the default.
This is the easiest way to refine a default with supplier data. If your figure uses another currency, year, or unit, change those fields too.
**Example:** Duplicate the default GHG emissions factor for "Palm oil, refined". The GLORIA factor is per USD, so you only replace its value with the supplier's figure of 2.6 kg CO₂e per USD.
## Apply an impact input [#apply-an-impact-input]
Open the metric cell of an activity and select the impact input. The impact inputs for that metric are at the bottom of the list, below the sectors. One impact input can serve many activities, except a Tier A result, which belongs to one activity.
## Common issues [#common-issues]
Typical issues are an impact input for the wrong metric, a unit that doesn't fit the factor's denominator, or a Tier A result already used on another row. See [Issues](/docs/collect/issues#data-issues-activities) for every message and its fix.
The [Coverage tab](/docs/impacts/coverage-and-method#coverage-tab) on Impacts shows how much of your results comes from each tier.
# Import and export (/docs/collect/import-and-export)
Most Collect data starts in a spreadsheet. You import it, export it again to edit it offline, and import the edited file. Nios shows you what an import will change before it changes anything.
## Start from a file [#start-from-a-file]
Open **Add data** with **Get started** in an empty project, or with the add data button in the toolbar. In the dialog, you import a file and download the template.
**Download** the **Spreadsheet template** to get an empty workbook with dropdowns and instructions for your data. See [Spreadsheet template](/docs/collect/spreadsheet-template) for how to fill it in.
To explore Nios before you prepare your own file, click **Use** next to an example under **Explore examples**. **Activity starter** has 13 activities without base sectors, so nothing is calculated until you click **Match**. **Complete company** has 21 activities with base sectors, entities, and impact inputs, and calculates right away. **Download** next to an example shows you a filled template.
## Import a file [#import-a-file]
Drop an `.xlsx` or `.xls` file on **Add data**, or click **Choose file**. You can import a filled template, an export from Nios, or your own workbook with the same column headers.
In an empty project, Nios imports the file directly. When the project already has data, Nios first shows you a review.
## Review the import [#review-the-import]
The review shows, for each sheet in the file, how many rows the app has now, how many it will have after the import, and how many rows the import adds, updates, and removes.
Choose one operation per sheet:
| Operation | What happens |
| ----------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Keep** | The sheet's data in the app stays as it is. Nios ignores the file's rows for this sheet. Sheets that aren't in the file can only be kept |
| **Update** | Adds new rows, updates rows that match, and keeps every other row in the app. Not available for Organization hierarchy |
| **Replace** | Makes the sheet look like the file: matched rows are updated, new rows are added, and rows that aren't in the file are removed |
Nios preselects **Keep** when the app already has data for a sheet, so an import never overwrites data by accident.
How rows match and what stays:
* **Matching rows:** Nios matches rows by the hidden Nios ID from an export first, then by name: Activity, entity Name, or Input name. If you rename a row in an exported file, the import updates that row instead of adding a new one.
* **Update unavailable:** Update needs unique names. When names are missing or duplicated in the file or the app, the info icon next to **Update** says which.
* **Columns left out:** Columns that aren't in the file keep their values in the app. The review lists them. Leaving a column out never clears it.
* **Conflicts:** A conflict disables **Import** and explains itself in the review. The one you're most likely to see is "A matching row changed in the app after this spreadsheet was exported." Someone edited that row in the app after your export. Export again and redo your edits, or choose **Replace**.
## After the import [#after-the-import]
The whole import is one step in your history, so one undo reverts it.
Nios checks every imported row and lists problems in the [Issues](/docs/collect/issues) tab. Activities with a base sector are calculated right away, unless an error blocks them. The others wait until you click **Match** or select a base sector, see [Sector matching](/docs/collect/sector-matching).
## Export [#export]
The **Export** menu in the toolbar downloads an `.xlsx` workbook.
| Option | Sheets | Columns | Rows |
| -------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **All** | Activities, Impact inputs, Organization entities, and Organization hierarchy | Every column in the order of the **All** view, hidden columns and custom columns included | All |
| One module, for example **Activities** | That module's sheets | As for **All** | All |
| **Current view** | The grid you're looking at | The visible columns, in the view's order | The rows that match the view's filters and your search, in its sort order |
Every export has two hidden columns, **Nios ID** and **Nios row version**. They let a later import match your rows and notice edits made in the app in the meantime. Keep them if you plan to import the file again.
See [Views and filters](/docs/collect/views) for how to shape a view before you export it.
## Edit offline and import again [#edit-offline-and-import-again]
1. Click **Export**, then **All**
2. Edit the workbook: change values, add rows, or add your own columns
3. Import the workbook from **Add data**
4. Choose **Update** for each sheet you edited, and check the counts
5. Click **Import**
# Issues (/docs/collect/issues)
An activity is calculated only when the values it needs are usable, it has a base sector, and Nios finds a factor for each environmental pressure (metric), such as GHG emissions. The **Issues** tab in the side panel lists what stands in the way, on every Collect page. This page explains the issues in the order they come up, and lists every issue Nios raises.
## How issues work [#how-issues-work]
Every issue is an **error** or a **warning**:
* **Error:** A value Nios can't use, such as an unknown currency or a missing base sector. Nios doesn't calculate the activity until you fix it. An error in a metric column stops only that metric. Activities without errors are calculated as usual.
* **Warning:** Something worth checking that doesn't stop the calculation, such as a regional factor used instead of a country factor. You can mark a warning as reviewed. It comes back if the finding changes.
Issues show as tinted cells in the grids, as counts next to the Collect pages in the sidebar, in the status bar above each grid, and in the **Issues** tab.
### Status bar [#status-bar]
When a Collect page has errors, its status bar turns red and shows how many there are. Step through the error cells with the arrows on its right. The counter shows where you are, for example 2/5. If the next error is in a row your current [view](/docs/collect/views) hides, Nios shows the row anyway, and **Back to filtered view** returns you to your view.
Select a cell with an issue to read its message in the status bar. Click the message, or the warning count, to open the **Issues** tab.
### Issues tab [#issues-tab]
Open the **Issues** tab with **Open panel** in the top right, or from the status bar.
The **Issues** tab groups issues by message and value, errors first. Issues from matching and calculation follow under **Matching**. Reviewed warnings move to **Reviewed**, and **Other modules** links to issues on the other Collect pages. **Show** jumps to the affected cells in the grid.
One fix can solve a whole group:
* **Replace with** or **Fill with:** Pick one value, then click **Fix** to apply it to every row in the group. Nios preselects a close match, for example Finland for "Finnland".
* **Add as entity:** Creates the organization entity an activity names, so the reference works.
* **Mark as reviewed:** Accepts a warning.
## Data issues [#data-issues]
Nios checks every row when you import it and again on every edit, on all three Collect pages. Fix these first, because they decide what Nios can match and calculate. For the columns each stage needs, see [What Nios needs](/docs/collect/activities#what-nios-needs).
Most data issues are values that are missing, paired without their partner, not a number, negative, or not in the list. An impact input with errors stops its metric on every activity that uses it. An organization entity with errors shows an error on the activities that name it, but they're still calculated. See the [data issues reference](#data-issues-activities).
## Matching issues [#matching-issues]
After sector matching, some activities can still be without a base sector:
* **No base sector match found:** Sector matching found no sector that fits well enough. Make the **Activity** more specific or add the **Supplier**. Both edits retry matching. Or select a base sector yourself.
* **Sector matching failed:** The matching run failed for this activity. Click **Match** to retry, or select a base sector yourself.
**Matching** > **Review** lists these activities together with the matches worth checking. See [Review and improve matches](/docs/collect/sector-matching#review-and-improve-matches).
## Calculation issues [#calculation-issues]
With a base sector or impact input in place, Nios calculates each metric. A calculation issue means a value the calculation needs is missing, or there's no factor for the sector and country. An impact input that doesn't fit the activity, such as a unit mismatch, shows as a [data issue](#data-issues-activities) on its metric cell instead. Depending on the issue, Nios can't calculate the whole activity or one metric.
Warnings at this stage mark results you should check, for example when Nios used a regional factor because the country has none, or when an activity has no spend and stays out of intensities. See the [calculation issues reference](#calculation-issues-reference).
## Issue reference [#issue-reference]
The messages below are the exact text in the app. Values in braces, such as `{metric}`, are filled in for the row.
### Data issues: Activities [#data-issues-activities]
| Message | Column | Severity | What to do |
| ---------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------- | -------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Missing activity | Activity | Error | Type the activity name |
| Duplicate activity name | Activity | Error | Rename the duplicates so each activity is unique |
| Needs spend+currency or quantity+unit | Spend, Currency, Quantity, Unit | Error | Add a spend with currency, or a quantity with unit |
| Spend without currency | Currency | Error | Select the currency |
| Currency without spend | Spend | Error | Add the spend amount |
| Quantity without unit | Unit | Error | Select the unit |
| Unit without quantity | Quantity | Error | Add the quantity |
| Spend is not a number | Spend | Error | Enter the spend as a number |
| Quantity is not a number | Quantity | Error | Enter the quantity as a number |
| Negative spend | Spend | Error | Enter a spend of zero or more |
| Negative quantity | Quantity | Error | Enter a quantity of zero or more |
| Year out of range | Activity year | Error | Select a year from 2018 to 2026 |
| Currency not supported | Currency | Error | Select an ISO currency code from the list |
| Unit not recognized | Unit | Error | Select a unit from the list |
| Production country not recognized | Country of production | Error | Select a country from the list |
| Purchase country not recognized | Country of purchase | Error | Select a country from the list |
| Country used not in list | Country used | Error | Select Production or Purchase |
| Not a supported base sector | Base sector | Error | Select a sector from the catalog, or click **Match** |
| Entity not in Organization entities | Entity name | Error | Fix the name, or choose **Add as entity** |
| Entity has errors in Organization entities | Entity name | Error | Fix the entity's errors on **Organization** |
| Impact input not found | Metric column | Error | Select an existing impact input, or fix its name |
| Impact input has errors | Metric column | Error | Fix the impact input's errors on **Impact inputs** |
| Wrong metric: this impact input is for `{metric}` | Metric column | Error | Select an impact input for this column's metric |
| Result already used on another row | Metric column | Error | A Tier A result applies to one activity only. Create a separate result for this row |
| Needs quantity and unit · `{metric}` | Metric column | Error | Add quantity and unit, or select a different impact input |
| Unit mismatch: factor per `{denominator}`, row in `{unit}` | Metric column | Error | Align the activity's unit with the factor's denominator |
| Needs spend and currency · `{metric}` | Metric column | Error | Add spend and currency, or select a different impact input |
| Sector not found | Metric column | Error | Select a sector from the current catalog |
| Sector country not recognized | Metric column | Error | Select a country from the list |
| Price per unit is not a number | Price per unit | Warning | Enter the price as a number |
| Negative price per unit | Price per unit | Warning | Enter a price of zero or more |
| Type not in list | Type | Warning | Select Physical goods, Services, or Digital |
| Scope category not in list | Scope category | Warning | Select 3.1 Purchased Goods & Services |
| Price type not in list | Price type | Warning | Select Basic, Purchaser, or Unknown |
### Data issues: Organization [#data-issues-organization]
| Message | Column | Severity | What to do |
| -------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- | -------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Missing entity name | Name | Error | Name each entity |
| Duplicate entity name | Name | Error | Rename the duplicates so each entity is unique |
| Consolidation approach not in list | Consolidation approach | Error | Select Operational control, Financial control, or Equity share, or leave it empty |
| Differs from the consolidation approach used above | Consolidation approach | Error | Use one consolidation approach for all entities |
| Consolidation % is not a number | Consolidation % | Error | Enter the ownership share as a number |
| Negative consolidation % | Consolidation % | Error | Enter an ownership share between 0 and 100 |
| Consolidation % out of range | Consolidation % | Error | Enter an ownership share between 0 and 100 |
| Control approach needs 0 or 100 ownership | Consolidation approach, Consolidation % | Error | With Operational or Financial control, enter 0 or 100 |
| Include in boundary must be Yes or No | Include in boundary | Error | Select Yes or No |
| Type not recognized | Type | Warning | Select an entity type from the list |
| Country not recognized | Country | Warning | Select a country from the list |
| Revenue is not a number | Revenue | Warning | Enter the revenue as a number |
| Negative revenue | Revenue | Warning | Enter a revenue of zero or more |
| Revenue currency not supported | Revenue currency | Warning | Select an ISO currency code from the list |
| Employees is not a number | Employees | Warning | Enter the employee count as a number |
| Negative employees | Employees | Warning | Enter an employee count of zero or more |
| Not defined in Organization entities | Hierarchy level | Warning | Add the entity on **Entities**, or fix the name |
| Duplicate entity in hierarchy | Hierarchy level | Warning | Place each entity at one position in the hierarchy |
| Entity not in hierarchy | Name | Warning | Place the entity in the hierarchy |
An error on an entity also blocks the activities assigned to it. They show "Entity has errors in Organization entities" until you fix the entity.
### Data issues: Impact inputs [#data-issues-impact-inputs]
| Message | Column | Severity | What to do |
| -------------------------------------- | ---------------- | -------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Missing input name | Input name | Error | Name each impact input |
| Duplicate input name | Input name | Error | Rename the duplicates so each impact input is unique |
| Missing metric | Metric | Error | Select the metric |
| Metric not in list | Metric | Error | Select a metric from the list |
| Missing tier | Tier | Error | Select A, B, or C |
| Tier not in list | Tier | Error | Select A, B, or C |
| Missing value | Value | Error | Enter the value |
| Value is not a number | Value | Error | Enter the value as a number |
| Negative value | Value | Error | Enter a value of zero or more |
| Denominator does not fit tier | Denominator | Error | Tier A: leave empty. Tier B: a quantity unit. Tier C: EUR or USD |
| Denominator not in list | Denominator | Error | Select a denominator from the list |
| Missing LCA activity | LCA activity | Error | Select Cradle-to-gate |
| LCA activity not in list | LCA activity | Error | Select Cradle-to-gate |
| Year out of range | Reference year | Error | Select a year from 2018 to 2026 |
| Input name uses reserved sector syntax | Input name | Warning | Rename the input so it can't be mistaken for a sector name |
| Reference region not in list | Reference region | Warning | Select a region, or Other and note the location in Comment |
### Matching issues reference [#matching-issues-reference]
| Message | Severity | What it means | What to do |
| -------------------------- | -------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| No base sector match found | Error | Sector matching found no sector that fits well enough | Clarify the purchase in **Activity** and check **Supplier**. These edits retry matching. Or select a base sector |
| Sector matching failed | Error | The matching run failed for this activity | Click **Match** to retry, or select a base sector |
### Calculation issues reference [#calculation-issues-reference]
| Message | Severity | Applies to | What it means | What to do |
| ----------------------------- | -------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Missing spend | Error | Activity | The calculation path needs spend | Enter **Spend** and **Currency**, or select a quantity-based impact input |
| Missing activity year | Error | Activity | Nios needs a year to adjust spend to the factor's year | Select an **Activity year** |
| Missing production country | Error | Activity | Nios adjusts spend with the production country's inflation series | Select a **Country of production** |
| No deflator data for country | Error | Activity | The production country has no inflation series | Select the closest country with data, or use an impact input per metric |
| No exchange rate for currency | Error | Activity | No exchange rate covers this currency in the factor's year | Select another **Currency**, or use an impact input per metric |
| No metric sector found | Error | Metric | The base sector doesn't resolve to a sector for this metric | Select a sector or impact input in the metric cell, or change the base sector |
| No factor found | Error | Metric | No factor covers this sector and country, even after the regional and global fallbacks | Select another sector or impact input in the metric cell, or change the base sector or country |
| Review price type | Warning | Metric | The price type isn't **Basic**. Spend with taxes and margins can overstate results | Use spend without taxes and margins where you can, and set **Price type** to **Basic** |
| No factor reference year | Warning | Metric | The factor has no reference year, so Nios uses the spend without adjusting it | Check the factor's year and the result |
| Regional factor used | Warning | Metric | The sector has no factor for this country, so Nios uses the regional one | Review, or select a country or impact input |
| Continental factor used | Warning | Metric | The sector has no factor for this country, so Nios uses the continental one | Review, or select a country or impact input |
| Global factor used | Warning | Metric | The sector has no factor for this country, so Nios uses the global one | Review, or select a country or impact input |
| Not counted in intensities | Warning | Activity | The activity has no spend Nios can convert to the base currency, so it's left out of every intensity | Enter spend and currency, or check that exchange rates cover the activity year |
# Organization (/docs/collect/organization)
On **Organization**, you list your legal entities and sites and arrange them in a hierarchy. Assign activities to entities, and the [Impact dashboard](/docs/impacts/dashboard) shows impacts per entity.
## Entities [#entities]
The **Entities** tab lists your organization entities: group companies, subsidiaries, joint ventures, and sites. Each entity has a unique name and can carry a type, country, location, sector, revenue, and number of employees. See [Spreadsheet template](/docs/collect/spreadsheet-template#organization-entities) for every column.
Activities refer to an entity by its name in the **Entity name** column. Rename an entity, and its activities follow.
**Example:** The activity "Wheat flour" belongs to the entity "Lahti bakery plant", which sits under "Bakery division" and the group company "Aamu Foods Oy".
## Hierarchy [#hierarchy]
The **Hierarchy** tab shows your entities as a tree, from the group company at the top to its subsidiaries and sites.
Each box is an entity with its type and location. Select one to see its details.
To move an entity, and its children with it, drag it onto its new parent entity. Entities without a place in the tree are listed under **Not in hierarchy**, from where you drag them into the tree.
In a spreadsheet, the hierarchy is a sheet with one row per path from the top. See [Spreadsheet template](/docs/collect/spreadsheet-template#organization-hierarchy).
## Fix references [#fix-references]
An activity that names an entity that doesn't exist gets the issue "Entity not in Organization entities". In the **Issues** tab, choose **Add as entity** to create it, or fix the name. See [Issues](/docs/collect/issues).
# Overview (/docs/collect/overview)
Every number on the Impacts page comes from the data on the three Collect pages. You add data by importing a spreadsheet or editing the grids, and Nios checks, matches, and calculates it as you go.
## The three modules [#the-three-modules]
What your organization bought, with spend or quantity. The calculation input.
Your entities and their hierarchy, to see impacts per entity.
Your own results and factors that replace the Nios defaults.
Activities refer to the other two modules: the **Entity name** column names an organization entity, and each metric column, one per environmental pressure (metric), can name an impact input.
## Status bar [#status-bar]
Every Collect page has a status bar above its grid. It shows where the page's data stands and, during an import, the import's progress. On **Activities**, it follows matching and calculation. On **Organization** and **Impact inputs**, it shows whether the data is valid, for example "Impact inputs valid."
When a page has errors, the status bar turns red and lets you step through them. Warnings show as a count next to the status. See [Activities](/docs/collect/activities#status-bar) for each state and what to do next, and [Issues](/docs/collect/issues#status-bar) for working through errors.
## Changes, undo, and version history [#changes-undo-and-version-history]
Your edits save automatically, and Nios recalculates the activities you changed.
* **Undo and redo:** Work across all three Collect pages. An import counts as one step, so one undo reverts the whole import.
* **Version history:** Lists the saved versions of your Collect data with their author and the pages they changed. Restoring a version creates a new version, so you never lose the versions in between.
# Sector matching (/docs/collect/sector-matching)
Nios's default factors come from datasets that describe the world economy in sectors, such as "Vegetable oils", with one factor per sector and country. To calculate an activity, Nios needs to know which sector it belongs to: its **base sector**. You select it yourself, or **Match** finds it for you.
Nios calculates 17 environmental pressures (metrics) per activity, such as GHG emissions and land occupation. From the base sector, it derives the best sector for each metric, the **metric sector**, in the dataset that holds that metric's factors.
## Sector systems [#sector-systems]
A base sector comes from one of three sector systems. Its metric sectors are GLORIA sectors or EXIOBASE products.
| System | What it covers | When it helps |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **HS/CPC** | Six-digit product codes, for example 151110: Palm oil, crude | The most precise choice for physical goods |
| **GLORIA 120** | 120 economic sectors | Default factors for 12 of the 17 metrics, including GHG emissions, land occupation, and water consumption |
| **EXIOBASE 200** | 200 products | Default factors for the 5 eutrophication metrics |
See the [Metrics reference](/docs/methodology/metrics) for which dataset serves each metric.
## Set a base sector [#set-a-base-sector]
An activity gets its base sector in one of two ways. Either way, Nios calculates the activity as soon as it has one.
### Let Nios match it [#let-nios-match-it]
Click **Match** to match every activity without a base sector. To match only some activities, select their rows and choose **Match row** from the row menu.
Sector matching reads two columns of each activity, its matching signals:
* **Activity:** Required, and the main signal. Describe the purchase as specifically as you can, for example "Palm oil, refined" instead of "Oil".
* **Supplier:** Helps when the activity name is short or ambiguous.
Other columns, such as the country, don't affect matching. See [What Nios needs](/docs/collect/activities#what-nios-needs).
For each activity, Nios first looks for a sector with exactly the same name. Otherwise it shortlists candidate sectors, and an AI judge picks the one that fits best and rates the [match quality](#match-quality). If no candidate fits, the activity gets the issue "No base sector match found".
From the base sector, Nios then derives the metric sectors through fixed mappings between the sector systems. Where a mapping offers several candidates, the AI judge picks the best one for the activity. Nios then calculates the activity.
Nios keeps each match for the project. Activities with the same **Activity** and **Supplier** get the same base sector, and matching them again gives the same result. When you change the **Activity** or **Supplier** of an activity Nios matched, Nios matches it again with the new signals. Matching skips activities that already have a base sector, so it never overwrites one you selected.
### Select it yourself [#select-it-yourself]
Click the **Base sector** cell, or the base sector at the top of **Matching** > **Activity**. Search by source, code, or name, and filter by sector system. **Find recommendations** suggests sectors based on the activity.
### Match quality [#match-quality]
A dot in the **Base sector** cell shows how the base sector was set:
| Dot | Match quality | What it means |
| ------ | ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Green | **Excellent** | The activity clearly is the product or service of this sector, or has exactly its name |
| Yellow | **Good** | The sector is defensible, but the activity is broader or narrower than the sector, or fits several candidates. Worth a review |
| Blue | **User selected** | You selected the base sector yourself |
In **Matching** > **Activity**, the match quality comes with the judge's reason for its pick.
## The Matching view [#the-matching-view]
When you click **Match**, the grid switches to the **Matching** view. It shows **Activity**, **Supplier**, **Base sector** with its match quality dot, and one column per metric with the dataset or impact input in use.
You can choose a different view to open on **Match**, see [Views and filters](/docs/collect/views#select-a-view-on-match).
## Review and improve matches [#review-and-improve-matches]
After matching, open the side panel and choose **Matching** > **Review**. It lists the activities that need your attention, so you don't have to go through the whole grid. Work through its sections from top to bottom:
| Section | Why an activity is listed | What to do |
| -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Base sector issues** | Sector matching found no base sector that fits the activity | Describe the purchase more specifically in **Activity**, or add the **Supplier**, and Nios matches it again. Or select a base sector yourself |
| **No metric sector found** | The base sector has no counterpart in the dataset for some metrics, so Nios can't calculate them | Select another base sector, for example from another sector system. Or select a sector or impact input for the affected metrics |
| **Good match quality** | The match is defensible but not a clear fit | Check the match, see below |
| **Confirmed** | Good matches you confirmed | Nothing to do. **Undo confirmation** moves a match back |
**Show in grid** jumps to the cell to fix: the base sector, or the first metric without a metric sector. The messages behind the first two sections are explained in [Matching issues](/docs/collect/issues#matching-issues) and [Calculation issues](/docs/collect/issues#calculation-issues).
Sort the review by **Spend** and start with the largest purchases. They move your totals the most.
### Check a good match [#check-a-good-match]
A good match can be right, or it can describe your purchase too broadly or too narrowly. Click **Show in grid** and open **Matching** > **Activity** to see the judge's reason, the metric sectors, and the results. If another base sector fits the purchase better, select it and compare the results, see [Inspect and refine one activity](#inspect-and-refine-one-activity). Repeat until the results fit the purchase.
When you're happy with a good match, click **Confirm match**. The activity moves to **Confirmed**, so **Good match quality** only lists what's left to check. A confirmed match keeps its yellow dot.
### One sector for several activities [#one-sector-for-several-activities]
Sort by **Similarity** to group activities with similar names. Check the activities, then pick a base sector at the bottom of the panel. Nios applies it to all of them as one change you can undo.
## Inspect and refine one activity [#inspect-and-refine-one-activity]
Select a row and choose **Matching** > **Activity** to see how Nios gets from the activity to its results, and to correct it where it doesn't fit the purchase.
* **Base sector:** The sector, its match quality, and the judge's reason for the pick.
* **Match signals:** The **Activity** and **Supplier** that sector matching used.
* **Sector resolution:** The metric sectors the base sector resolves to, grouped by the metrics they serve. Some resolve through an intermediate sector, shown as "via".
* **User selections:** The impact inputs and sectors you set for single metrics.
* **Metrics:** Each metric's result. Switch between **Intensity**, **Characterization**, **Pressure**, and **Impact**.
To refine the results, select another base sector at the top of the panel, which changes all 17 metrics, or override a single metric. Nios saves each change and recalculates the activity right away.
### Override one metric [#override-one-metric]
Expand the metric in the panel, or open its cell in the grid:
* **Another sector:** Select a different metric sector for this metric only.
* **An impact input:** Select your own result or factor. See [Impact inputs](/docs/collect/impact-inputs).
* **Another country:** Change the factor geography for this metric with the country selector.
### Compare before applying [#compare-before-applying]
To try a different base sector or metric selections without saving them, click **Compare** first. The panel shows how each metric would change. Click **Apply** to save the changes, or **Cancel** to discard them.
# Spreadsheet template (/docs/collect/spreadsheet-template)
The spreadsheet template is an empty workbook for your activities, organization, and impact inputs. Download it from **Add data** on any Collect page. This page explains how the template relates to the app, what the importer accepts, and every column.
## One schema, three uses [#one-schema-three-uses]
The template, the importer, and the Collect grids share one schema: the same sheets, columns, dropdown lists, and checks. That gives you a few guarantees:
* A file that follows the template imports without mapping any columns.
* The checks Nios runs on import are the same checks it runs when you edit a cell.
* An export uses the same sheets and headers, so you can edit it and import it again.
* The template guides you with dropdowns and notes, but it doesn't enforce them. Pasting values bypasses the dropdowns. Nios checks every row on import and lists problems in [Issues](/docs/collect/issues).
## File layout [#file-layout]
The template has an **Overview** sheet with a quick start, followed by four input sheets in the order you fill them in:
* **[Activities](#activities):** One row per purchase.
* **[Impact inputs](#impact-inputs):** Your own results and factors.
* **[Organization entities](#organization-entities):** Your group companies, subsidiaries, and sites.
* **[Organization hierarchy](#organization-hierarchy):** Where each entity sits in your organization.
Under its headers, each sheet shows every column's description and input type, as in the tables below. On **Activities**, a row above the headers groups the columns into sections, such as Activities and Matching. Dropdowns cover 40,000 rows on **Activities** and 5,000 on the other sheets. More rows still import.
## What the importer accepts [#what-the-importer-accepts]
* **Files:** `.xlsx` and `.xls`. You can drop several files at once.
* **Sheets:** Nios recognizes a sheet by its column headers, not its name. A sheet that isn't in the file stays as it is in the app.
* **Headers:** Case doesn't matter, and the columns can be in any order.
* **Incomplete rows:** Every row that isn't empty imports, even with missing or invalid values. Nios lists them as [issues](/docs/collect/issues). For what an activity needs to be matched and calculated, see [What Nios needs](/docs/collect/activities#what-nios-needs).
* **Your own columns:** A column Nios doesn't know imports as a [custom column](/docs/collect/views#custom-columns). Use it to keep your own data in the same file, such as a region you can [group your impacts by](/docs/collect/views#group-your-impacts-by-your-own-categories). On **Activities**, add it in the Activities section, after **Comment** and before **Entity name**. On the other sheets, add it at the end.
## Activities [#activities]
One row per purchased good or service.
| Column | Required | Input | Description | Example |
| ----------------------------------- | ----------------- | -------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ |
| **Activity** | Yes | Free text | Unique name of the purchased good or service | Palm oil, refined |
| **Type** | No | Pick from list | Physical goods, Services, or Digital | Physical goods |
| **Internal ref** | No | Free text | Your own reference, such as an order or material number | PO-2024-0003 |
| **Scope category** | No | Pick from list | GHG Protocol category. Only 3.1 Purchased Goods & Services for now | 3.1 Purchased Goods & Services |
| **Activity year** | For spend | Pick from list | The year of the purchase, 2018 to 2026 | 2024 |
| **Asset name** | No | Free text | The site or asset | Tampere bakery plant |
| **Supplier** | No | Free text | The supplier. Helps Match | Sumatra Agri Oils |
| **Country used** | No | Pick from list | Whether factors follow the country of Production (default) or Purchase | Production |
| **Country of production** | For spend | Pick from list | Where the good was produced. Sets the factor geography and the inflation series | Indonesia |
| **Country of purchase** | No | Pick from list | Where it was bought | Finland |
| **Supplier production location** | No | Free text | City-level location of the supplier's production | Medan, ID |
| **Supplier production geolocation** | No | Free text | Coordinates as "latitude, longitude" | 3.5952, 98.6722 |
| **Spend** | Spend or quantity | Number | Amount spent | 1350000 |
| **Currency** | With spend | Pick from list | ISO currency code | USD |
| **Price type** | No | Pick from list | Basic (preferred), Purchaser, or Unknown | Basic |
| **Price per unit** | No | Number | Price per unit of the quantity | 1.35 |
| **Quantity** | Spend or quantity | Number | Physical amount | 1000000 |
| **Unit** | With quantity | Pick from list | Unit of the quantity, such as kg, L, m³, kWh, or units | kg |
| **Source** | No | Free text | Where the data comes from | ERP export 2024-12 |
| **Comment** | No | Free text | Notes and assumptions | Annual aggregate |
| **Entity name** | No | Pick from list | The organization entity the activity belongs to. Must exist in Organization entities | Tampere bakery plant |
| **Base sector** | No | Pick from list | The base sector from the catalog. Leave empty to use **Match** | HS/CPC 151110: Palm oil, crude |
| 17 metric columns | No | Pick from list | An impact input or a sector for one metric. Empty uses the base sector. See [Metrics reference](/docs/methodology/metrics) | Palm oil GHG per USD |
Each metric column lists the impact inputs for that metric first, then the same sectors as **Base sector**.
## Impact inputs [#impact-inputs]
One row per result or factor. See [Impact inputs](/docs/collect/impact-inputs).
| Column | Required | Input | Description | Example |
| -------------------- | ------------ | -------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| **Input name** | Yes | Free text | Unique name. Activities refer to it in their metric columns | Palm oil GHG per USD (global EEIO 2024) |
| **Tier** | Yes | Pick from list | A = direct result, B = quantity IF, C = spend IF | C = spend IF |
| **Metric** | Yes | Pick from list | The metric, with its unit. Enter the value in that unit | GHG emissions (kg CO₂e) |
| **Value** | Yes | Number | The factor, or the absolute result for Tier A | 2.6 |
| **Denominator** | Tier B and C | Pick from list | Tier A: empty. Tier B: a quantity unit. Tier C: EUR or USD | USD |
| **Reference sector** | No | Free text | The sector the factor covers | Palm oil |
| **LCA activity** | Yes | Pick from list | The system boundary. Only Cradle-to-gate for now | Cradle-to-gate |
| **Reference region** | No | Pick from list | The country or region of the data. Other for anything else, noted in Comment | Global |
| **Reference year** | No | Pick from list | The year the data represents | 2024 |
| **Source** | No | Free text | Where the data comes from, such as a supplier EPD | Global EEIO dataset |
| **Source URL** | No | Free text | Link to the source | |
| **Comment** | No | Free text | Notes and assumptions | |
## Organization entities [#organization-entities]
One row per entity. See [Organization](/docs/collect/organization).
| Column | Required | Input | Description | Example |
| -------------------- | -------- | -------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------- |
| **Name** | Yes | Free text | Unique name. Activities and the hierarchy refer to it | Tampere bakery plant |
| **Internal ref** | No | Free text | Your own unique identifier | ENT-TRE |
| **Type** | No | Pick from list | Group company, Subsidiary, Joint venture, Partnership, Associated/affiliated company, or Franchise | Subsidiary |
| **Country** | No | Pick from list | Headquarters country | Finland |
| **Location** | No | Free text | Headquarters city | Tampere, FI |
| **Geolocation** | No | Free text | Headquarters coordinates | 61.4978, 23.7610 |
| **Sector** | No | Free text | Primary sector | Bakery products |
| **Revenue** | No | Number | Revenue of the entity | 120000000 |
| **Revenue currency** | No | Pick from list | ISO currency code | EUR |
| **Employees** | No | Number | Headcount | 340 |
| **Comment** | No | Free text | Notes | |
## Organization hierarchy [#organization-hierarchy]
One row per path from the top of your organization down to one entity. The columns are **Entity name** for level 1, then **Level 2** to **Level 15**. Each cell names an entity from Organization entities. The last filled cell in a row is the entity the row places.
| Entity name | Level 2 | Level 3 |
| ------------- | --------------- | -------------------- |
| Aamu Foods Oy | | |
| Aamu Foods Oy | Bakery division | |
| Aamu Foods Oy | Bakery division | Tampere bakery plant |
For deeper organizations, add **Level 16** and further columns to the right. Nios places up to 50 levels.
# Views and filters (/docs/collect/views)
The Activities grid has about 40 columns and can hold thousands of rows. A **view** shapes a grid for one task, such as reviewing your largest purchases, and keeps that shape for every member of your organization. Views work the same way on [Activities](/docs/collect/activities), [Organization entities](/docs/collect/organization#entities), [Impact inputs](/docs/collect/impact-inputs), and the [Results sheet](/docs/impacts/results-and-export#results-sheet).
## What a view saves [#what-a-view-saves]
A view saves how the grid looks:
* **[Filters](#filter):** Which rows you see.
* **[Sort](#sort):** The order of the rows.
* **[Columns](#columns):** Their order, which ones are hidden or pinned, and their widths.
Your search isn't part of a view.
Views belong to the project. Every member of your organization sees the same views.
## System views and your own views [#system-views-and-your-own-views]
Each grid comes with system views:
| Grid | System views |
| ------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------- |
| Activities | **All**, **Matching** |
| Organization entities, Impact inputs | **All** |
| Results, Nature lens | **All**, **Pressures**, **Ecosystems** |
| Results, Climate lens | **All** |
You can change a system view but not delete it. **Reset view** in its menu restores the defaults.
To create your own view, click **Add view**. It saves the current filters, sort, and columns under a name you choose. The view's menu has **Rename**, **Duplicate view**, and **Delete view**.
## Sort [#sort]
Sort by one column at a time, ascending or descending, from the column header.
## Filter [#filter]
A filter narrows the grid to the rows you need. Each filter belongs to one column. Add one from **Filter** in the toolbar or from the column header.
The conditions depend on the column type:
| Column type | Conditions |
| ------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Text | contains, does not contain, is, is not, starts with, ends with, is empty, is not empty |
| List, such as **Currency** or **Country of production** | is, is not, is empty, is not empty |
| Number | is, is not, greater than, at least, less than, at most, between, is empty, is not empty |
| Date | is, is not, before, on or before, after, on or after, between, is empty, is not empty |
| True or false | is, is not, is empty, is not empty |
You can combine conditions at two levels:
* **Within one column:** Add several conditions and choose **Match all** (every condition must hold) or **Match any** (one is enough). **Example:** Country of production is Finland, or is Sweden.
* **Across columns:** With filters on several columns, choose whether rows must match all column filters or any of them. **Example:** Spend greater than 50,000 and Country of production in the Nordics.
Active filters and the sort show as chips above the grid. Remove one with its chip.
## Columns [#columns]
The **Columns** menu in the toolbar shows or hides columns, reorders them by dragging, and pins columns so they stay visible while you scroll sideways. Drag a column's edge to resize it. **Reset columns** restores the view's default layout.
The column header menu has the same actions for one column, plus **Insert column left** and **Insert column right**.
## Custom columns [#custom-columns]
Add your own columns for anything Nios doesn't track, such as a product line or a business unit. Choose **Add column** in the **Columns** menu, or add a column to your spreadsheet before you import it. Columns you add in the app hold text. On import, Nios recognizes text, numbers, true or false, and dates from the values.
Custom columns travel with every import and export. They never change results.
### Group your impacts by your own categories [#group-your-impacts-by-your-own-categories]
A custom column defines your own categories, and the **Impacts** page groups your results by them. Fill in a category for each activity, then choose the column as the source in the [Impact Source card](/docs/impacts/dashboard#impact-source-card) or the [Intensity Matrix](/docs/impacts/dashboard#intensity-matrix). Your categories are then ranked and plotted like suppliers or countries.
**Example:** Add a "Region" column with EU, US, and APAC. On **Impacts**, switch the Impact Source card to **Region** to see which region carries the most impact.
Every custom column is available as a source. To hide one from the **Impacts** page, open its header menu and set **Show in** to **None**.
## Save changes [#save-changes]
Column changes, such as order, visibility, pinning, and width, save to the view right away. Filter and sort changes stay a draft until you click **Save changes**. On a view you can't change, click **Save as view** to save them as a new view. **Reset** discards the draft.
## Select a view on Match [#select-a-view-on-match]
On **Activities**, clicking **Match** switches to the **Matching** view. To open a different view instead, choose **Select view on** > **Match** in that view's menu.
## Example: build a supplier review view [#example-build-a-supplier-review-view]
You want to review all larger purchases produced in Finland and Sweden with your team.
1. Click **Add view** and name it "Nordic suppliers"
2. In **Columns**, hide the columns you don't need, drag **Supplier** and **Country of production** next to **Activity**, and pin **Activity**
3. Add a filter on **Country of production**: is Finland, **Match any**, is Sweden
4. Add a filter on **Spend**: greater than 50,000. Rows must match both column filters
5. Sort by **Spend**, largest to smallest, and click **Save changes**
Every member of your organization now has the "Nordic suppliers" view. **Export** > **Current view** downloads exactly these rows and columns, see [Import and export](/docs/collect/import-and-export#export).
# Coverage and method (/docs/impacts/coverage-and-method)
Before you share a number, check what it covers and how Nios produced it. The **Coverage** and **Method** tabs in the side panel of the **Impacts** page answer both. Open them with **Open panel** in the top right.
## Coverage tab [#coverage-tab]
The **Coverage** tab shows how complete your results are.
| Section | What it shows |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Activities** | How many activities are **Calculated**, **Not calculated**, **Pending calculation**, or **Awaiting matching**, and how many have spend data |
| **Sector matching** | How base sectors were set: **Excellent** and **Good** matches, **Selected by user**, and **Unresolved** |
| **Calculation** | How many results Nios calculated |
| **Data tiers** | The share of calculated results, by count, that come from Tier A, B, and C impact inputs and from Nios defaults |
| **Datasets** | The share of calculated results, by count, from each factor dataset |
| **Indicators** | The environmental pressures (metrics) with results: up to 17 on Nature, 1 on Climate |
Activities that are not calculated or awaiting matching are missing from your totals. See [Issues](/docs/collect/issues) for why and how to fix them.
## Method tab [#method-tab]
The **Method** tab summarizes how your results were produced, so you can cite it in a report.
| Section | What it shows |
| -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Scope** | Reporting period, system boundary (Cradle-to-gate: from raw material extraction to the supplier's gate), and GHG Protocol scopes |
| **Characterization** | The classification into IPBES pressure categories and the impact indicator, PDF·yr or t CO₂e |
| **Datasets** | The factor datasets with their reference year, the impact model, and the number of impact inputs |
| **Settings** | Outlier treatment, traced origins, ecosystem weighting, and base currency, explained in [Project settings](/docs/projects/settings) |
**Change** next to the settings opens [Project settings](/docs/projects/settings). See [Methodology](/docs/methodology) for the calculation steps behind each entry.
# Impact dashboard (/docs/impacts/dashboard)
The dashboard shows how large your impact is, where it comes from, and what drives it. Each card has its own controls and an export button. See [Measure impacts](/docs/impacts/overview) for the Nature and Climate lenses and the **Display** control.
## Overview card [#overview-card]
The **Overview** card shows your total impact for the reporting period.
* **Display:** **Total impact** or **Intensity**.
* **Stack by:** Split the bar by **Pressures** or **Ecosystems**. Nature only.
* **Filter by:** Show one pressure category or one ecosystem. Nature only.
## Impact Source card [#impact-source-card]
The **Impact Source** card, **Emission Source** on Climate, ranks what contributes most, with each source's spend and share.
Choose the source in each table:
| Source | Ranks by |
| -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Goods & Services** | Activity |
| **Suppliers** | Supplier |
| **Countries** | Country of production |
| **Entity** | Organization entity |
| **Asset** | Asset name |
| Your custom columns | The categories in each custom column, unless its **Show in** is set to **None**, see [Views and filters](/docs/collect/views#group-your-impacts-by-your-own-categories) |
**Add card** adds another table, so you can see several sources side by side.
## Intensity Matrix [#intensity-matrix]
The **Intensity Matrix** plots each source's intensity against its total impact, or against its spend with **Y-axis** set to **Total spend**. Both axes are logarithmic, so small and large sources fit on one chart. Dotted lines mark the medians.
Sources in the upper right are hotspots: large and intense. **Example:** Cocoa mass sits in the upper right of the Aamu Foods results. It's a large purchase, and each euro spent on it carries a high biodiversity impact, so it's the first place to look for supplier data or alternatives.
Sources in the lower right are intense but small. Sources in the upper left are large because you spend a lot on them, not because each euro carries a high impact.
## By Pressure [#by-pressure]
The **By Pressure** card, Nature only, breaks your impact down by the four pressure categories: Ecosystem Use, Climate Change, Resource Exploitation, and Pollution. Each category lists its environmental pressures (metrics) with their amount before characterization, such as m² of land or kg CO₂e, and their impact in PDF·yr.
See the [Metrics reference](/docs/methodology/metrics) for every pressure.
## Compare with project [#compare-with-project]
**Compare with project** shows other projects next to the current one, for example last year's. Select one or more projects in its menu. The **Overview** card becomes **Project comparison** and shows the **Difference**.
Compare projects with the same settings and factor datasets. Otherwise a difference can come from the settings rather than your purchases. See [Project settings](/docs/projects/settings).
## Where to start [#where-to-start]
1. Check the [Coverage tab](/docs/impacts/coverage-and-method#coverage-tab) before you share a number.
2. Rank **Goods & Services** in the **Impact Source** card to find your largest contributors.
3. Switch the source to **Countries** and **Suppliers** to see where the impact happens.
4. Use the **Intensity Matrix** to tell large purchases from intense ones.
# Overview (/docs/impacts/overview)
The **Impacts** page shows the results of every calculated activity in your project. It reads the stored results, so [ecosystem weighting and base currency](/docs/projects/settings) apply as soon as you change them.
## Charts and results [#charts-and-results]
The results appear in two places, and you can export both:
| | Charts | Results sheet |
| ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Where** | The **Impacts** page | **Results** on the **Impacts** page |
| **What it shows** | Totals, rankings, and hotspots across your purchases | Every value per activity: each metric's pressure, impact, and intensity, and how Nios calculated it |
| **Use it to** | Find where your impact comes from | Check and trace single numbers |
| **Export** | **Export all charts**, or one card's export button, as PNG or SVG | **Export results** as an `.xlsx` workbook |
See [Impact dashboard](/docs/impacts/dashboard) and [Results and export](/docs/impacts/results-and-export).
## Nature and Climate [#nature-and-climate]
The page has two lenses:
* **Nature:** Biodiversity impact in PDF·yr across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems, grouped by the four pressure categories Ecosystem Use, Climate Change, Resource Exploitation, and Pollution.
* **Climate:** GHG emissions in t CO₂e, shown as Total emissions.
The Climate lens shows emissions, not the biodiversity impact of climate change. That impact is part of the Nature lens, under Climate Change.
**PDF·yr**, the potentially disappeared fraction of species over a year, compares biodiversity loss risk across pressures, regions, and purchases. Don't read it as a count of species lost. See [Methodology](/docs/methodology).
## Total impact and intensity [#total-impact-and-intensity]
The **Display** control switches the charts between two views:
* **Total impact:** The absolute impact, or **Total emissions** on Climate.
* **Intensity:** Impact per unit of spend in your base currency, for example PDF·yr/EUR. Use it to compare purchases of different size.
Intensity counts only activities with spend. When some activities have none, the chart says so, for example "Based on 18 of 21 activities with spend data".
Find hotspots and compare projects.
Every result in a sheet, the results workbook, and charts.
What your results cover and how they were produced.
# Results and export (/docs/impacts/results-and-export)
Charts show the big picture, but reports and audits need the numbers behind them. The **Results** sheet holds every result of every activity, with how Nios calculated it. You can export it, the charts, and your input data.
## Results sheet [#results-sheet]
Click **Results** on the **Impacts** page to open the sheet. It opens on the **All** view, which has one row per activity, in the same order as on [Activities](/docs/collect/activities). Activities that aren't calculated yet are listed with empty results.
Each row holds the activity and all its results:
* **Activity columns:** Every column from **Activities**, including your custom columns, in the same order.
* **Nature results:** The activity's impact and impact intensity. Then, for each environmental pressure (metric), its pressure, pressure intensity, impact, and impact intensity. Then the impact per pressure category and per ecosystem.
* **Climate results:** Emissions and emission intensity.
### See how a value was calculated [#see-how-a-value-was-calculated]
Hover a metric's pressure or impact to see the calculation behind it:
* **Pressure:** The activity's amount, converted to the factor's currency and year, times the factor.
* **Impact:** The pressure times the characterization factor, for each ecosystem it affects.
The calculation belongs to one activity, so it's only shown with one row per activity: in the **All** view with **Goods & Services** as the source.
### Group rows by source [#group-rows-by-source]
Choose a **Source** in the toolbar to group the rows. It's the same choice as in the [Impact Source card](/docs/impacts/dashboard#impact-source-card): **Goods & Services**, the default with one row per activity, or **Suppliers**, **Countries**, **Entity**, **Asset**, or one of your custom columns. With **Suppliers**, for example, each row is one supplier:
* **First column:** Names the group, such as the supplier.
* **Results:** Add up across the group's activities. Intensities are calculated from the group's total spend.
* **Activity columns:** Keep a value only when all activities in the group share it, such as one country of production. Spend and quantity add up when the activities share a currency or unit.
A view saves its source, like its filters and sort.
### Views [#views]
| View | Lens | Shows |
| -------------- | ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **All** | Nature and Climate | Every column, as described above |
| **Pressures** | Nature | Impact and intensity per pressure category |
| **Ecosystems** | Nature | Impact and intensity for terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems |
Clicking a bar or a row in a chart card, such as a supplier in the Impact Source card, opens **Results** on the matching view and source. You can add your own views, see [Views and filters](/docs/collect/views).
## Export results [#export-results]
Click **Export results** in the **Results** sheet. Nios downloads `nios---results.xlsx` with one sheet, Results. It contains what you see:
* **Columns:** The columns visible in the current view, in its order.
* **Rows:** The rows the view's filters and your search show, grouped by the selected source.
* **Calculations:** On the Nature lens, in the **All** view with **Goods & Services** as source, every metric pressure and impact column gets a second column with its calculation, for example "GHG emissions pressure calculation". Together with a Collect export of your inputs, that lets a reviewer trace every Nature result.
## Export charts [#export-charts]
* **One chart:** Each card's export button saves it as SVG or PNG.
* **All charts:** **Export all charts** saves every card on the page in one ZIP file, as SVG or PNG.
PNG files have double resolution and work in slides. SVG files stay sharp at any size and can be edited in vector tools.
## Which export for which job [#which-export-for-which-job]
| Job | Export |
| ---------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Share numbers with finance or management | Results workbook from a view with the columns they need |
| Build slides | **Export all charts** as PNG, or SVG to restyle them |
| Keep an audit trail | Results workbook from the Nature **All** view by **Goods & Services**, plus **Export** > **All** on the Collect pages |
| Export or edit your input data | **Export** on the Collect pages, see [Import and export](/docs/collect/import-and-export#export) |
# Methodology (/docs/methodology)
This page explains how Nios turns an activity into pressures and impacts, which datasets it uses, and where the method has limits. Use it to explain your results to auditors and stakeholders.
The steps from activity to PDF·yr and t CO₂e.
What the results cover and what they leave out.
The datasets and models behind the factors.
How the method relates to leading frameworks.
Where the results carry uncertainty.
## How a result is calculated [#how-a-result-is-calculated]
Nios calculates 17 environmental pressures (metrics) per activity, each separately. See the [Metrics reference](/docs/methodology/metrics) for the list.
### 1. Choose the path [#1-choose-the-path]
For each metric, Nios uses the best data available:
* **Tier A impact input:** Your direct result becomes the pressure as is.
* **Tier B or C impact input:** Your factor times the activity's quantity or spend.
* **Default:** The factor of the activity's sector and country from the factor datasets.
An invalid impact input blocks only its metric, not the whole activity. See [Impact inputs](/docs/collect/impact-inputs).
### 2. Select the factor [#2-select-the-factor]
On the default path, Nios derives a **metric sector** for each metric from the [base sector](/docs/collect/sector-matching): a GLORIA sector or an EXIOBASE product. GLORIA serves 12 metrics, because it covers more countries. EXIOBASE serves the 5 eutrophication metrics, because GLORIA has no nitrogen and phosphorus data. When the base sector is an EXIOBASE sector, EXIOBASE also serves the other metrics it covers, all but intensive forestry.
The factor's geography follows the activity's country of production, or its country of purchase if you choose so. When a sector has no factor for that country, Nios falls back to a regional, continental, or global factor and shows a warning on the result.
### 3. Convert the spend [#3-convert-the-spend]
Factors are published per unit of spend in one currency and reference year. Nios first adjusts the activity's spend from its activity year to the factor's reference year with the production country's GDP deflator (IMF World Economic Outlook). It then converts the currency with the annual average exchange rate of the factor's reference year (Eurostat). Quantities convert to the factor's unit.
When a deflator or an exchange rate is missing, Nios doesn't guess. The result is blocked with an issue that names the missing data. See [Issues](/docs/collect/issues#calculation-issues).
### 4. Calculate the pressure [#4-calculate-the-pressure]
The converted amount times the factor gives the **pressure**, the midpoint result in the metric's unit, such as kg CO₂e or m² of land. The Climate lens reports GHG emissions in t CO₂e from this step.
### 5. Characterize the impact [#5-characterize-the-impact]
LC-Impact characterization factors convert each pressure into biodiversity impact in **PDF·yr**, per ecosystem: terrestrial, freshwater, and marine. By default, Nios uses global characterization factors.
PDF·yr is a risk indicator, a "common currency" for comparing biodiversity loss risk across pressures, regions, and purchases. Don't interpret it as a literal number of species lost.
### 6. Trace origins (optional) [#6-trace-origins-optional]
With [traced origins](/docs/projects/settings#traced-origins) on, Nios splits a result's upstream pressure by origin country and characterizes each part with that country's LC-Impact factor, falling back to the continent and then the global factor. This applies only where the factor data has origin detail, and not to climate change, which LC-Impact characterizes globally.
### 7. Combine the ecosystems [#7-combine-the-ecosystems]
Nios adds the terrestrial, freshwater, and marine impacts into one Nature result. With [ecosystem weighting](/docs/projects/settings#ecosystem-weighting) on, it multiplies each by its weight first. Weighting applies when you view results, without recalculating.
## Outlier treatment [#outlier-treatment]
A few factors in input-output tables are extreme because the source data behind them is small or noisy. With [outlier treatment](/docs/projects/settings#outlier-treatment) on, Nios caps default factor values at the 1st and 99th percentile per metric.
The cutoffs are computed both within each sector and across all sectors. A value is capped only when it breaks both cutoffs, so a value that is high only compared with other sectors isn't capped for that reason alone. Your impact inputs are never capped.
## Scope [#scope]
* **System boundary:** Cradle to gate. Results cover each purchase from raw material extraction to the supplier's gate.
* **Scope:** Purchased goods and services, GHG Protocol Scope 3.1.
* **Not included:** Use and end of life of the purchased goods, and other Scope 3 categories.
* **Environmental pressures:** Land use, climate change, water consumption, terrestrial acidification, photochemical ozone formation, and freshwater and marine eutrophication, as 17 metrics. LCA standards call these impact categories. See the [Metrics reference](/docs/methodology/metrics).
## Scientific frameworks and data [#scientific-frameworks-and-data]
Each project pins one version of each dataset, so the same Collect data gives the same results later. Your Collect data, including base sectors, keeps its history in [version history](/docs/collect/overview#changes-undo-and-version-history). The [Method tab](/docs/impacts/coverage-and-method#method-tab) shows the versions a project uses.
| Scientific framework and data | Description | Comments |
| ------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **GLORIA** | GLORIA (Global Resource Input-Output Assessment) is an Environmentally Extended Multi-Regional Input-Output (EE-MRIO) dataset constructed by [The University of Sydney's IELab](https://ielab.info/labs/ielab-gloria) and commercialized by [FootprintLab](https://www.footprintlab.io/).
See the [GLORIA technical documentation](https://scp-hat.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Technical-Documentation_GLORIA_20210913.pdf).
See the [FootprintLab documentation](https://coda.io/d/FootprintLab-Documentation-Home_dc_5ZGGkLQs/FootprintLab-Documentation_suxUkLwO#_luOotRqM). | [GLORIA is recognized as one of the most comprehensive EE-MRIO databases globally](https://www.iioa.org/conferences/31st/papers/files/5315_\[fullpaper]2025IIOAimportfactorscomparison_5315.pdf), covering \~160 countries plus 4 Rest-of-World regions and 120 economic sectors, and providing spend- and sector-based intensity factors for GHGs, land use, water use, and pollution.
It has been [selected by the United Nations (UN) to monitor progress on Sustainable Development Goals](https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/files/Metadata-08-04-01.pdf) (SDG 8 and 12). Data has also been used elsewhere by the UNEP's [Sustainable Consumption and Production](https://scp-hat.org/methods/) project, and is used by many multi-national companies.
It has been built on reputable global data sources including OECD, EDGAR, FAO, Aquastat, and others. |
| **[EXIOBASE](https://www.exiobase.eu/)** | EXIOBASE 3 is an Environmentally Extended Multi-Regional Input-Output (EE-MRIO) database with detailed products and environmental extensions. Nios uses EXIOBASE 200 v3.10.1. | Nios uses EXIOBASE for the nitrogen and phosphorus emissions behind marine and freshwater eutrophication, which GLORIA doesn't provide, and for activities whose base sector is an EXIOBASE sector. |
| **[LC-Impact](https://lc-impact.eu/methodology.html)** | LC-Impact is a life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methodology that translates environmental pressures into biodiversity impacts (PDF score). LC-Impact was launched under the [European Union's FP7 funding program](https://www.lc-impact.eu/about.html) and is designed to align with globally recognized LCA frameworks such as the [UNEP-SETAC Life Cycle Initiative](https://www.lifecycleinitiative.org/). | Unlike many LCIA methods, [LC-Impact is spatially explicit](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jiec.13018), meaning characterization factors vary by ecosystem type and geographic region, which makes it suitable for assessing biodiversity loss across regions.
To calculate PDF metrics, we follow the biodiversity impact translation scheme used in [the Kulionis et al. (2024) research paper](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jiec.13515). |
| **Exchange rates and deflators** | Annual average exchange rates from Eurostat and GDP deflators from the IMF World Economic Outlook. | Used to convert spend to the currency and reference year of each factor. |
## Alignment with global standards [#alignment-with-global-standards]
In nature footprinting and broader supply chain impact assessment, global standards are still evolving. At this stage, Nios is not formally certified under any single standard.
The methodology follows principles that leading frameworks share:
* Mimics core principles of life cycle assessment (LCA) to ensure scientific grounding and transparency.
* Prioritizes pragmatism by providing actionable insights for decision-makers today rather than waiting for perfect standardization.
* Covers environmental impacts holistically (not only GHGs), in line with the broader framing of the [Planetary Boundaries Framework](https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/planetary-boundaries.html) and [IPBES](https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/five-drivers-nature-crisis#:~:text=Changes%20in%20land%20and%20sea,habitat%20due%20to%20global%20warming) drivers of nature loss.
We monitor the development of key frameworks such as [CSRD ESRS](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32022L2464), [TNFD](https://tnfd.global/), [SBTN](https://sciencebasedtargetsnetwork.org/), [EU PEF](https://eplca.jrc.ec.europa.eu/EnvironmentalFootprint.html), [ISO](https://www.iso.org/standard/37456.html), and the [GHG Protocol](https://ghgprotocol.org/). We aim for conceptual consistency with these standards where possible and may revisit our stance as alignment between standards matures.
Our methodological choices already overlap with the recommendations of these frameworks:
* Environmentally-extended input-output tables (EEMRIOs) are repeatedly referenced in the [TNFD LEAP methodology](https://tnfd.global/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Guidance_on_the_identification_and_assessment_of_nature-related_Issues_The_TNFD_LEAP_approach_V1.1_October2023.pdf?v=1698403116) (e.g., pages 44, 84, 89, 236, 237) as a way to model value chain impacts when company-specific data is unavailable.
* The [TNFD biodiversity footprinting discussion paper](https://tnfd.global/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Discussion-paper-on_Biodiversity-footprinting-approaches-for-financial-institutions_2023.pdf?v=1701785880) explicitly refers to LC-Impact (pages 25, 42, 48).
## Limitations [#limitations]
* **Sector averages:** Input-output factors assume one average technology per sector and country. Results are directional estimates, not product footprints. Where you have supplier or product data, add it as [impact inputs](/docs/collect/impact-inputs).
* **Spend-based uncertainty:** Prices differ between suppliers, so spend is an imperfect proxy for physical flows. Purchaser prices include taxes and margins and can overstate results, so use basic prices, without them, where you can.
* **Sector matching:** **Match** is AI-assisted and can pick a different sector when it runs again. Review the matches before you report, see [Sector matching](/docs/collect/sector-matching).
* **Geography:** Where a sector has no factor for a country, Nios uses a regional, continental, or global factor.
* **Climate characterization:** LC-Impact characterizes climate change globally, so traced origins doesn't change it.
* **Downstream stages:** Use and end of life of purchased goods aren't covered.
* **Exclusions:** Other impact categories, such as ecotoxicity, invasive species, and ocean acidification, aren't covered yet.
* **Ecosystem weighting:** How to weight terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems is a value choice that science hasn't settled. By default, Nios adds them with equal weight, following the [Kulionis et al. (2024)](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jiec.13515) translation scheme.
# Metrics (/docs/methodology/metrics)
Nios calculates 17 environmental pressures, called **metrics**, for every activity. Each metric has its own unit, and on the Nature lens Nios converts it into biodiversity impact in PDF·yr, the potentially disappeared fraction of species over a year. PDF·yr is a risk indicator for comparing biodiversity loss across pressures, regions, and purchases. It isn't a count of species lost.
## Metrics [#metrics]
The **Pressure category** column is the grouping on the Nature lens, following IPBES. The **Default dataset** serves the metric on the default path. When an activity's base sector is an EXIOBASE sector, EXIOBASE also serves the GLORIA metrics except intensive forestry, see [Methodology](/docs/methodology#2-select-the-factor).
| Metric | Unit | Pressure category | Ecosystems | Default dataset |
| --------------------------------------------- | ------- | --------------------- | ----------------------- | --------------- |
| Land occupation: Annual crops | m² | Ecosystem Use | Terrestrial | GLORIA |
| Land occupation: Permanent crops | m² | Ecosystem Use | Terrestrial | GLORIA |
| Land occupation: Pastures | m² | Ecosystem Use | Terrestrial | GLORIA |
| Land occupation: Extensive forestry | m² | Ecosystem Use | Terrestrial | GLORIA |
| Land occupation: Intensive forestry | m² | Ecosystem Use | Terrestrial | GLORIA |
| GHG emissions | kg CO₂e | Climate Change | Terrestrial, freshwater | GLORIA |
| Water consumption: Agriculture | m³ H₂Oe | Resource Exploitation | Freshwater | GLORIA |
| Water consumption: Non-agriculture | m³ H₂Oe | Resource Exploitation | Freshwater | GLORIA |
| Terrestrial acidification: NOₓ | kg NOₓ | Pollution | Terrestrial | GLORIA |
| Terrestrial acidification: NH₃ | kg NH₃ | Pollution | Terrestrial | GLORIA |
| Terrestrial acidification: SO₂ | kg SO₂ | Pollution | Terrestrial | GLORIA |
| Photochemical ozone formation: NOₓ | kg NOₓ | Pollution | Terrestrial | GLORIA |
| Marine eutrophication: Agricultural water | kg N | Pollution | Marine | EXIOBASE |
| Marine eutrophication: Waste water | kg N | Pollution | Marine | EXIOBASE |
| Freshwater eutrophication: Agricultural soil | kg P | Pollution | Freshwater | EXIOBASE |
| Freshwater eutrophication: Agricultural water | kg P | Pollution | Freshwater | EXIOBASE |
| Freshwater eutrophication: Waste water | kg P | Pollution | Freshwater | EXIOBASE |
The Climate lens uses one metric, GHG emissions, reported in t CO₂e. Water consumption is measured in m³ H₂Oe, cubic meters of water equivalents.
## Definitions [#definitions]
| Term | Definition | Unit |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------- |
| **Pressure** | The midpoint result of one metric: the environmental pressure a purchase causes, before its effect on biodiversity | The metric's unit, such as kg CO₂e |
| **Pressure intensity** | Pressure per unit of spend in the base currency | For example kg CO₂e/EUR |
| **Nature impact** | Biodiversity impact of a pressure, characterized with LC-Impact and summed over ecosystems | PDF·yr |
| **Impact intensity** | Nature impact per unit of spend in the base currency | For example PDF·yr/EUR |
| **Climate impact** | GHG emissions, shown as Total emissions on the Climate lens | t CO₂e |
# Overview (/docs/projects/overview)
A **project** holds one organization's purchases for one reporting period. Each project has its own Collect data, [project settings](/docs/projects/settings), pinned factor datasets, and results. Keeping periods in separate projects lets you compare them and keeps every result reproducible.
## Create a project [#create-a-project]
On the **Projects** page, click **Create project** and fill in:
| Field | Required | Description | Example |
| -------------------- | -------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| **Name** | Yes | The name in the project selector and the project URL | Aamu Foods FY2025 |
| **Description** | No | The scope, purpose, or focus of the data collection | Purchased goods and services of all Nordic sites |
| **Reporting period** | Yes | The year or quarter the project reports on | 2025 |
The reporting period labels your results, for example on the Impacts [Method tab](/docs/impacts/coverage-and-method#method-tab). It doesn't change the calculation. Instead, each activity's **Activity year**, the year of the purchase, decides how Nios adjusts its spend for inflation. See [Methodology](/docs/methodology).
## When to create a new project [#when-to-create-a-new-project]
| Situation | New project? | What to do |
| ----------------------------------------------------------- | ------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| A new reporting year | Yes | Create "FY2026" and compare it with "FY2025" |
| A different organizational scope, such as one business unit | Yes | Import only that unit's activities |
| A scenario, such as switching a supplier | Yes | Export the base project, import it into the new project, edit the activities, then compare |
| Corrections to your data | No | Edit in place. [Version history](/docs/collect/overview#changes-undo-and-version-history) keeps every earlier version |
## Compare projects [#compare-projects]
On the **Impacts** page, **Compare with project** shows other projects next to the current one, for example last year's. See [Impact dashboard](/docs/impacts/dashboard#compare-with-project).
# Project settings (/docs/projects/settings)
The settings under **Impact calculation** change the results of the whole project, so settle them before you report. Open them from **Settings** in the sidebar, or from **Change** on the Impacts [Method tab](/docs/impacts/coverage-and-method#method-tab).
## General [#general]
Here you edit the project's name, description, and reporting period. They don't change results. See [Projects](/docs/projects/overview#create-a-project).
## Impact calculation [#impact-calculation]
These settings decide which data and choices go into your results. The table gives an overview, and the sections below explain each setting.
| Setting | Default | What it changes |
| ----------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| [Environmental factors](#environmental-factors) | Current set when the project was created | Dataset and impact model versions behind your default results. Updating recalculates the project. |
| [Outlier treatment](#outlier-treatment) | On | Caps extreme default factor values. Recalculates the project. |
| [Traced origins](#traced-origins) | Off | Uses origin-country factors for upstream biodiversity impact. Nature only. Recalculates the project. |
| [Ecosystem weighting](#ecosystem-weighting) | Off | Weights terrestrial, freshwater, and marine impacts in the Nature total. Nature only. Applies at once. |
| [Base currency](#base-currency) | EUR | Currency of spend and intensities. Applies at once. |
A recalculation runs in the background for the whole project. The status bar on **Activities** shows its progress.
### Environmental factors [#environmental-factors]
Each project pins one set of dataset versions: the factor datasets (GLORIA 120 v059a, EXIOBASE 200 v3.10.1) and the impact model (LC-Impact v1.3). Results in a project never mix versions, so a number you reported stays reproducible.
When Nios releases a newer set, the settings show "An updated factor set is available." with **Update**. Updating recalculates every activity with the new versions, so totals can change.
Export your results before you update if you need the old numbers. See [Results and export](/docs/impacts/results-and-export).
### Outlier treatment [#outlier-treatment]
Input-output tables contain a few sector and country factors that are extreme, often because the source data for that combination is small or noisy. With outlier treatment on, Nios caps a factor that falls in the top or bottom 1% of values, but only when it's extreme both within its sector and across all sectors.
Outlier treatment applies to the Nios default factors only. Your [impact inputs](/docs/collect/impact-inputs) are never capped. Turn it off if you need to reproduce raw GLORIA or EXIOBASE values. See [Methodology](/docs/methodology#outlier-treatment) for the method.
### Traced origins [#traced-origins]
A purchase carries impacts from many countries upstream, for example the farms behind a processed food. By default, Nios converts these pressures into biodiversity impact with global LC-Impact factors. With traced origins on, Nios splits the upstream pressure by origin country and converts each part with that country's factor. Where a country has no factor, it uses the continent's factor, then the global one.
Traced origins applies only where the factor data has origin detail, and only to the Nature lens: LC-Impact has a single global factor for climate change. Pressures and intensities stay aggregated.
### Ecosystem weighting [#ecosystem-weighting]
With weighting off, Nios adds the terrestrial, freshwater, and marine biodiversity impacts, each counting fully. Turn it on to weight them by importance instead: Nios multiplies each ecosystem's impact by its weight before adding them.
The weights start at 0.34, 0.33, and 0.33 and must add up to 1.00, with up to three decimals. Because the weights add up to 1, the weighted total is an average of the three ecosystems, so Nature totals become much smaller than with weighting off.
**Example:** El Geneidy et al. (2023) propose 0.801 for terrestrial, 0.096 for freshwater, and 0.102 for marine. Nios accepts it because the sum, 0.999, is within rounding.
Weighting is a value choice. LC-Impact recommends reporting the three ecosystems separately unless you weight them deliberately. Note whether you weighted, and with which weights, when you share results.
### Base currency [#base-currency]
The base currency is the currency of every intensity, such as PDF·yr/EUR, and of the spend shown on the **Impacts** page. Nios converts each activity's spend at its activity year's exchange rate. Changing the base currency doesn't change pressures or impacts.