Sustainable KPI Definitions

Scope 1 Emissions -- Metric tons of CO2 equivalent (mtCO2e)

Scope 1 emissions are direct greenhouse (GHG) emissions that occur from sources that are controlled or owned by an organization (e.g., emissions associated with fuel combustion in boilers, furnaces, vehicles).

Scope 2 Emissions: Location-Based -- Metric tons of CO2 equivalent (mtCO2e)

Scope 2 emissions are indirect GHG emissions associated with the purchase of electricity, steam, heat, or cooling. Although scope 2 emissions physically occur at the facility where they are generated, they are accounted for in an organization's GHG inventory because they are a result of the organization's energy use. A location-based method reflects the average emissions intensity of grids on which energy consumption occurs (using mostly grid-average emission factor data).

Scope 2 Emissions: Market-Based -- Metric tons of CO2 equivalent (mtCO2e)

Scope 2 emissions are indirect GHG emissions associated with the purchase of electricity, steam, heat, or cooling. Although scope 2 emissions physically occur at the facility where they are generated, they are accounted for in an organization's GHG inventory because they are a result of the organization's energy use. A market-based method reflects emissions from electricity that companies have purposefully chosen (or their lack of choice). It derives emission factors from contractual instruments, which include any type of contract between two parties for the sale and purchase of energy bundled with attributes about the energy generation, or for unbundled attribute claims.

If there are two companies that have the same electricity consumption in the same region, their location-based totals will be the same, but if one purchased a lot of green electricity and the other hasn't, then the market-based total for the green electricity purchaser will be significantly lower.

To summarize, the market-based method incentivizes organizations to take control of their own electricity fuel type mix and not passively rely on the local grid average.

Scope 3 Emissions -- Metric tons of CO2 equivalent (mtCO2e)

Scope 3 emissions are indirect GHG emissions resulting from the organization's operations and value chain. They are often broken down between upstream and downstream activities. You can think of upstream activities as inputs for creating the product or service and downstream as outputs or distributing the product or service. Examples of upstream Scope 3 emissions sources include: business travel by means not owned or controlled by an organization, waste disposal, and purchased goods & services. Examples of downstream Scope 3 emissions sources include: processing of sold products, use of sold products and the end-of-life treatment of sold products.

Total Emissions -- Metric tons of CO2 equivalent (mtCO2e)

Sum of Scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions made by the company during a specified period.

Total Electricity Use -- Megawatt hour (MWh)

The total amount of electricity that has been consumed within the boundaries of the company's operations.

Renewable Energy Use -- Megawatt hour (MWh)

The total amount of energy that has been consumed within the boundaries of the company's operations from renewable sources such as wind, hydro, or solar. The type of renewables, and amounts consumed, are typically reflected in contractual instruments between energy providers and consumers of energy.

Total Waste Produced -- Metric tons (t)

Total waste produced by the company during the reporting period.

Waste Diverted -- Metric tons (t)

Sum of waste reused, recycled, or recovered by the company during the reporting period.

Water Use -- Liters (l)

Quantity of water consumed or stored during the reporting period for future use.

Number of Full-Time Employees

Number of total employees who work at a company full-time.

Number of Women in Workforce

Number of women who work at a company full-time.

Women in Management Positions

Number of women in management roles at a company.

Minorities in Workforce

Sum of full-time employees in the workforce across 7 race/ethnic categories as defined by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Minorities in Management Positions

Sum of full-time employees in management across 7 race/ethnic categories as defined by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Total Incident Rate

The number of nonfatal injuries and illnesses that occur because of a company's operations in each reporting period, divided by the total hours worked by employees.

Fatalities

Number of employee or contractor fatalities that occur because of a company's operations in a given period

Gender Pay Ratio

The gender pay ratio refers to the difference in earnings between women and men. It is calculated by comparing the median male and female pay at a company.

Minority Pay Ratio

The minority pay ratio refers to the difference in earnings between minorities compared to White workers. It is calculated by comparing the median pay for workers who fall into one or more of 7 categories of race/ethnicity against the median pay for their White counterparts.

Employee Turnover

Employee turnover, or employee turnover rate, is the measurement of the number of employees who voluntarily leave an organization during a specified period, typically one year. While an organization usually measures the total number of employees who leave, turnover can also apply to subcategories within an organization—examples include turnover at the departmental level, or the sample could capture turnover across worker demographics.

CEO Pay Ratio

CEO pay ratio indicates the gap between the compensation of the CEO and that of a median employee.

Board Diversity

The % of corporate boards made up of women or people of color.

GRI Disclosure

Is the company a GRI signatory?

SASB Disclosure

Is the company a SASB signatory?

TCFD Disclosure

Is the company a TCFD signatory?

CDP Disclosure

Is the company a CDP signatory?

SDG Disclosure

Has the company set SDGs?