Overview of The Carbon Ledger

The Introduction to Carbon Accounting Course offers a solid foundation for understanding the basics of carbon accounting and emission classification, so it’s worth completing to build confidence with these concepts. You can also ask more questions about this using Sumd[AI].

At the heart of carbon accounting are emission factors, which are values that quantify emissions associated with specific activities or goods. Emission factors help convert financial transactions into measurable emissions by assigning a carbon footprint to each type of activity based on the transaction’s details. For instance, a transaction for a specific material—like wood or concrete—will have an emission factor reflecting the carbon impact of producing that material provided by a public source. You selected the sources that will be available for selection when you created an assessment. As you go through this bookkeeping process, Sumday will multiply the relevant emission factor by the transaction details to provide an equivalent amount of C02-e.

To assign a transaction to the correct emission source, use a combination of the GL Account, Supplier, and Transaction Description. These details provide context that guides you to the most accurate emission source.

Emission sources group activities into categories, often industry-specific, such as Forestry Products or Consulting. Sometimes sources are even more specific, like Paper or Concrete. Since there might not be a perfect match for every transaction, select the best available fit (while you want this to be as ‘accurate’ as possible, remember this is all based on proxy data so it’s better to focus attention on improving the quality of your data that getting too caught up on what average to use if two seem applicable. The key is to stay consistent.

As you choose an emission source, you’ll see the available emission factors, which provide detailed emissions data. This information helps you make informed decisions and identify opportunities to improve your assessment quality in the future with more accurate data sources, such as Primary or Activity Data. You can also click on the source link to view the database from which the emission factors are derived, offering transparency into the data's origin.

We understand that transaction-level carbon accounting can feel daunting, especially with the volume of data involved. However, with the right tools, you can streamline the process, gain precise insights, and support proactive decision-making. Here’s how Sumday helps you achieve both efficiency and accuracy without added complexity.

In the Carbon Ledger table, simply click the 3 dots in the top right to add columns like Tracking Category to tailor the data view to your needs. Adjust column order, size, and visibility for a workspace that makes sense to you. This flexibility lets you see the details that matter most—whether it’s by supplier, GL account, or transaction description—at a glance.

You can sort by any column header to bring similar items together. For added efficiency, use CTRL + click to sort by multiple columns, such as GL Account > Supplier > Amount, to group transactions by account, then by supplier, and highlight high-spend items first. This approach helps you focus on major carbon impact areas quickly and accurately.

Often, similar transactions share the same emission source. After selecting one transaction, you can hold SHIFT to select a range or click individually to choose specific transactions. This allows you to apply an emissions source to multiple transactions at once, significantly reducing the time spent on repetitive coding.

Once you assign an emission source, Sumday remembers the details and will suggest the same source for similar transactions in the future. Look out for the Smart Suggestion indicator (✨), which provides you with consistent recommendations. Simply review the suggestion to ensure accuracy, then reconcile with confidence.

Rules allow you to set conditions to automatically assign emission sources, letting you focus on key areas while Sumday handles the routine classifications. For instance, you could create a rule that assigns the Legal Services emission source to transactions from Consulting GL accounts with Lucky Lawyers as the supplier. This level of automation can significantly streamline your workflow while retaining control over categorization.

For a detailed guide, see the Rules Feature.

Tracking categories let you classify data by meaningful business dimensions, such as location, department, or project. This helps make carbon accounting part of business as usual, enabling you to produce insightful, monthly or quarterly data for stakeholders and driving action, rather than only looking backward once a year.

For more information, visit the Tracking Categories Feature.

By leveraging these tools, transaction-level accounting becomes less of a burden and more of an asset, delivering detailed insights efficiently and enabling proactive carbon management across the organization.