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Open data file columns

Every column of an open data file: what it holds, what a cell can hold, and where to read more. Search the docs for a column's name to land on its entry.

The free edition file on a library's page, an Open data+ file and a list exported from factor search share these names. They are the names the database uses, so a column reads the same in a file, in the factors_flat view and in SQL. Each file repeats these descriptions on its own columns sheet.

Each column says where its content comes from: source, the publisher's own, transcribed; normalised, the publisher's, moved onto one scale; added, computed by open-climate.ai.

Every value column (value_*_normalized) carries the figure moved onto one global-warming-potential vintage, so numbers from different publishers add up. gwp_method_normalized names the vintage this row is on, gwp_horizon_years its horizon, and gwp_normalization_basis says how the move was made: anything but unconverted may be summed across libraries. The publisher's own figure is on the factor page named in factor_value_url.

A list export adds columns of its own around these, such as group, fx_ratio and credit_line: see Export to a spreadsheet. The sheets after factors are described at the end of this page.

Identity and text#

library#

The publisher's short code.

slug#

The factor's public identifier, frozen when it was minted.

value_key#

The row's identity: the number a consumer actually read. Cite this, not the row number.

source_key#

The published value's identity in the publisher's own file.

factor_value_url#

The factor's page on open-climate.ai, opened at this row's value: the publisher's own figure, the source and the licence.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: added, computed by open-climate.ai.
  • Defined in: Download the open data.

activity_full#

The full activity name, in this file's language.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: source, the publisher's own, transcribed.
  • Defined in: The factors_flat view.

description#

The publisher's own prose about what the factor is.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: source, the publisher's own, transcribed.
  • Defined in: The factors_flat view.

included_processes#

What the publisher says sits inside the boundary, in its own words: the prose beside system_boundary. Most libraries print none.

applicability#

When the publisher says to use the number, in its own words. Most libraries print none.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: source, the publisher's own, transcribed.
  • Defined in: The emission_factor_text table.

text_lang#

The languages the text cells above actually used, this file's first. A second code means a fallback.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: added, computed by open-climate.ai.
  • Values: Comma-separated language codes (en, fr, de, ...), the file's own first; und marks the publisher's own untagged text.
  • Defined in: Download the open data.

Category#

category_code#

The level-1 code: what the factor measures.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: added, computed by open-climate.ai.
  • Values: fuels, electricity, heat_cooling, water, materials, food_agriculture, manufactured_goods, buildings_infrastructure, transport, services, waste, direct_emissions, land_use_removals
  • Defined in: Code lists.

category#

That code's name, in this file's language.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: added, computed by open-climate.ai.
  • Defined in: Code lists.

sub_category_code#

The level-2 leaf code, empty where the source is coarser.

  • In: Open data+ files only.
  • Kind: added, computed by open-climate.ai.
  • Values: A leaf code under category_code, listed in categories.xlsx
  • Defined in: Code lists.

sub_category#

That leaf's name, in this file's language.

  • In: Open data+ files only.
  • Kind: added, computed by open-climate.ai.
  • Defined in: Code lists.

classifications#

Every classification the factor carries, the publisher's own included.

  • In: Open data+ files only.
  • Kind: source, the publisher's own, transcribed.
  • Values: A JSON list of {scheme, code, label, level, parent_code}; the schemes are listed in classification-schemes.xlsx
  • Defined in: Code lists.

activity_src_id#

The publisher's key for the activity alone: group on it to list an activity once across its region, unit and boundary variants.

Region and unit#

region_code#

Where the factor applies, at the publisher's own grain.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: normalised, the publisher's, moved onto one scale.
  • Values: A code listed in geography.xlsx
  • Defined in: The factors_flat view.
  • How to use it: Regions.

region_label#

That region's name, in this file's language.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: added, computed by open-climate.ai.
  • Defined in: The factors_flat view.
  • How to use it: Regions.

region_is_publisher_default#

True when the region came from a rule about the publication, not from the row. Weak evidence about place, never a scope error.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: added, computed by open-climate.ai.
  • Values: true, false
  • Defined in: The factors_flat view.
  • How to use it: Regions.

unit_code#

The canonical unit the value is expressed per.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: normalised, the publisher's, moved onto one scale.
  • Values: A code listed in units.xlsx
  • Defined in: Code lists.
  • How to use it: Units and unit conversions.

unit_family#

The unit's family: mass, energy, volume, monetary.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: normalised, the publisher's, moved onto one scale.
  • Values: accommodation, area, area_time, count, distance, distance_time, duration, energy, freight, freight_container, labour, length, length_time, mass, mass_time, monetary, passenger, vehicle_distance, volume
  • Defined in: Code lists.
  • How to use it: Units and unit conversions.

unit_label#

That unit's name, in this file's language.

System boundary#

system_boundary#

What this factor counts. Check it before comparing two numbers.

system_boundary_label#

That boundary's name, in this file's language.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: added, computed by open-climate.ai.
  • Defined in: Code lists.
  • How to use it: System boundaries.

boundary_preset#

How much of the life cycle the number covers: cradle to gate, full life cycle, energy full chain, or one slice to add up.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: normalised, the publisher's, moved onto one scale.
  • Values: cradle_to_gate, cradle_to_shelf, full_lifecycle, end_of_life_waste, energy_full_chain, direct_only, supply_chain_only, upstream_slice, production_slice, use_slice, eol_slice, other_slice, credit, unknown
  • Defined in: Code lists.
  • How to use it: System boundaries.

boundary_role#

Whether the number may be reported alone: whole stands by itself, part is one slice, credit is never summed into a total. Guard an aggregate with boundary_role = whole.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: normalised, the publisher's, moved onto one scale.
  • Values: whole, part, credit, unknown
  • Defined in: Code lists.
  • How to use it: System boundaries.

boundary_scope#

The effective includes and excludes, term by term: in, out or not_stated, for the terms that apply to what the factor measures. An absent term does not apply or is not established, never excluded.

  • In: Open data+ files only.
  • Kind: normalised, the publisher's, moved onto one scale.
  • Values: A JSON object: boundary term -> in, out or not_stated. The terms are listed at the reference link.
  • Defined in: Code lists.
  • How to use it: System boundaries.

boundary_profile#

The factor's own answers alone, before the defaults merge in.

  • In: Open data+ files only.
  • Kind: normalised, the publisher's, moved onto one scale.
  • Values: A JSON object: boundary term -> in, out or not_stated. The terms are listed at the reference link.
  • Defined in: Code lists.
  • How to use it: System boundaries.

Parents and children#

parent_relation#

How this factor relates to its parent: an addend of the parent's total, a nested envelope, or grouped and never summed.

parent_slug#

The decomposition parent, empty on a top-level factor.

root_slug#

The top of this factor's parent chain, its own when it has none.

is_derived#

True where open-climate.ai computed the number. It is either a sum of an exact cover of the publisher's own slices, because the publisher prints the parts and not the total; or a leg the publisher never printed, estimated from other published figures for the same region, a broader region or another country, such as an electricity leg (losses, the fuel chain) or a fuel's supply-chain leg (well-to-tank); or a total that includes such an estimated leg. is_estimated tells the estimates from the sums.

is_estimated#

True where open-climate.ai estimated a part the publisher never printed: a leg computed from the publisher's own value and other published figures, such as an electricity leg (losses, the fuel chain) or a fuel's supply-chain leg (well-to-tank), or a total that includes such a leg. Every estimated row is also derived. Filter is_estimated = false to leave every estimate out; is_derived = false also leaves out the totals summed from the publisher's own parts.

is_top_parent#

True where the factor has no parent. Children are here for drill-down: summing them double-counts their parents.

The headline value#

value_co2e_normalized#

The headline number, per one canonical unit.

co2e_basis#

Which inclusion convention the headline counts.

co2e_origin#

Where the headline came from: source is the publisher's own CO2e, computed_from_gases a sum of the gases the publisher printed, summed_from_children a total open-climate.ai added up from the factor's parts (is_estimated says whether one of them is an estimate), estimated_from_reference a leg the publisher never printed, estimated by open-climate.ai from the publisher's own value and other published figures.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: added, computed by open-climate.ai.
  • Values: source, computed_from_gases, estimated_from_reference, summed_from_children
  • Defined in: The factors_flat view.
  • How to use it: Parents, children, double counting.

The gas legs#

value_co2_normalized#

CO2 component.

value_co2_fossil_normalized#

Fossil CO2 component.

value_ch4_normalized#

Methane component.

value_ch4_biogenic_normalized#

Biogenic methane component.

value_n2o_normalized#

Nitrous oxide component.

value_hfcs_normalized#

HFC basket component.

value_pfcs_normalized#

PFC basket component.

value_sf6_normalized#

Sulphur hexafluoride component.

value_nf3_normalized#

Nitrogen trifluoride component.

value_other_normalized#

Remaining greenhouse gases the publisher groups together.

value_co2_biogenic_normalized#

Biogenic CO2 component.

value_co2_luluc_normalized#

Land-use and land-use-change CO2 component.

value_removals_normalized#

Removals the publisher accounts for. Negative by convention.

Method#

gwp_method_normalized#

The global-warming-potential vintage this row's numbers are on.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: normalised, the publisher's, moved onto one scale.
  • Values: ar6 wherever gwp_normalization_basis is not unconverted; an unconverted row keeps the publisher's own vintage.
  • Defined in: The factors_flat view.
  • How to use it: GWP values and IPCC report versions.

gwp_horizon_years#

The horizon those numbers are on, in years.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: normalised, the publisher's, moved onto one scale.
  • Values: 100 wherever gwp_normalization_basis is not unconverted; an unconverted row keeps the publisher's own horizon.
  • Defined in: The factors_flat view.
  • How to use it: GWP values and IPCC report versions.

gwp_normalization_basis#

How the row reached that vintage. Everything but unconverted may be summed across libraries.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: normalised, the publisher's, moved onto one scale.
  • Values: native, invariant, recharacterized, unconverted
  • Defined in: Code lists.
  • How to use it: GWP values and IPCC report versions.

calculation_approach#

Location based or market based, where the carrier has both.

radiative_forcing#

Whether the value includes a radiative-forcing uplift.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: normalised, the publisher's, moved onto one scale.
  • Values: with, without
  • Defined in: The factors_flat view.

grid_mix#

The accounting mix an electricity value assumes.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: normalised, the publisher's, moved onto one scale.
  • Values: production, consumption, marginal, residual, total_supplier_mix, supplier_specific, green
  • Defined in: Code lists.
  • How to use it: Market-based vs location-based electricity.

Supplier#

supplier_code#

The named counterparty's short code, empty where there is none.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: source, the publisher's own, transcribed.
  • Defined in: The factors_flat view.

supplier_name#

The named counterparty's name.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: source, the publisher's own, transcribed.
  • Defined in: The factors_flat view.

is_epd#

True on (a module of) an Environmental Product Declaration.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: added, computed by open-climate.ai.
  • Values: true, false
  • Defined in: The factors_flat view.

Money and price level#

currency_year#

The price year the number is denominated in. Empty on a physical factor.

price_basis#

Which price a monetary value is quoted at: producer, purchaser, basic.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: normalised, the publisher's, moved onto one scale.
  • Values: basic, producer, purchaser
  • Defined in: Code lists.
  • How to use it: Spend-based vs activity-based factors.

price_index_ratio#

What the published value was multiplied by to restate it into this row's price year. Exactly 1.0 where nothing was restated.

deflation_economy#

The economy whose price series restated this row.

deflation_economy_hops#

How far up the geography tree that series was found.

Qualifiers and years#

value_qualifiers#

Discriminators belonging to this library family rather than a shared axis.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: source, the publisher's own, transcribed.
  • Values: A JSON object whose keys are lca_method, policy_year, preliminary, scenario
  • Defined in: Code lists.

data_type#

How specific the number is: specific, average or generic.

  • In: every file: the free edition file, Open data+ and a list export.
  • Kind: source, the publisher's own, transcribed.
  • Values: average, generic, specific
  • Defined in: Code lists.

reference_year#

The publisher's vintage: the year the number describes.

applies_from_year#

The first activity year this row answers for. Empty means open.

applies_to_year#

The last activity year this row answers for. Empty means open.

Quality and freshness#

data_quality_normalized#

The comparable confidence tier, derived at ingest.

  • In: Open data+ files only.
  • Kind: normalised, the publisher's, moved onto one scale.
  • Values: high, medium, low, very_low
  • Defined in: Code lists.
  • How to use it: Data quality ratings.

data_quality_reason_normalized#

Why the tier is what it is, or why a zero is a real zero.

  • In: Open data+ files only.
  • Kind: normalised, the publisher's, moved onto one scale.
  • Values: library_prior, no_native_signal, structural_zero, implausible_printed_zero, green_electricity_zero, biogenic_excluded_zero, rounded_to_zero, regulatory_default_zero_implausible, generic_spend_category, tiny_denominator_extreme, context_dependent_basis, mixed_gwp_vintage, partial_gas_vector, publisher_forbids_inventory_use, implausible_mass_intensity, source_restatement_divergence, mixed_fossil_biogenic_unsplit, hestia_aggregated_quality, publisher_arithmetic_corrected, publisher_arithmetic_unresolved, estimated_from_regional_statistic, estimated_from_regional_model, estimated_from_broader_region, estimated_from_proxy_region, implausible_estimated_loss_share
  • Defined in: Code lists.
  • How to use it: Data quality ratings.

last_ingest_version#

The ingest run that last wrote this value: sync a mirror with last_ingest_version > the last one you saw.

  • In: Open data+ files only.
  • Kind: added, computed by open-climate.ai.
  • Defined in: The factors_flat view.

updated_at#

When open-climate.ai last wrote the row.

  • In: Open data+ files only.
  • Kind: added, computed by open-climate.ai.
  • Defined in: The factors_flat view.

The sheets after factors#

An edition file opens on the factors sheet, whose columns are above. The sheets after it explain the file; the CSV download holds the same grids, one CSV each. The about and checks sheets appear once the library has been audited.

The columns sheet#

One row per column of the factors sheet, so the file explains itself.

column#

The header the row describes, as the factors sheet spells it.

tier#

free when every file carries the column, plus when only Open data+ files do.

kind#

Where the content comes from: the publisher's own, transcribed; the publisher's, moved onto one scale; or computed by open-climate.ai.

meaning#

One line on what the column holds.

values#

What a cell can hold where that is knowable: the codes, a shape, or the workbook that lists them. Empty for free text, numbers and names.

reference#

The docs page that defines the column.

guide#

The docs page that explains how to use it, where one does.

The references sheet#

What the file is and what you may do with it, one fact per row.

field#

The fact's name. Every field is listed under The references fields.

value#

The fact itself.

The references fields#

In the order the sheet lists them. The rights_ rows appear only where the library has a rights card, the input credits only in a file with estimated rows.

field what it holds
library The library code.
publisher The publisher's name.
edition The publisher's edition the file was built from.
revision Which build of that edition this is.
language The file's language, as a BCP-47 code.
tier free for the free edition file, plus for Open data+.
citation How to cite the file.
license_tier The licence tier, which decides what a file may carry.
license_code The publisher's licence, as a code.
attribution The publisher's own attribution text.
license_url Where the licence or the publisher's terms are published.
license_notice The publisher's terms, where it states them in prose.
library_page The library's page on open-climate.ai.
libraries In a file mixing libraries, the page listing them all.
docs The documentation's home.
docs_open_data_files How to download the open data.
docs_columns This page.
docs_code_lists Every code list, with what each code means.
docs_how_to_cite How to cite a factor.
docs_licences What each licence lets you do.
rights_license_code The licence the rights rows below answer for.
rights_own_footprint The rights card's answer, in words: yes; yes, if (then the conditions); no; ask (then whom); or unclear.
rights_publish_results The rights card's answer, in words: yes; yes, if (then the conditions); no; ask (then whom); or unclear.
rights_share_with_customers The rights card's answer, in words: yes; yes, if (then the conditions); no; ask (then whom); or unclear.
rights_embed_in_product The rights card's answer, in words: yes; yes, if (then the conditions); no; ask (then whom); or unclear.
rights_modify_combine The rights card's answer, in words: yes; yes, if (then the conditions); no; ask (then whom); or unclear.
rights_terms_url Where the answers are read from.
rights_verified_on When they were last checked.
additions_license The licence on what open-climate.ai adds; the publisher's values stay under the publisher's terms.
credit_line The line to print with any values you reuse.
credit_rule How to give the credit.
estimated_inputs Only in a file with estimated rows: what they were estimated from.
input_credit_<code> The credit owed to one of those inputs.
input_credit_<code>_fuel_legs The credit owed to a library whose factors a fuel's estimated leg reused.
disclaimer Not legal advice: the publisher's terms prevail.
retrieved_on The day the file was built.
dataset_stamp The database version the file was read from.
factor_count Rows on the factors sheet: one per served factor.
value_count The library's served values across every year and method.
year_range The first and last year the library's values cover.
excluded_factor_count Factors left out because their licence forbids it.
excluded_note What that count means.
contents_note What one row of the factors sheet is.
year_semantics Which year to compare factors on.
values_normalised What the value columns are stated on.

A library published under several licences repeats the rights_ rows once per licence, as rights_<stream>_own_footprint and so on.

The changes sheet#

What moved since the previous edition of the same library.

metric#

previous_edition, factors_added, factors_removed or values_changed.

value#

The edition compared against, or the count.

The about sheet#

What open-climate.ai standardised in this library, one theme per row.

topic#

The theme, one of category, geography, units, boundary, gwp, parents, derived, spend, grid_mix, quality, epd_supplier, languages, traceable, stable. The last row, checks, sums up the latest audit run.

what_open_climate_ai_added#

What was done to the publisher's data on that theme, counted in this library.

checks#

The audit checks that test the claim, each with its status.

The checks sheet#

Every audit check shown for this library, failures and known limitations first.

check#

The check's name.

scope#

Where the check runs: library, all_libraries, load_guard.

status#

The check's outcome: passed, limitation, failed, enforced_at_load, not_recorded.

violation_count#

How many violations concern this library. A check across all libraries counts the ones touching it.

description#

The rule the check states.