METHOD & SCIENTIFIC GOVERNANCE
Rigour means knowing what cannot be claimed.
Footprint Tool separates operational screening, life-cycle Environmental Footprint methods and WEFE Nexus research. The software never fills scientific gaps with invented values.
Corporate OEF — the default organisation pathway
An Organisation Environmental Footprint study addresses a defined organisation, product portfolio, reporting unit and reference period across relevant life-cycle stages. Applicable OEF sector rules, allocation and comparability requirements must be evaluated.
An inventory containing only water, electricity and fuel supports limited physical screening—not a complete OEF. Footprint Tool therefore labels early corporate work as an OEF-aligned draft.
Product PEF — optional and function-specific
A Product Environmental Footprint study begins with a defined function, performance, lifetime and functional unit, plus applicable PEF category rules. Product PEF results cannot simply be summed to derive an organisation-wide OEF where processes or inventories overlap.
Operational screening — working calculations
The current calculation layer implements physical water balances, delivered energy, operational GHG and selected engineering formulas. Each result includes its boundary, units, source and factor version.
| Output | Basis | Explicit limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Water consumed (m³) | Withdrawal − returns ± storage/transfers | Not EF water-use impact |
| Delivered energy (kWh equiv.) | Electricity + onsite use + fuel LHV + imported heat | Not a 17th EF category |
| Operational GHG (kg CO₂e) | Listed activity × pinned emission factors | Not full EF climate change |
The sixteen EF categories
Full EF normalisation and weighting require sixteen complete, unit-compatible characterised results from a reviewed life-cycle model. The table below is an educational transcription of EF 3.1 reference factors from the supplied guide, not a production factor licence.
| Category | Characterised unit | Illustrative NF | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Climate change | kg CO₂ eq | 7550 | 21.06% |
| Ozone depletion | kg CFC-11 eq | 0.0523 | 6.31% |
| Human toxicity, cancer | CTUh | 0.0000173 | 2.13% |
| Human toxicity, non-cancer | CTUh | 0.000129 | 1.84% |
| Particulate matter | Disease incidence | 0.000595 | 8.96% |
| Ionising radiation | kBq U-235 eq | 4220 | 5.01% |
| Photochemical ozone formation | kg NMVOC eq | 40.9 | 4.78% |
| Acidification | mol H⁺ eq | 55.6 | 6.20% |
| Eutrophication, terrestrial | mol N eq | 177 | 3.71% |
| Eutrophication, freshwater | kg P eq | 1.61 | 2.80% |
| Eutrophication, marine | kg N eq | 19.5 | 2.96% |
| Ecotoxicity, freshwater | CTUe | 56700 | 1.92% |
| Land use | Pt | 819000 | 7.94% |
| Water use | m³ world eq deprived | 11500 | 8.51% |
| Resource use, fossils | MJ | 65000 | 8.32% |
| Resource use, minerals and metals | kg Sb eq | 0.0636 | 7.55% |
Single-score release gate
A single EF score is blocked if even one category, compatible factor version, dataset right, scope record, uncertainty review or required approval is missing. Missing categories never become zero.
The separate training fixture reproduces 0.702655 Pt from fictional characterised inputs. It exists to test arithmetic and is never displayed as a company score.
WEFE Nexus — separate research and decision support
Water, Energy, Food and Ecosystems indicators may support scenario comparison using versioned, context-specific benchmarks and directions. This is not an EU EF category or certification.
Composite indices remain unavailable until the method, weights, evidence and applicability policy have scientific approval. Missing or non-applicable domains are never treated as favourable scores.
Method references
European Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/2279, Annexes I and III; JRC EF 3.1 reference package and transition resources; supplied WEFE methodological guide v2.0 and Overall Environmental Footprint calculation guide. Production studies must check for newer applicable releases and pin their selected versions.
See the method in a working workspace.
Explore real calculation flows using isolated synthetic data.