It does not assure your figures, does not report market-based Scope 2, does not compare against a base year, does not notify GRI on your behalf, and does not apply GRI Sector Standards. It also cannot check whether the numbers you entered are true. Each of these is a real limitation with a real consequence, listed here rather than left to be found.
- No assurance. Figures are self-reported and unaudited. Limited or reasonable assurance requires a separate engagement with a qualified provider.
- No market-based Scope 2. Only location-based is calculated, so a green tariff, power purchase agreement or renewable energy certificate will not be reflected. The GHG Protocol requires both figures from any company operating in a market where such contracts are sold.
- No base-year comparison. Without a prior year there is nothing to compare to, so GRI 305-5 (reduction of emissions) stays empty in a first report. An empty disclosure with a stated reason is compliant; a fabricated trend is not.
- No notification to GRI. It is one of the three requirements for reporting with reference to the Standards, and the one piece software cannot do for you: it happens after your report is published, through GRI’s Report Registration System. Until it is sent, the claim printed on the report is not complete.
- No GRI Sector Standards. Where one exists for your industry GRI expects it to be used; none is applied here, and material topics are determined without one.
- No verification of your inputs. We have no access to your meters, bills or operations. A calculation from wrong figures is wrong, however carefully performed.
- Some Scope 3 lines use spend-based proxies, which scale with price rather than physical impact. They are marked as proxies and are a weak basis for a reduction claim.
None of these prevents a defensible report for the use this product is built for — answering customers, tenders and lenders. They do mean that if your obligation is a regulatory filing with assurance, you need more than this software, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling you something.