Svalna

Calculation methodology

Svalna calculates the carbon footprints of individuals, companies and organizations, through smart combination of economic and physical data, and automated calculations.

The carbon footprints of private consumers are calculated based on transaction data that the users share with us by connecting the app to their bank. The carbon footprints of companies and organizations are calculated based on data from the financial accounts. All data are securely handled.

Impacts are essentially calculated by multiplying the purchase value in SEK by the emission factors of the corresponding purchasing category. All purchases that the users make with their bank cards are automatically categorized depending on where the purchases were made. A purchase in a clothing store, for example, is categorized as “clothes”. Emissions are then calculated by multiplying the purchase amount in SEK by the emission factor of the corresponding purchasing category. Clothes, for example, have an emission factor of 0.05 kg carbon dioxide equivalents (CO₂e) per Swedish krona. This means that a T-shirt that costs SEK 200 has a carbon footprint of 10 kg CO₂e.

1

Primary production

Chemicals
Fertilizers
Materials

2

Production

Factories
Energy
Buildings

3

Retail

Energy
Equipment
Service

4

Carbon footprint

A T-shirt for SEK 200
10 kg CO₂e
0.05 kg CO₂e/SEK

The emission factors that we use are based on Statistics Sweden’s environmental accounts and have been calculated using environmentally-extended multi-regional input-output analysis. The emission factors are average measures of the climate impact per monetary unit. It basically works like this: If we know how much money the entire population spends on clothes during one year, and we also know how much greenhouse gases the clothing industry emits the same year, it is possible to calculate an average emission factor per monetary unit for the category “clothing”. It is admittedly a rough measure, but it makes it possible to estimate the average emissions over time.

For private consumers, we use emission factors that represent private consumption in Sweden, and for companies and organizations, we use emission factors that represent total final consumption in Sweden (including private, non-profit and public consumption).

All emissions are, however, not always calculated based on transaction data. Some emissions are better measured using primary, physical data, such as flight distance and the use of energy in kWh, in combination with regional emission factors that reflect the emissions from, for example, district heating in your region.

Do you want to dive even deeper into the calculation methodology that forms the basis of the app? If so, check out this scientific article, written by Svalna’s founder. Is there anything else you are curious about when it comes to our calculation methodology? In that case, do not hesitate to contact us!