Planet FWD Supports Data Collaboration over Competition

Have you been told that your existing carbon accounting data "can't be used" by a new sustainability partner? If so, you should be skeptical. This kind of data gatekeeping isn't just frustrating – it's counterproductive to real progress.

When providers tell you to discard your existing LCA data and start over, they're not just asking you to duplicate work. They're asking you to delay meaningful climate action, waste resources, and potentially lock yourself into a closed system that limits your future options.

At Planet FWD, we see a concerning trend emerging in the decarbonization software landscape: the creation of closed ecosystems that force companies to repeatedly measure the same emissions using different providers' methodologies. This approach not only wastes valuable time and resources but risks slowing down the urgent work of climate action.

The reality is that if your emissions data follows recognized methodological standards like the GHG Protocol and ISO LCA standards, it should be usable across platforms and frameworks. Anything else is an artificial barrier.

The Power of Open Data Standards

Our commitment to open collaboration is built on two core principles:

1. Data Integrity Without Lock-in: Planet FWD's methodologies are fully aligned with the GHG Protocol and ISO LCA standards, ensuring that emissions data can be confidently used across different reporting frameworks and platforms. Your LCA data should remain valuable and usable regardless of which partners you work with.
2. Seamless Data Integration: Our platform accepts emissions data from any verified provider that meets established quality standards. This means you can leverage your existing emissions data and build upon your progress, rather than starting from scratch.

Understanding Appropriate Uses of LCA Data Across Providers

When your LCA data follows recognized methodological standards, there are many valid ways to leverage this information across different platforms and systems. Let's clarify what's appropriate and what isn't:

Appropriate Uses of LCA Data

• Integration into corporate emissions inventories
• Establishing baselines for tracking improvement over time
• Identifying opportunities for emissions reduction
• Making comparisons between products analyzed using the same methodology
• Product labeling and consumer communications about a product's carbon footprint
• Engaging suppliers in emissions reduction initiatives

When Additional Analysis May Be Needed

• Making comparative claims between products analyzed using different methodologies
• Using the data as part of a scoring or rating system that doesn't maintain the quantitative carbon values
• Combining data sets that use fundamentally different system boundaries or allocation methods

The key is transparency: as long as your LCA data follows recognized standards and methodologies, it should be able to contribute meaningfully to your broader emissions management efforts. Forcing companies to restart their analysis using a different provider's methodology, when they already have standards-compliant data, creates unnecessary barriers to progress.

Collaboration Over Competition

The challenges of decarbonization are too complex and urgent for any single company to solve alone. That's why we've designed our platform to be inherently collaborative, allowing companies to:

• Build upon their existing emissions data and LCAs rather than starting over
• Share data seamlessly with suppliers, customers, and reporting frameworks
• Make informed decisions based on comprehensive, validated information
• Focus resources on reduction strategies rather than redundant measurements

Empowering Decarbonization Through Choice

We believe you should have the freedom to choose the tools and partners that best suit your needs, without being locked into a single provider's ecosystem. This philosophy of open collaboration and data interoperability isn't just about making things easier for businesses – it's about accelerating the collective action needed to address climate change.