Splice

Splice is a tool for visualizing how a company’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions change over time. Companies listed on stock exchanges in Europe, Canada, Japan, Australia, and other markets around the world are required to share their emissions from directly burning fossil fuels (“Scope 1”) and indirect emissions from the electricity they use (“Scope 2”). Many companies based elsewhere, including the US, disclose this data voluntarily. We’re constantly reading about companies congratulating themselves for their net zero targets – and activists who say that existing targets don’t go far enough.

When it comes to emissions reporting, it’s important to be able to separate signal from noise. Initiatives to reduce emissions drive the most climate impact when they are based on durable moves that are under management’s control. On a year to year basis, emissions can go up or down for all kinds of reasons that are either transient, or not really under a company’s control.

Imagine a company dependent on hydropower in a drought-stricken region – its emissions might increase, as fossil fuel power plants fill the gap in electric generation, but not permanently, and not because of a decision made by the company. On the other hand, consider a company idling one of its plants because of a downturn in its end-markets. Emissions will decline, but they’ll go right back up as the market turns. Transient drivers like these can obscure longer-term trends in energy and emissions intensity.

Splice helps visualize what’s actually driving trends in emissions. Select a company, a start year, and an end year to see how (i) revenue trends, (ii) the energy intensity of revenue, (iii) the share of energy coming from the grid, (iv) the emissions intensity of grid electricity and fossil fuels used by the company, and (v) trading activity (for example, buying renewable energy credits).