Import Reference Datasets

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you'll be able to:

• Explain how Net Zero Cloud uses reference data.
• List the three types of reference data that Net Zero Cloud provides.
• Load reference datasets.
• Find reference datasets in your org.

What Are Reference Datasets?

Net Zero Cloud uses reference datasets from government sources and other agencies, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), to calculate a business's energy consumption and activity data as greenhouse gas emissions based on standard global emissions factors. Net Zero Cloud provides three collections of reference datasets for this purpose.

• Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS)
  Includes building energy intensity survey data and building energy intensity values from the US Energy Information Administration. Provides energy consumption and efficiency statistics for US buildings by region.
  
  
• Electricity, Other Emission Factors, and Scope 3 Business Travel Emission Factors
  Includes an electricity emissions factor set, other emissions factor set, freight hauling emissions factor, refrigerant emissions factor, inflation rate, waste disposal emissions factor set, and waste disposal emissions factor set item. Business travel emission factors include air travel emissions factors, ground travel emissions factors, hotel stay emissions factors, and rental car emissions factors.
  
  
• US Environmentally-Extended Input-Output (USEEIO)
  Includes a procurement emissions factor set and procurement emissions factor set item data.

You can read more about reference data and why it's important in the Net Zero Cloud documentation. See the link in the Resources section. 

For buildings outside of the US, you can download or purchase other datasets from organizations such as the Association of Issuing Bodies and the World Bank. For details, see the link in the Resources section. Due to licensing restrictions from data holders, Salesforce can't include all available datasets natively in Net Zero Cloud, but you can download and import them into your org. 

Let’s join Safiya as she loads the reference datasets.

Load reference datasets only one time. Reloading datasets results in duplicate records. When Net Zero Cloud finishes loading a dataset, the org's admin is notified.

Load the CBECS Dataset

1. From Setup, in the Quick Find box, search for and then select Load Reference Data.
2. Click Load CBECS Dataset.
3. In the Map dataset dialog, select your building energy intensity record type, and then click Load.

You'll only see record types mapped to Regional Building Energy Intensity.

Net Zero Cloud imports the US Energy Information Administration 2012 survey data, which includes energy-related building characteristics and energy usage data (consumption and expenditures) on US commercial buildings.

Load Electricity, Other Emission Factors, and Scope 3 Business Travel Emission Factors Datasets

1. From Setup, in the Quick Find box, search for and then select Load Reference Data.
2. Click Load Other Datasets.

Net Zero Cloud imports these datasets.

Load the USEEIO Dataset

1. From Setup, in the Quick Find box, search for and then select Load Reference Data.
2. Click Load USEEIO Dataset.

Net Zero Cloud imports the US Environmentally-Extended Input-Output (USEEIO) (2013) dataset for procurement and spend-related emissions factors.

View Reference Data

Once Safiya has imported all the emissions factors reference data, she can see it in the Net Zero app. Here’s how. 

In the Net Zero app, click the app navigation menu and choose any of these tabs.

• Air Travel Emissions Factors
  Stores emissions factors for scope 3 commercial air travel.
  
  
• Electricity Emissions Factor Sets
  Stores factors that are used to convert electricity usage into CO₂e, CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O values. This record holds data on the breakdown of sources of electricity by fuel type (grid mixes).
  
  
• Freight Hauling Emissions Factors
  Stores the emissions factors for scope 3 freight hauling.
  
  
• Ground Travel Emissions Factors
  Stores emissions factors for scope 3 ground travel.
  
  
• Hotel Stay Emissions Factors
  Stores emissions factors for scope 3 hotel stays.
  
  
• Inflation Rates
  Stores annual inflation rates that are used to convert currency values.
  
  
• Other Emissions Factor Sets
  Stores emissions and conversion factors for various data types and sources that are neither the electricity grid nor scope 3 data types.
  
  
• Procurement Emissions Factor Sets
  This object holds a collection of emission factors that are used to convert spent amounts in procurement data to carbon emissions in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂e).
  
  
• Refrigerant Emissions Factors
  Stores global warming potential of refrigerants.
  
  
• Rental Car Emissions Factors
  Stores the emissions factors for scope 3 rental car usage.

Safiya is excited. She’s finished her Net Zero Cloud org basic setup, and she’s ready for the next task: configuring her Net Zero analytics so she can gain insight into key performance indicators about her organization’s energy usage and carbon emissions. Want to keep following along? Take your last quiz to earn this badge and then join Safiya in the Net Zero Cloud Analytics Setup module.

Resources

• Salesforce Help: Load Reference Data
• Salesforce Help: Other Reference Data Sources for Purchase or Download
• Trailhead: Carbon Accounting for Assets with Net Zero Cloud
• Trailhead: Carbon Accounting for Scope 3 with Net Zero Cloud
• Trailhead: Net Zero Cloud Analytics Setup