Frequently asked questions

Avarni’s AI analyzes your data and predicts which emission factors should be mapped to any spend and activity data that it receives, with a high degree of accuracy. This automates what was previously a manual process. Think of it as a virtual analyst that does all the Excel work you don’t want to do for you.
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Our AI uses today’s most powerful language models (LLMs) and a combination of RAG and prompt engineering to provide the most accurate predictions for your data. RAG (Retrieval-augmented generation) is one of the many techniques we use which allows our AI to reference a highly specific and up-to-date knowledge base of information that it can use to provide predictions with a much higher degree of accuracy.

Alongside this we also memorize and manage your manual spend mappings and use this to apply to future mappings in that same organization. We’ll base this on specific combinations of activity class, supplier name, and description information that we find in your business activity items. This provides a capability for you to override any predicted mappings with your own specific factors and is another layer of control our platform provides to ensure that you get the mappings that you need.

For more information, see our blog article: Enhancing accuracy in ESG reporting with AI — Part I: RAG vs Fine-Tuning

Avarni is built on the GHG Protocol, the global standard for carbon accounting which is compliant with all reporting frameworks, including CDP, GRI and TCFD.

The spend based method is the best method for understanding quickly where in your supply chain your focus for supplier enablement should lie. It is not meant to be the be all and end all of supply chain emissions measurement. Once you know which suppliers to focus on, more accurate data must be sourced from them directly, which can be done using Avarni’s supplier engagement tools.

Avarni puts our tools into the hands of your suppliers, enabling them to measure & report their emissions even if they have never done so before. Your suppliers are empowered to take a step further and begin planning reduction initiatives & tracking their own supply chain emissions. This reflects them as a preferred supplier back to you, motivating suppliers to stand out from competition and providing you with more accurate data that you can use to make better decisions on how to decarbonize.

There is no manual mapping required — Avarni's AI can automatically recognise which emission factor a category should map to, since it has been trained on millions of lines of real procurement data.

Avarni sources its emission factors from government agencies such as EPA, NGER, DEFRA, and others from the GHG Protocol. For Scope 3, factors are also sourced from third parties such as EXIOBASE. You may also override any predicted emission factor mappings with your own custom/specific factors. Visit our emissions factors web page to see a full list of the databases we provide.

Avarni’s calculations completely disclose the emission factors that it uses, including the conversion factors themselves, the year, and source of factors. Avarni is unique in the market of carbon accounting in this way, and many other solutions do not offer this level of transparency. This means that all of Avarni’s calculations are fully auditable and exportable from the platform.

Avarni covers the Scope 3 categories 1-14, with specialized features to aid in the automatic calculation of Purchased Goods & Services, Capital Goods, Business Travel, Employee Commuting and Upstream & Downstream Transportation & Distribution. Avarni does not cover PCAF-based category 15 calculations.

Yes – Avarni has full capabilities to track Scope 1 & 2. This is naturally necessary for us to provide to our customers' suppliers so our customers can get a supplier-specific footprint (their Scope 3 is their suppliers' Scope 1 & 2).

Avarni’s AI methodology aligns with TCFD, GRI and GHG Protocol standards. The methodology has been tried and tested by multiple leading consulting firms such as Schneider Electric and KPMG. They have compared its results against their manual calculation processes in order to verify its accuracy.

Yes, all data can be exported out of the platform for use in Excel and other programs.

Avarni provides platform support, as well as implementation support, as part of the subscription. If you require support with coming up with a carbon reduction strategy, or with the initial data collection process, we have a partner network of consultants that we can refer you to.

Avarni is committed to protecting our customers' data. Discover how we secure your information with multiple layers of protection by visiting our security page.

Using a secure, managed API connection to data sources can reduce the risk of unauthorised access, improve data governance and enable more real-time decision making about emissions and business activities. Avarni leverages a leading iPaaS platform that can be configured to integrate with widely used platforms like AWS Cloud, Coupa, Microsoft Power BI, NetSuite, Oracle, QuickBooks, Salesforce, SAP, ServiceNow, Stripe, Workday, Xero, and more. Avarni can also be connected with your existing API gateway. The degree of automation and frequency of data import depends on the flexibility of your existing APIs. Contact us to request technical due diligence and to discuss integration scenarios that address your requirements.