Data & accuracy
How embedded emissions are counted: specific embedded emissions, precursors, units and the system boundary.
What is SEE?
Specific Embedded Emissions — the heart of the calculation.
SEE is the emissions embedded in one tonne of your product, in tonnes of CO₂-equivalent per tonne (tCO₂e/t). It bundles the direct emissions of making the good and the embedded emissions of its precursors.
- Use a verified SEE where you have one; leave it blank to accept the official default.
- A SEE far outside the expected band for your route turns amber — re-check units and precursors before accepting it.
Precursors & system boundary
Why upstream inputs count, and where the boundary sits.
Complex goods embed the emissions of their precursors (e.g. steel embeds the sinter and pig iron before it). The Balance Twin's templates already include the right precursors for each route, so you don't have to know the boundary by heart — you just supply quantities.
Units — the costly slip
Mass in tonnes, carbon price as a total, SEE per tonne.
- Mass: tonnes, not kilograms. A kg-for-tonne slip inflates everything 1000×.
- Carbon price already paid: enter the total amount in EUR, not a per-tonne rate.
- Country of origin: where the good is made, not where it's imported to.
The app flags likely unit slips, but entering the right unit first time is the surest safeguard.