Start a new inventory

If you’re new to Climate Smart, or if you’re returning for another year, you’ll need to create a new greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory to get started. Here’s how to start a new inventory in Climate Smart. 

On this page:

• Prepare inventory data
• Add inventory
• Inventory credits

Prepare inventory data

The first step to starting an inventory is preparing your data. You should start an inventory when you have 12 months of data to make an inventory period.

Take the Climate Smart Academy training to better understand what type of data you’ll need for an inventory and your emission sources. If your subscription includes a Climate Smart Advisor, they’re a great resource too.

Inventory set-up

Review the Inventory Setup Preparation worksheet to find questions you should ask while you’re gathering data for your inventory. Make separate notes for each inventory location.

If your subscription includes a Climate Smart Advisor, use the worksheet to prepare for your inventory set-up call. On this call, a Climate Smart Advisor can answer any questions you have about starting a new inventory. To get access to a Climate Smart Advisor, talk to our Customer Success team.

Inventory name

You’ll need to give your inventory a unique name. Use a name that clearly identifies the inventory year. For example, if you’re tracking emissions from January through December 2023, you might want to name your inventory, Calendar Year 2023 or CY 2023.

Inventory period

An inventory period is the timeframe you collect and analyze data to quantify your GHG emissions. This period is usually 12 months.

You’ll need to decide what timeframe your organization wants to track and report your emissions data. We recommend using the calendar year or your organization’s fiscal year as the start and end dates of your inventory period.

Revenue

You might want to enter the revenue your organization earned during your inventory period while setting up your new inventory. This step is optional, but having this information means you can generate reports on your emissions per $1000 earned. Tracking your revenue year-over-year can mean more insight into your sustainability successes as your organization grows.

Custom Intensity Metric

Your custom intensity metric should be a number that makes sense for your business operations that can be consistently and reliably collected every year. Entering a custom intensity metric is an optional step that will give you more insight into your emissions.

Talk to your team to decide which custom intensity metric makes sense for your organization. For example, you might want to track:

• Units (such as kilotons) of product shipped
• Units of product sold
• Number of a specific product manufactured

You can enter an amount for your Custom Intensity Metric while setting up a new inventory. To change the name of this field, contact our Customer Success team.

Add inventory

Before adding a new inventory, we recommend:

1. Make sure your inventory locations and activities are up-to-date. This includes adding new locations that opened during the inventory period.
2. Update the number of employees that work at each location.

Baseline inventory (new clients)

If you’re a new client, here’s how to start your first inventory, also known as a baseline inventory, in Climate Smart:

1. In the top navigation, click Track & Reduce, then Emissions Manager, to jump to your Emissions Manager.
2. Click +ADD INVENTORY.
3. When you arrive at the New Inventory page, under Name*, enter a unique inventory name.
4. Under Starts at*, select the start date of your inventory period from the drop-down list.
5. Optionally, you can enter the amount of revenue your organization earned during your inventory period. Note: This amount is in thousands of dollars. For example, if your organization earned $150 000 this year, enter 150 in Climate Smart.
6. Optionally, you can enter a custom intensity metric for this inventory. Under Custom Intensity Metric, enter the amount your organization is tracking.
7. Click CREATE INVENTORY.
8. When you arrive at the Locations page, add or update your locations as needed. As a new client, you might not have locations in Climate Smart yet. Click ADD LOCATION to create at least one before you continue.
9. Once your locations are up-to-date, click NEXT: REPORT ACTIVITIES.
10. When you arrive at the next page, make sure all the activities you want to report this year are selected.
11. Click SAVE to finish.

Watch a video to see how this process works.

New inventory (returning clients)

If you’re a returning client, here’s how to start your next inventory in Climate Smart:

1. In the top navigation, click Track & Reduce, then Emissions Manager, to jump to your Emissions Manager.
2. Click +ADD INVENTORY.
3. When you arrive at the New Inventory page, under Name*, enter a unique inventory name.
4. Under Starts at*, select the start date of your inventory period from the drop-down list.
5. Optionally, you can enter the amount of revenue your organization earned during your inventory period. Note: This amount is in thousands of dollars. For example, if your organization earned $150 000 this year, enter 150 in Climate Smart.
6. Optionally, you can enter a custom intensity metric for this inventory. Under Custom Intensity Metric, enter the amount your organization is tracking.
7. Click CREATE INVENTORY.
8. When you arrive at the Locations page, add or update your locations as needed. Learn more about GHG inventory locations. Once your locations are up-to-date, click NEXT: REPORT ACTIVITIES.
9. When you arrive at the next page, make sure all the activities you want to report this year are selected. Learn more about GHG inventory activities. 
10. Click SAVE to finish.

Watch a video to see how this process works.

Inventory credits

You can start one new inventory per year. If you can’t add an inventory, you might need to purchase inventory credits. Contact Customer Success to get more inventory credits.