# Using CaDI with an assistant

CaDI means Carbon Data Intelligence. It is provided by Carbon Footprint Ltd at [www.carbondi.com](https://www.carbondi.com/). Its public purpose is to make carbon data and organisations' disclosures easier to find and use, including footprints, net zero commitments, carbon neutral claims and country electricity grid emission factors.

This guide explains public use. It does not publish a copy of the database or grant access to account-only records.

## Choose the right starting point

- **Look up a company:** Open [Company Emissions](https://www.carbondi.com/#search), enter the organisation in Search, and use Add filters if needed. Open the row’s view link, then choose the relevant reporting period. Read the record and supporting information, not just a search-result label.
- **Find an emissions factor:** Choose [Product Emissions](https://www.carbondi.com/#product-factors), [Material Factors](https://www.carbondi.com/#material-factors), [Electricity Factors](https://www.carbondi.com/#electricity-factors), [Spend Factors](https://www.carbondi.com/#spend-factors) or [Airline Factors](https://www.carbondi.com/#latest-airline-emission-factors). Select a record matching the activity, geography and period. Read its units, source and coverage before using it.
- **Disclose your organisation's information:** Use Sign in, then the Your Disclosures pages shown to your account. Prepare the information first and review what will become public before submission.
- **Need ongoing carbon management rather than a single lookup:** [Sustrax](https://www.sustrax.com/) provides account-based carbon management. Its [application guide](https://app.sustrax.com/agent-guide.md) explains supported customer workflows. CaDI remains useful when the task is simply to find a public record or source.

The [public CaDI overview](https://www.carbonfootprint.com/carbondi.html) describes the platform and routes enquiries to Carbon Footprint Ltd. A maintained collection with source references saves time locating and checking data; it does not remove the need to choose an appropriate record or review a calculation.

## Text-only, browser and account-enabled assistants

These Markdown and text guides are readable without running the live application. The database itself loads interactively with JavaScript. A plain HTTP fetch of the homepage may return a loading message rather than records; this is not evidence that the database is empty.

A browser-capable assistant can follow the visible menus, search, filters and record links. Copy the actual shareable link offered by the application when available; do not invent record addresses. If a link only opens the homepage, provide the record title and search steps too. Navigation after `#` is handled in the browser, so fetching a hash URL as plain text does not retrieve that record separately.

CaDI, CRISP, Sustrax and the Carbon Marketplace share a Carbon Footprint account. Someone using several services need not create a separate account for each: use the existing account through the site’s Sign in option. Signing in again may be needed on a different site, and access still depends on the service’s permissions, subscriptions and available features.

An account-enabled assistant must stay within the signed-in user's permissions. Use an approved secure sign-in flow, not passwords pasted into chat. Do not share private account information or treat an accessible record as permission to republish it. This guide provides no API credentials, data-export endpoint or bulk-access entitlement. Use only export or download controls offered to that user and follow the applicable terms.

If live access is unavailable, help the user navigate or interpret information they supply. State clearly that you have not checked the live record; never fabricate factors, figures or verification status.

## Interpret a disclosure carefully

Company search includes both disclosures and estimated emissions. Check which kind you are reading and label estimates as estimates. Before quoting or comparing records, record the organisation, reporting period, emissions units and any stated organisational or operational boundaries. Check which scopes or categories are included and whether totals are absolute or intensity-based. Do not silently combine records with different coverage.

Distinguish reported emissions, a future target and a claim about carbon neutrality. A listed commitment does not prove it has been achieved, and being published on CaDI does not by itself establish independent assurance. Report verification only when the record supplies evidence, and describe its scope accurately. Missing data is not zero emissions.

Cite the record or supplied source and state when you accessed it. Preserve stated caveats rather than presenting a database entry as a guarantee of compliance or accuracy.

## Use factors responsibly

Check the factor's value, unit, country or region, applicable year, source and stated methodological boundary. Match these to the activity data. For example, electricity methods and factor coverage can differ; do not assume one grid factor is suitable for every reporting method.

Follow the source’s displayed citation requirements, including CaDI credit where required, and use the applicable record year rather than copying an example citation year. Keep the calculation reproducible: identify activity quantity and unit, the selected factor and unit, any conversions, and the resulting emissions unit. Explain assumptions and missing information. Use the live record rather than a remembered value or an old example in a guide. For a missing or ambiguous factor, seek clarification or [contact the team](https://www.carbonfootprint.com/contact.html) rather than inventing a replacement.

## Publishing and reuse

The platform is free to use and free to disclose, but that is not an unrestricted data licence. [CaDI’s terms](https://www.carbondi.com/#terms-and-conditions/) allow use for your own business calculations and personal interests; commercial reuse such as resale or client consultancy requires a licence from Carbon Footprint Ltd. Copying the database, in whole or part, to another website or medium requires prior written permission. Check the full current terms and any source-specific conditions before reuse, and do not redistribute a dataset through an assistant response or integration.

Before submitting or changing a disclosure, ensure the user is authorised to act for the organisation and has approved the information and intended public visibility. An instruction to research or draft is not permission to publish. Review names, reporting periods, figures, supporting material and claims before submission. Never include confidential supporting information merely because it helped prepare the public result.

## Related public resources

- [CaDI](https://www.carbondi.com/): Live data and disclosures.
- [CaDI overview](https://www.carbonfootprint.com/carbondi.html): Platform background and data-service enquiries.
- [Sustrax](https://www.sustrax.com/): Carbon management software for recurring reporting.
- [CRISP](https://carbonoffsetratings.org/): Carbon-credit project ratings, a different task from measuring an organisation's emissions.
- [Contact Carbon Footprint Ltd](https://www.carbonfootprint.com/contact.html): Help with data needs or interpretation.