Persefoni Carbon Accounting Software for ESG Analysts Training Course

Course overview

ESG analysts are increasingly expected to turn fragmented utility bills, travel records, procurement extracts and supplier data into emissions figures that withstand finance, assurance and stakeholder scrutiny. Persefoni is designed to centralise this work, but value depends on analysts who can structure organisational boundaries, select defensible activity data, apply appropriate emission factors and investigate exceptions before reporting deadlines. This course addresses the practical gap between understanding carbon-accounting principles and operating a controlled, repeatable emissions process inside the platform.

Over five days, participants configure a representative company profile in Persefoni, establish Scope 1, 2 and 3 inventories, import and map activity data, manage data requests, review calculation outputs and document assumptions. They practise applying the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, choosing market-based and location-based Scope 2 methods, allocating Scope 3 categories, maintaining emission-factor provenance and tracing results back to source records. The course also covers quality checks, variance investigation, audit-trail preparation and extracting data for CDP-aligned disclosure and internal management reporting.

Instruction combines short expert-led demonstrations with guided work in a Persefoni training workspace, using realistic source files from facilities, finance, travel and procurement. Teams resolve a simulated reporting-cycle case involving missing data, duplicate records, changing organisational boundaries and a material year-on-year variance. Each participant leaves with a completed carbon-accounting workflow pack: a boundary decision log, data-mapping template, control checklist, exception register and reporting extract plan that can be adapted for their employer.

The course is best suited to professionals already supporting ESG reporting, sustainability data collection or corporate emissions inventories who need hands-on confidence using Persefoni rather than a general introduction to sustainability reporting.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Configure organisational boundaries, reporting periods and entity structures in a Persefoni carbon inventory
• Map utility, fuel, travel and procurement source data to emissions activities using a documented import template
• Calculate Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions using location-based and market-based reporting methods
• Classify and prioritise Scope 3 activity data across relevant GHG Protocol categories
• Select and document emission factors, units, methodologies and calculation assumptions for auditability
• Investigate calculation exceptions, duplicate records and material variances using Persefoni review workflows
• Produce an evidence-backed emissions data pack for internal review, assurance preparation and CDP reporting
• Build a repeatable month-end or reporting-cycle control checklist for carbon data collection and approval

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• ESG Analysts — who need to operate Persefoni and produce defensible corporate emissions data
• Sustainability Managers — who oversee Scope 1, 2 and 3 inventories and reporting controls
• Carbon Accounting Analysts — who reconcile activity data, emission factors and calculation outputs
• Environmental Reporting Specialists — who prepare climate disclosures and respond to assurance requests
• Finance and Controllership Analysts — who support ESG data governance, entity structures and evidence retention
• Procurement Sustainability Analysts — who collect supplier and spend data for Scope 3 emissions estimation

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical familiarity with their organisation’s greenhouse-gas reporting process or have previously worked with ESG, environmental, finance, procurement or facilities data. They should understand the basic distinction between Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions, be comfortable working with Excel or CSV files, and be able to interpret common fields such as supplier, site, period, quantity, unit and cost centre. Prior use of Persefoni is not required; the course introduces its working environment from the analyst’s perspective. Participants do not need to be carbon-verification specialists, software developers or emission-factor scientists.

Training methodology

The instructor demonstrates each Persefoni workflow before participants complete it in a guided training workspace. Exercises use realistic electricity, fuel, business-travel and supplier-spend files, requiring participants to map fields, resolve unit issues, assign factors and review calculated emissions. Short case discussions test judgement on boundaries, Scope 2 methods and Scope 3 estimation. Teams then perform a reporting-cycle quality review, challenge one another’s evidence trail and finish by adapting a carbon-data control plan to their own organisational reporting calendar.

Course outline

Day 1: Carbon inventory design and Persefoni foundations

• Persefoni workspace navigation and inventory architecture
• GHG Protocol organisational boundary approaches
• Operational control, financial control and equity-share consolidation
• Legal entities, facilities, assets and reporting-period setup
• Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 inventory structure
• Materiality assessment for emissions data sources
• Boundary decision logs and governance roles

Workshop: Participants configure a sample company inventory and produce a boundary decision log covering entities, facilities, reporting period and consolidation approach.

Day 2: Activity data ingestion and Scope 1 and 2 calculation

• Source-data requirements for fuel, refrigerants and purchased electricity
• CSV and spreadsheet import preparation
• Field mapping, unit normalisation and period alignment
• Activity-data validation and duplicate-record detection
• Emission-factor selection and factor-set provenance
• Location-based Scope 2 calculation method
• Market-based Scope 2 instruments and evidence requirements

Workshop: Participants import electricity and stationary-combustion files, map source fields, select factor treatments and produce a validated Scope 1 and 2 calculation review.

Day 3: Scope 3 data modelling and supplier engagement

• GHG Protocol Scope 3 category screening
• Spend-based, activity-based and supplier-specific methods
• Purchased goods and services data mapping
• Business travel and employee commuting datasets
• Supplier data-request design and response tracking
• Primary-data quality scoring and estimation hierarchy
• Avoiding double counting across Scope 3 categories

Workshop: Teams build a Scope 3 collection plan for a procurement dataset and produce a category-method matrix with supplier data requests and estimation rules.

Day 4: Quality assurance, controls and audit trails

• Completeness, accuracy, consistency and timeliness tests
• Calculation-output review and exception triage
• Year-on-year variance analysis by entity and source
• Missing-data estimation and documentation protocols
• Source-document retention and evidence linkage
• Assumption registers, change logs and approval workflows
• Assurance-ready carbon-accounting control checklists

Workshop: Participants investigate a simulated material emissions variance, resolve data exceptions and produce an exception register with supporting evidence and reviewer actions.

Day 5: Reporting outputs and operational application

• Inventory roll-ups and management reporting views
• Emissions-intensity metrics and denominator controls
• CDP Climate Change Questionnaire data requirements
• Exporting reporting data and calculation support schedules
• Narrative disclosures for methodology and boundary changes
• Reporting-cycle calendars and contributor responsibilities
• Persefoni operating-model improvement planning

Workshop: Participants complete a capstone reporting pack containing an emissions extract plan, methodology narrative, control calendar and 90-day Persefoni improvement roadmap.

Tools & standards covered

Persefoni, GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, CDP Climate Change Questionnaire, PCAF Global GHG Accounting and Reporting Standard

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions