About the CarbonWise data

Methodology 

First, we ask respondents to select their registered workplace. This is where they are registered for administration purposes.  

Then, we collect home address or suburb from respondents, we use this information as the origin point of their commuting trips.  

Then, we collect data on commuting trips taken over seven days from each respondent. For each trip, we collect: 

• A destination (the workplace). We use this information to calculate commuting distance.   

• Modes of travel; and  

• Vehicle fuel types.  

We also capture non-working days and flexible working practices including working from home.  

We assume that the survey sample is representative of the workforce and so we extrapolate the results to a full working year for the total workforce. Based on the information captured, we calculate the proportion of trips made using each transport mode, average commuting distances, and carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) emissions.  

The dashboard offers filters to visualise organisation-wide data or view by workplace.  

Assumptions and estimated emissions 

• We use emissions factors from the latest New Zealand Ministry for the Environment (MfE) guidance where available. Where no MfE-provided emission factor exists, we have determined factors using reasonable assumptions. The summary data spreadsheet (which you can download via the dashboard’s export function) details which emission factors were used for each type of activity data. 

• When assuming the number of weeks worked in a year by employees, we account for the number of working days in a year minus annual leave and average sick leave taken by NZ employees. 

• Given that commuting emissions are calculated from survey responses, they are an estimate based on a sample of responses. For workplaces where the survey response number or survey response rate were low, please apply caution when drawing conclusions. If you are unsure about how much confidence to place in the results, please contact Abley for advice. 

• Where a workplace has 0 survey response: if you select this workplace on the dashboard, no data will be displayed as there are no recorded trips against this workplace. The workplace still counts towards organisation-wide totals since organisation-wide average values are used to estimate emissions of this workplace and factor it in total emissions, days worked from home, and kilometres travelled. 

Privacy 

Employees provide their home address and we use the HERE API to calculate commuting distance from their origin (home) to their destination (workplace). To protect employee privacy, we do not store latitude or longitude or home addresses in the CarbonWise database.  

The dashboard and export documents only show aggregated and/or depersonalised data. This means respondents cannot be identified from their individual responses. 

Respondents are informed about the use of their data in a privacy statement accessible from the survey start page, and can opt out of providing their home address if they feel sensitive about sharing this information. 

Your privacy as an account holder is protected in that your log in details are only used for the purpose of authentication and we will not share your details with any third party except the authentication service. Your access permissions are managed by Abley to ensure only permitted personnel can see your organisation's commuter survey results. 

Access and retention 

Your access to this dashboard will be maintained by default for 12 calendar months from the latest survey launch date. Every time you complete a new survey, your access will be extended by the same duration. You are encouraged to download all outputs via the export function (survey results page), including raw data, for your own records. 

For any question about the above information, email carbonwise@abley.com.