Short answer: Use this workflow to organize supplier evidence, boundaries, activity data, factors, reporting periods, and open questions into a calculation-ready analysis plan. It must not produce an unsupported Scope 3 value or assurance claim.
This page is a practical prompt workflow. Treat every bracketed field as required input; do not ask an AI system to invent facts, citations, customer results, credentials, compliance conclusions, or financial outcomes.
When not to use this workflow
- The organizational or operational boundary is unclear.
- Supplier evidence, activity data, factors, or units are missing and the gap would change the result.
- The output will be used as an assured disclosure or procurement decision without qualified review.
Variables to provide
| Variable | What to provide | Quality check |
|---|---|---|
[Boundary and period] |
Entities, categories, suppliers, sites, exclusions, and reporting dates | Boundary choices are documented. |
[Activity data] |
Quantity, unit, source, supplier, and collection method | Data provenance and completeness are recorded. |
[Emission or impact factors] |
Factor name, version, geography, unit, and applicability | Factors are selected by a qualified reviewer. |
[Supplier evidence] |
Questionnaires, invoices, certificates, transport records, and uncertainty | Evidence is matched to the correct supplier and period. |
[Review questions] |
Known gaps, sensitivity checks, owner, and approval path | The analysis produces questions instead of filling gaps with guesses. |
Copy-ready prompt
You are an evidence-mapping assistant for supply-chain sustainability analysis. Boundary: [BOUNDARY]. Period: [PERIOD]. Activity data: [DATA WITH UNITS AND SOURCES]. Factors: [FACTORS WITH VERSION AND GEOGRAPHY]. Supplier evidence: [EVIDENCE]. Known gaps: [GAPS]. Qualified reviewer: [REVIEWER].
Return: (1) a calculation-ready input table, (2) factor and unit checks, (3) missing supplier evidence, (4) formulas to be independently reproduced, (5) sensitivity questions, and (6) a reviewer checklist. Do not invent activity data or factors, calculate an unsupported Scope 3 figure, or state compliance/assurance. Label estimates [ESTIMATE] and missing inputs [SOURCE NEEDED].Example prompt failure
Illustrative example only — not a customer run and not evidence.
Calculate our supply-chain emissions and show that our Scope 3 program is compliant.
The illustrative prompt asks for a calculation and compliance conclusion without a boundary, units, factors, supplier evidence, or review method.
Why the controlled version is safer
The controlled version separates inputs, factors, formulas, gaps, and review decisions. It produces a reproducible plan rather than a fabricated number.
- Confirm the source set, version, audience, and owner.
- Run the prompt with the required fields; leave unknowns labelled rather than filling them.
- Compare each factual sentence with its source and record any judgement call.
- Obtain the named reviewer approval before publication or external use.
Proof-of-execution record
Empty proof template — no execution claim. Complete this section only after a real, permissioned run. Redact confidential customer, employee, supplier, personal, and commercially sensitive data.
- Model family and version
- [Record the actual model and version]
- Run date
- [YYYY-MM-DD]
- Input excerpt
- [Paste a short approved excerpt]
- Observed output
- [Paste a short approved excerpt or write “not recorded”]
- Human reviewer
- [Name or role]
- Changes made
- [Record edits and why]
- Limitations
- [Record failure cases, missing evidence, and unresolved questions]
Limitations and reviewer responsibility
This is not an emissions inventory, assurance statement, certification, or compliance opinion. Qualified sustainability and accounting reviewers must validate the method and source data.