Watershed, a leading enterprise sustainability platform based in the US, has launched Open CEDA, a free version of its emissions factor database, making it available to the public for the first time.
The move aims to close persistent data gaps that hinder global progress in emissions tracking and climate action. Many organisations lack access to comprehensive and geographically accurate data, which limits the effectiveness of sustainability initiatives. Watershed said that 75% of companies reporting to CDP in 2023 used skewed, country-specific data, resulting in potentially inaccurate emissions estimates—especially in complex global supply chains.
Watershed provides digital tools that help enterprises measure, report and reduce their carbon footprint. Its platform is used by companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Stripe, and BBVA to build data-informed climate strategies and manage sustainability reporting obligations.
The newly released Open CEDA (Comprehensive Environmental Data Archive) offers access to emissions data covering 148 countries, 400 industries, and 95% of global GDP. The free database allows organisations across sectors—including nonprofits, academia, and government—to better assess their environmental impact, particularly scope 3 emissions across international supply chains.
Open CEDA is now available at openceda.org. While the free version supports widespread adoption, Watershed continues to offer a premium version of CEDA with additional advanced features and analytics tools for enterprise clients.
The launch is supported by a coalition of industry groups, open data advocates, and global institutions. One Watershed client used CEDA to reduce supply chain emissions by 30% by switching to suppliers in countries with lower emissions factors, demonstrating the real-world impact of more precise data.
“Simply put, better data leads to better decisions,” Watershed co-founder Christian Anderson said. “By opening up CEDA to the public, we hope to give organizations of all sizes a more accurate foundation from which to make critical choices about their sustainability action. We believe harmonizing measurement methodologies across more parts of the global economy will help accelerate the transition to a new climate-informed economy.”
Amazon’s Sustainability Data Initiative (ASDI) is incorporating Open CEDA into its platform to widen access to climate tools and promote innovation. “Access to high-quality environmental data is important for companies to take meaningful climate action across all sectors,” Amazon director of sustainability solutions Michelle Jolly said.
Financial institutions are also welcoming the change. Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) programme lead Arjun Ganguly said, “The decision to make the CEDA database freely accessible is a welcome step towards supporting these efforts, as it reduces the barrier to start carbon accounting for financial institutions across the globe regardless of size and budget.”
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is already putting Open CEDA to use in research, with WWF-US senior director Martha Stevenson saying, “Making this tool public will inform better decisions across companies and nongovernmental organizations and enable more action.”
Source: https://fintech.global/
