Our Methodology
Accurate, transparent, and independently verified carbon measurement for cloud and AI infrastructure.
Understanding Cloud Carbon Measurement
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Our Approach
1. Data Collection
We connect to your cloud provider billing and usage APIs using read-only, least-privilege access. For AI workloads, our SDK captures token counts and model metadata without ever accessing prompt or response content.
2. Carbon Calculation
We combine your actual usage data with real-time grid carbon intensity data from electricity maps and provider-specific Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) figures. This gives you location-based and market-based emission calculations.
3. Recommendations
Based on your usage patterns, we provide prioritised, actionable recommendations for reducing emissions. These include right-sizing, scheduling, region selection, and architecture changes.
4. Reporting
Generate audit-ready reports aligned with the GHG Protocol (Scope 2 and 3) and the SCI/SCI-AI specifications. Reports include breakdowns by service, region, team, and time period.
Standards Alignment
GHG Protocol
Our calculations align with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol corporate standards for Scope 2 (purchased electricity) and Scope 3 (supply chain) emissions reporting.
SCI Specification
We follow the Green Software Foundation's Software Carbon Intensity specification for standardised, comparable measurement of software emissions.
SCI-AI Specification
Our AI telemetry captures all fields required by SCI-AI: token counts, model identification, compute metrics, and cache efficiency data.
Independent Verification
Our methodology has been reviewed and verified by independent carbon accounting experts to ensure accuracy and completeness.
Detailed Documentation
Explore our full methodology documentation covering operational emissions, embodied emissions, and specialised topics.
Overview
- An Overview of the Tailpipe Methodology
- Tailpipe's Methodology: Easy Read
- Data Quality Dashboard
- Which Scope are my Cloud Emissions?
- Which Cloud Services does Tailpipe cover?
- Kubernetes and Containers Explained
- Serverless Explained
- Tailpipe's Recommendations
- Calculating the Carbon Emissions of LLM Usage: Tailpipe’s Methodology
Operational Emissions
Embodied Emissions
Want to learn more about our approach?
Read our insights or get in touch to discuss your specific requirements.