Water and waste intensity factor-based calculations
Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability
Water and waste estimations enable organizations with partial measured data or facilities without sufficient instrumentation to estimate and report their water and waste generated volumes using intensity factors.
This methodology lets you estimate the water withdrawn or discharged and waste disposed or diverted based on intensity formulas. This method uses the following equation to estimate water and waste volumes:
Estimated Water or Waste Volume = Factor x Input
This formula applies to a facility and water transaction type (withdrawal or discharge) or waste combination with the following descriptions:
Factor: The water or waste intensity factor used for converting an input into a water or waste volume for a facility. Factor represents the volume of water withdrawn or discharged or waste disposed or diverted to recovery per unit of the input per time period. The factor is typically based on a factor mapping, such as the number of kGallons withdrawn from water sources per square foot of an office facility.
Input: The numerical value for a facility to use with the factor to estimate water withdrawn or discharged or waste disposed or diverted to recovery from the facility. For example, you can multiply the total square feet of an office facility by kGallons per square foot per month to estimate the water withdrawn by a facility. It can also be the water withdrawn or discharged by the facility. For example, the water discharged by a facility can be a percentage of the water withdrawn.
Time period: Month, biannual, or annual.
Factor mapping: The determinant for the numerical value to use as a factor based on a descriptor of the facility such as facility type (for example, manufacturing, office, or factory). You configure the factor mapping.
To perform water or waste intensity factor-based estimations in Microsoft Sustainability Manager, perform the following steps:
Set up the facility capacity dimension to use as the basis for the calculation in the capacity dimension table. In the Settings area, select Reference data. On the Reference data page, select View next to (Preview) Facility capacity dimension. Select New to create a new facility capacity dimension, such as Area.
On the Reference data page, select View next to (Preview) Facility capacity. Select New to create a new facility capacity. Enter the information for the facility for which you need to estimate water usage.
In the Data area, select Factor libraries. Set up your factor libraries and estimation factors based on facility type. For more information about estimation factors, go to Emission factors.
In the Data area, select Calculation models. Select New to create your calculation model, based on the formula used by your organization. Under Module, select Reference data. Under Activity data, select (Preview) Facility capacity. You can use the estimation factors you set up in step 3 for any conditional computations. For more information about working with calculation models, go to Calculation models.
In the Data area, select Calculation profiles. Select New Calculation profile to create a new calculation profile. Under Module, select Reference data. Under Activity data, select (Preview) Facility capacity. Under Calculation model, select the calculation model you created in step 4.
Entity reference for water and waste calculations
Capacity dimension
Stores the dimension of the facility based on which the water usage or waste generated intensity factors are defined such as area.
Attribute:
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The name of the dimension to be used in calculations. For example, Area or Production Units. |
Facility capacity
Entity to capture the facility's capacity dimension and measure for a specified time period.
Attributes:
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The name of the custom entity. For example, Contoso facility area January 2022. |
| Facility | Indicates the facility mapped to the capacity dimension. For example, Contoso Ohio facility 1. |
| Facility type | Indicates the type of facility. For example, Manufacturing. |
| Capacity dimension | Lookup field to the capacity dimension. For example, Area. |
| Capacity quantity | Indicates the value of the capacity dimension for the specified period. For example, 20000. |
| Capacity unit | Unit of measure used to describe the capacity dimension. For example, sq ft. |
| Period start date | Indicates the start date and time for which the capacity quantity value applies. For example, 01/01/2022. |
| Period end date | Indicates the end date and time for which the capacity quantity value applies. For example, 01/31/2022. |
