Tool guide · Interpretation
How to interpret the results
Every ISIC group–production process pair is evaluated against twelve pressure categories. Here is what the numbers mean.
Pressure score (3–9)
An indexed score from ENCORE ratings of magnitude, frequency and timeframe (latency), each on a 1–3 scale. Pairs without enough information have no score.
Materiality threshold
For each pressure, the threshold is the median of the distribution of pressure scores for that pressure across base activities.
Materiality rating (0/1)
Material (1) when the score is greater than or equal to the threshold. Material pairs need further assessment in Step 1b.
Materiality thresholds by pressure
| Pressure category | Threshold |
|---|---|
| GHG emissions | 9 |
| Terrestrial ecosystem use | 8 |
| Freshwater ecosystem use | 8 |
| Marine ecosystem use | 8 |
| Water use | 8 |
| Other resource use | 8 |
| Non-GHG air pollutants | 7 |
| Water pollutants | 7 |
| Solid waste | 7 |
| Disturbances | 7 |
| Soil pollutants | 6 |
| Biological alterations/interferences | 6 |
Source: SBTN Materiality Screening Tool v1. Thresholds reflect each pressure’s own score distribution, so do not compare scores across pressures.
Important nuances
- No score ≠ no impact. A missing score reflects the limits of the underlying research, not evidence of zero impact.
- Relative, not absolute. Materiality compares an activity’s contribution with all other activities for that pressure, e.g. construction versus crop growing versus telecoms for terrestrial ecosystem use.
- Potential, not actual. Ratings show typical sector-level impacts, which Step 1b refines with company data.
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