All carbon footprints are compiled in essentially the same way: record all the things you do, measure the impact of each and add it all up. If you run a multinational corporation with a dedicated sustainability team, you can do this through a highly detailed and time-consuming process of material and process assessments, but supply chains are so complex and changeable that this is rarely practical. Most companies use the much simpler approach of spend analysis.

Spend analysis applies carbon intensity factors to procurement categories (such as postage, accommodation, electricity, travel, etc.) to estimate your carbon footprint. This approach is widely used and is recognised by the GHG Protocol. Spherics takes this approach to another level by linking to your bank account and analysing the emissions associated with your activities automatically.