Data Collection & Analysis Flashcards
7 cards from real CSC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Data Collection & Analysis flashcards as text
Which data collection method is most appropriate when quantifying a company's Scope 3 upstream emissions from purchased goods?
Answer: Supplier-specific activity data with emission factors
Scope 3 upstream emissions require supplier-specific activity data combined with relevant emission factors from databases like ecoinvent or EPA.
A sustainability consultant is benchmarking water intensity across a manufacturing portfolio. Which normalization approach best enables cross-facility comparison?
Answer: Water consumed per unit of production output
Normalizing water consumption by production output (intensity metric) removes scale differences and allows meaningful cross-facility benchmarking.
Which statistical technique is most useful for identifying which ESG variables have the strongest predictive relationship with a company's financial performance?
Answer: Multiple regression analysis
Multiple regression analysis can identify and quantify the predictive relationship between multiple ESG variables and a financial outcome variable.
When a company uses the market-based method for Scope 2 GHG accounting, which data source takes highest priority?
Answer: Contractual instruments such as renewable energy certificates (RECs)
The GHG Protocol's market-based Scope 2 hierarchy places contractual instruments like RECs at the top, reflecting the company's actual energy procurement choices.
An analyst notices a sudden spike in a facility's monthly energy data. Before flagging it as a real increase, what should be the first verification step?
Answer: Check for meter errors, billing anomalies, or reporting period mismatches
Data quality requires verifying whether spikes are genuine operational changes or artifacts of measurement/reporting errors before taking action.
Which ISO standard provides the framework for environmental performance indicators used in sustainability data collection?
Answer: ISO 14031
ISO 14031 specifically addresses environmental performance evaluation, including selection and use of environmental performance indicators.
A consultant wants to assess biodiversity impact from a client's land use. Which data approach is most rigorous?
Answer: Species richness surveys combined with habitat quality indices on-site
On-site species richness surveys combined with habitat quality indices provide direct, site-specific biodiversity impact data required for rigorous assessment.