How WE7 AI Calculates Sustainability Scores
A transparent, technical overview of the data, models, and methodology behind WE7's Campaign Carbon Score and ESG reporting outputs — written for sustainability officers, marketing technologists, and procurement teams who need to understand the numbers before they trust them.
Design Principles
WE7's scoring methodology was built on three non-negotiable principles:
Transparency
Every score is explainable. We show the inputs, factors, and formula — not just the output. Our methodology documentation is available to customers for audit purposes.
Pre-Campaign (Not Post-Hoc)
CCS is calculated before campaigns launch, not as a retrospective report. This shifts sustainability from compliance exercise to live decision support.
Performance-Integrated
Carbon scores are always connected to marketing performance. A campaign's carbon efficiency is meaningless without knowing what it achieved. CCS factors performance into the score — not just reports emissions in a silo.
The Four-Layer Scoring Architecture
Data Ingestion
What WE7 reads from your campaigns
Campaign Inputs
WE7 AI connects to your media plan — channel mix, budget allocation, creative formats, targeting parameters, and planned impression volumes. This can be provided via API integration (Google Ads, Meta, DV360, The Trade Desk) or via manual brief upload.
Historical Performance Data
When available, WE7 ingests historical campaign performance — CTR, ROAS, conversion rates, and CPMs by channel and creative format. This data trains the performance efficiency component of Campaign Carbon Score.
Vendor & Platform Metadata
WE7 maintains a continuously updated database of carbon intensity factors for major digital platforms, calibrated against their published sustainability reports, third-party audits, and peer-reviewed emission factor research. The database covers 80+ platforms and is a core proprietary asset.
Model Application
How WE7 processes the data
Channel Carbon Intensity Baselines
Each channel is assigned a base carbon intensity from WE7's proprietary emission factor library. Baselines are continuously refined and vary by platform, region, and data center energy mix. The exact values are available to customers during onboarding.
Creative Format Impact
Creative format significantly affects carbon output — video and rich media carry substantially higher intensity than static display due to data transfer size and rendering energy. WE7 accounts for format-specific impact using proprietary factors calibrated from primary research and shared with customers.
Supply Path Modeling
Programmatic advertising involves multiple ad tech intermediaries (DSPs, SSPs, exchanges, verification vendors), each adding data transfer and server processing. WE7 models the programmatic path for each channel. Direct publisher deals consistently outperform open-exchange programmatic.
Geographic Energy Mix
Carbon intensity of data centers varies significantly by region and energy grid. Ads served to audiences in regions with high renewable energy penetration carry lower carbon than equivalent ads served to coal-grid regions. WE7 applies proprietary regional energy mix adjustments for geo-targeted campaigns.
Score Synthesis
How scores are computed and compared
Raw Carbon Intensity (RCI)
A gross emission figure expressed in gCO₂e per 1,000 impressions, derived from WE7's proprietary synthesis of channel, format, supply path, and geographic data inputs. The exact composition model is proprietary to WE7 AI.
Performance Efficiency Index (PEI)
A normalized score reflecting how a campaign's performance compares to category benchmarks. Campaigns that outperform their benchmarks produce more marketing value per unit of carbon. The exact normalization methodology is available to customers under NDA.
Final Campaign Carbon Score
CCS is produced by WE7's proprietary scoring engine, which integrates carbon intensity and performance signals into a single, performance-adjusted figure. A campaign with higher raw emissions but exceptional performance may outscore a lower-emission but underperforming campaign — reflecting real-world marketing trade-offs with precision.
Benchmark Comparison
Every CCS is contextualized against WE7's growing benchmark database — segmented by industry vertical, campaign objective, channel mix, and market. This allows teams to see not just their absolute score, but their relative performance against peers.
Reporting & Compliance Output
How scores translate to ESG disclosure
Structured Emissions Data
WE7 generates campaign-level emissions data in structured formats compatible with GRI 305-3 (Scope 3 other indirect emissions), CSRD ESRS E1 disclosures, and IFRS S2 climate-related financial disclosures. Outputs are exportable as CSV, JSON, or formatted PDF.
Aggregation & Roll-Up
Individual campaign scores are aggregated by time period, brand, business unit, or agency — enabling quarterly and annual sustainability reporting without manual data assembly. WE7 maintains an immutable audit trail for each score calculation.
Scenario Modeling
Before campaigns launch, WE7's what-if engine allows teams to model alternative channel mixes and forecast their CCS impact. This supports proactive ESG target-setting — not just retrospective reporting.
The Scoring Engine
CCS is produced by WE7 AI's proprietary scoring engine, which synthesizes carbon intensity data with campaign performance signals to generate a single, performance-adjusted carbon score per 1,000 impressions.
The exact formula, internal architecture, variable weights, and coefficient ranges are proprietary to WE7 AI — available to customers and auditors under NDA. This protects the integrity of the benchmark while ensuring full transparency for those who need to validate the methodology.
Data Quality & Source Standards
Sustainability scores are only as credible as their underlying data. WE7 applies strict standards to every input:
Known Limitations & How We Address Them
No carbon measurement methodology is perfect. WE7 believes in disclosing limitations rather than hiding them: