Key Concepts & Terminology
Last Updated: 2025-07-22
Foundational Concepts
Avoided Emissions
Avoided emissions refer to the reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions achieved by replacing a higher-emitting activity, technology, or process with a lower-emitting alternative. They quantify the emissions that would have occurred under a business-as-usual scenario, providing a forward-looking metric to evaluate the climate impact of innovative solutions. They can also be used to measure the realized emissions avoided due to an intervention that already occurred. Different methodologies use a variety of terms to describe avoided emissions, reflecting differences in audience, use case, and reporting needs. Koi is agnostic to these distinctions and uses the terms annual impact and cumulative impact to flexibly represent avoided emissions in both backward- and forward-looking contexts, at either the technology or company scale.
Unit Impact
Unit Impact refers to the avoided emissions associated with a single unit of a technology, process, or activity. By quantifying the emissions reduction achieved by deploying a specific solution, unit impacts provide a standardized metric for comparing the climate benefits of diverse technologies. Unit impacts are typically expressed in terms of greenhouse gas emissions avoided per unit of output or activity (e.g., tons of CO2 equivalent per megawatt-hour of electricity generated).
Avoided Emissions Factors (AEFs) are another way of expressing the same underlying metric as Unit Impact. While "Unit Impact" is often used in technical or methodological contexts (for example, by Project Frame), "AEFs" are may referenced by organizations for standardized reporting and comparison (primarily within the AEFDi). Both terms quantify the emissions avoided per unit of activity or output, but may be preferred by different audiences or target groups depending on context and familiarity. For more details on these methodologies, see the Methodology Alignment page.
Solution Scale
Solution scale is the term used within Koi to represent the market size being measured for impact. This may refer to a projected future market for the solution, a company deployment forecast, or a record of historical deployment. Other terms used in the literature for similar concepts include Serviceable Obtainable Market and Units Deployed.
Technical Concepts
Unit of Measure (UoM)
A Unit of Measure is a standardized metric used to quantify the output or activity associated with a technology, process, or system. By defining the unit of measure for a given solution (e.g., kilowatt-hour of electricity generated, mile driven by an electric vehicle), users can calculate the avoided emissions associated with deploying that solution. Unit of measure data is essential for generating accurate impact forecasts and comparing the climate benefits of different technologies.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Life Cycle Assessment is a comprehensive methodology for evaluating the environmental impacts of a product, process, or system across its entire life cycle. LCA considers the environmental burdens associated with all stages of a product's life, from raw material extraction and manufacturing to use, disposal, and end-of-life treatment. By quantifying the energy, resources, and emissions associated with each life cycle stage, LCA provides a holistic view of a product's environmental performance and helps identify opportunities for improvement.
Platform Features
LCA-based Impact Data
Models incorporate LCA-informed impact data for thousands of direct and enabling climate technologies, including contextualized value chain phase data.
Comprehensive Ontology
Koi provides a comprehensive ontology that captures the relationships between technologies, processes, and markets, enabling granular insights and scalable forecasting.
Interoperable Forecasts
Koi delivers interoperable forecasts that can be integrated into existing tools and workflows, enabling seamless access to climate impact data. This allows for rapid comparisons of impact under different assumptions, in different markets, and across different technologies.
AI-Accelerated Research
Koi leverages advanced AI integration to deliver rapid insights across diverse solutions and markets, enabling data-driven decision-making and accelerating the global transition to a decarbonized economy.
Data Transparency
Koi provides fully auditable data for clear, accountable net-zero strategies, bridging the gap between ambition and action.