Questions and Standards

`questions`

The question set is the catalogue of everything we measure. One row per question. This is a plain lookup table — no is_current filter needed.

A question has one of three types:

Reported — collected directly from company disclosures (for example Scope 1 GHG emissions).
Calculated — derived from other questions by a formula. These formulae exist to make the data more comparable across companies. For example, one company may report a combined Scope 1 + 2 CO2e figure while others report the two scopes separately: at the reported level these are three different questions, but the calculated Scope 1 + 2 question resolves them into a single comparable series. Where a reported and a calculated question share a name, the calculated one has broader coverage and is usually the one you want.
Reference — a simple descriptor of an incidental piece of information (for example Number of days in a year). These are used exclusively in lifecycle estimations.

Column	Type	Description
`question_id`	NUMBER	Primary key.
`canonical_question_id`	VARCHAR	A human-readable string identifier for the question, normally derived from its name. Some tables reference questions by this slug for in-line legibility.
`type`	VARCHAR	`Reported`, `Calculated`, `Reference`
`name`	VARCHAR	A short descriptive name for the question.
`unit_id`	NUMBER	Standard unit of the answer. Joins to `units`. This gives the dimensionality of the question i.e. volume vs weight etc
`theme`	VARCHAR	The primary Net Purpose impact theme the question contributes to.
`description`	VARCHAR	Fuller definition of what is being measured
`goal`	VARCHAR	Desired direction of the value: `increase`, `decrease` or `neutral`. e.g Scope 1 emissions are `decrease`
`impact_level`	VARCHAR	Where the impact occurs: `operations`, `products/services` or `value chain`
`is_reported`	BOOLEAN	Whether reported (collected) data exists for this question
`is_estimated`	BOOLEAN	Whether estimated data exists for this question
`is_sdg_eligible`	BOOLEAN	Whether the question can contribute to SDG alignment.

`kpi_formulae`

The formula behind each Calculated question. For the inputs used in a specific calculation, see kpi_calculation_trees.

Column	Type	Description
`question_id`	NUMBER	The `question_id` of the calculated question
`canonical_question_id`	VARCHAR	The question’s string identifier
`formula`	VARCHAR	The formula for the question. The prefixes `M!`, `Q!` and `K!` mark references to other questions, by either their integer or string identifiers.
`formula_description`	VARCHAR	A description of the intent of the formula
`child_questions`	ARRAY	The `question_id`s that feed into this formula

`reporting_standards` and `question_standards`

Codes from external frameworks, most importantly the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). reporting_standards lists the codes themselves; question_standards pre-computes the many-to-many join between questions and standards so you can query question assignments directly.

`reporting_standards`

All reporting frameworks in the Net Purpose data dictionary. e.g. SDGs, IRIS+

Column	Type	Description
`reporting_standard_id`	NUMBER	Primary key
`standard_class`	VARCHAR	The framework, e.g. `SDG`
`full_code`	VARCHAR	The full code — for SDGs, the target (e.g. `7.2`)
`major_code`	VARCHAR	The top-level code — for SDGs, the goal number (1–17)
`description`	VARCHAR	Text of the goal/target
`link`	VARCHAR	Link to the framework definition

`question_standards`

Reporting standards linked to individual questions.

Column	Type	Description
`question_id`	NUMBER	Corresponding `question_id`
`reporting_standard_id`	NUMBER	The matched `reporting_standard_id`
`standard_class`	VARCHAR	The framework, e.g. `SDG`
`full_code`	VARCHAR	The full code — for SDGs, the target (e.g. `7.2`)
`major_code`	VARCHAR	The top-level code — for SDGs, the goal number (1–17)

Sample queries

-- The frameworks covered and the number of questions allocated to each.
SELECT rs.standard_class, count(distinct q.question_id)
FROM NET_PURPOSE.REFERENCE.QUESTIONS q
JOIN NET_PURPOSE.REFERENCE.QUESTION_STANDARDS qs
    ON q.question_id = qs.question_id
JOIN NET_PURPOSE.REFERENCE.REPORTING_STANDARDS rs
    ON rs.reporting_standard_id = qs.reporting_standard_id
GROUP BY rs.standard_class

-- All questions which can contribute to SDG 7
SELECT q.question_id, canonical_question_id, type, name, goal, qs.full_code
FROM NET_PURPOSE.REFERENCE.QUESTIONS q
JOIN NET_PURPOSE.REFERENCE.QUESTION_STANDARDS qs
    ON q.question_id = qs.question_id
WHERE
    qs.major_code = '7'
    AND qs.standard_class = 'SDG'

Questions and Standards

questions

kpi_formulae

reporting_standards and question_standards