Which standards Cortex outputs align with.

Quantification and communication of the carbon footprint of a product (PCF): GWP100-characterized emissions across the defined life cycle, under ISO 14040 / 14044 rules. Single impact category.

Cortex returns GWP100-characterized LCI datasets from twelve databases — HiQLCD, Ecoinvent, EF, CarbonMinds, and others — scored by DQI across five dimensions: Temporal, Geographic, Technology, Completeness, Reliability. Every export carries the source URL, system model (cut-off or APOS), and proxy notes a 14067 calculation file requires. Decisions return to the practitioner where silent automation would produce a result a verifier could not defend — coverage gaps, proxy substitutions, large cross-database spread, restricted-data markers, ambiguous system-model matches.

Cortex does not generate ISO 14067 EPDs. An Environmental Product Declaration requires multi-impact characterization, a Product Category Rule (PCR), and third-party verification — none of which are within the tool’s scope.

The requirements, guidelines, and methodology for conducting a life cycle assessment — goal and scope definition, LCI, LCIA, and interpretation. The common technical substrate for LCA-tool interoperability and auditor review.

Cortex applies 14044 principles at the data-selection and documentation layer. Searches preserve unit, reference flow, system boundary, and system model as queryable metadata. Allocation method is carried in dataset metadata and exposed in the export — Cortex does not apply allocation on the user’s behalf. The reasoning chain — input material, ranked candidates, proxy justification — is attached to every export so a reviewer can reproduce or challenge any row without re-running the system.

The GHG Protocol Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard — corporate-facing product-level GHG inventory methodology, aligned with ISO 14067 principles, with specific guidance on Scope 3 Category 1 data collection.

Cortex Cowork supports all 15 GHG Protocol Scope 3 categories with categorization assistance and data-collection checklists. For Category 1 (Purchased goods and services), Cortex matches emission factors at the BOM-row level across twelve databases, returning GWP100-characterized candidates with DQI scores. For other categories, it assists with factor identification and documentation; the organizational boundary remains the practitioner’s.

The EU Product Environmental Footprint method, operationalized through EF 3.1 characterization factors and authorized datasets. Required for EU-regulated PCF and EPD claims; central to CBAM embedded-emissions calculations for goods covered under the regulation.

Cortex indexes EF-authorized datasets (labelled "EF (Environmental Footprint)" in search results) and applies EF 3.1 characterization factors where the dataset carries them. For CBAM-covered materials — steel, cement, aluminum, fertilizers, electricity, hydrogen — EF datasets appear in the ranked candidate list alongside Ecoinvent and HiQLCD results. The export identifies which candidates are EF-sourced so a CBAM declarant or PEF verifier can filter accordingly. System model is preserved in metadata; Cortex does not mix EF and non-EF datasets silently.

CBAM requires importers of covered goods (steel, iron, cement, aluminum, fertilizers, electricity, hydrogen) to declare embedded GHG emissions under Annex IV calculation rules — direct, indirect, and precursor-input embedded emissions. The transitional period (2023–2025) requires quarterly reporting; the definitive period (from 2026) requires CBAM certificates and third-party verification.

Cortex prepares the emission-factor and proxy-justification material a CBAM declaration requires. It returns emission factors from EF datasets referenced in CBAM implementing regulations, names any proxy substitutions with the required region and process deviation notes, and flags cross-database spread so the declarant can document the factor choice. DQI scores correspond directly to the data-quality assessment a CBAM verifier will apply. Where supplier-specific data is unavailable, Cortex identifies relevant default values and indicates their geographic basis.

Cortex does not submit CBAM reports or guarantee compliance with national customs-authority interpretations. Filing is the declarant’s act.

The 15 categories of indirect GHG emissions from an organization’s value chain. Scope 3 is organizational accounting (per entity, per year) — not product-level. Category 1 (Purchased goods and services) and Category 11 (Use of sold products) are the most data-intensive for manufacturers.

Cortex Cowork supports all 15 categories with categorization assistance and data-collection checklists. Emission-factor matching at the BOM-row level covers Category 1 most directly. For categories like upstream transportation (4), business travel (6), and capital goods (2), Cortex assists with factor identification; the organizational boundary and data-collection protocol remain the practitioner’s responsibility.