People today want to know what companies are doing to reduce their negative impacts and increase positive impacts on the environment, but the information available is disparate and difficult to compare.

Wikirate, Ecosia and Plan A are celebrating Open Data Day 2020 by inviting the public to discuss and collect publicly available corporate climate data in a way that will create the most impact - by making it open and accessible to citizens and civil society organizations, and creating new insights on where specific companies stand.

This project is part of an event organized as a workshop and data sprint, with the aim to bring together experts and individuals interested in environmental research, climate change, open data, policy making and more. We will engage in a discussion centered around a specific project - understanding the disclosure and environmental performance of the top greenhouse gas emitting companies - and the challenges and opportunities this research presents. 

Pre-research

• Create a Wikirate profile. Click the “join” button on wikirate.org. Create a username [name/student number/etc], add your email address and password, then click submit.

Step-by-Step

1. Once you have joined your research group, you can start researching. Find the company you have been assigned to research and hit the Research button.
2. You will see a list of metrics in the dropdown menu. Choose a metric to research and click the Metric details tab to read the methodology.
3. Start by looking for a source for this information. Your source may already be on the Wikirate platform or you may find the information somewhere else and need to add it to the platform.
4. If you find a new source, you can add it to Wikirate as a URL or file upload in the Source tab. Fill in the relevant details and make sure to tag the relevant company and to select a report type.
5. Choose the relevant year for the metric value in the dropdown menu and add the value to the answer box. Make sure you convert the value into the correct unit of measurement. If you cannot find the relevant value click Unknown. 
6. To cite your selected source, click Cite on the right-hand side of the window.
7. Add a comment to your answer detailing the page number of the source where you found your metric value (if applicable). You can also include relevant excerpts from the report. If you converted the metric value, explain how you did so including equations. 
8. It's time to submit your answer! Click the Submit button and check everything is correct.
9. Now hit Next to move onto your next metric.