From claim to proof: how the evidence file builds up.

§ 01The difference between saying and showing

"We run on renewable gas." That's said quickly and believed quickly — until someone asks the next question. That's when the difference between a claim and an evidence file shows. A claim is a statement; an evidence file is the set of records that statement follows from. The point of a well-organised chain is that the claim no longer has to be defended, because the evidence file already carries it. [1] [2]

This article describes how that evidence file is built up in the Powercrumbs chain. It's the written-out version of the Proof Trail: eight steps, each with an owner, a record and a data point. [4]

§ 02Eight steps, eight records

• Source. The gas starts at a digester or another local source. Record: an origin marker per batch, with source type, location and feedstock. This is the step that makes all the rest possible — without origin there is nothing to trace.
• Processing. The gas is upgraded and conditioned. Record: the quality data per batch and the link to the origin marker. See the difference between biogas and biomethane.
• Hub. The Powerhub receives, stores and distributes. Record: the mass balance per hub and period — what went in, what went out, with the characteristics preserved. See mass balance.
• Mobile delivery. The gas goes to the site. Record: a delivery note with quantity, date, recipient and the origin marker of the batch delivered.
• End use. The Powerbox supplies the gas on site; the generator set or the installation turns it into heat or power. Record: the link between the delivery, the project and the application.
• Metering. Consumption is metered. Record: meter readings per period, traceable back to the deliveries.
• Reporting. Powerpulse brings the records together. Record: a report per project or period, showing how deliveries, consumption and characteristics line up — in the form the reader needs. [3]
• Value. The evidence file is handed over to whoever asks for it. Record: the overview of claims and how they are covered.

§ 03Three readers, three questions

An evidence file is only usable if it answers the reader's question. In practice there are three readers.

• The client asks: what was used on my project, and can I use that in my own reporting or tender award accountability? The evidence file gives the deliveries, the consumption and the origin per project.
• The auditor asks: do the reported quantities tie back to evidence, is the origin demonstrable, and is there no double counting? The evidence file provides the reconciliation: per reported quantity the origin marker, the swap log and the metering. Certificate data is not in there — that arises when gas is injected into the grid, and a physical delivery does not take that route. See what the auditor asks under the CSRD.
• The permitting authority or inspectorate asks: have the requirements from the permit or the tender been met, and can that be checked per delivery? The evidence file gives the deliveries and characteristics over time.

One evidence file, three cross-sections. That is only possible if the records are logged from the first step onwards — not if they have to be reconstructed from invoices afterwards.

§ 04What the evidence file does not do

An evidence file makes a claim demonstrable; it does not make a claim bigger. That's why Powercrumbs works with three claim levels: what can safely be said, what has to be worded carefully, and what has to be validated before it is presented as fact. [4] Figures on reduction or savings belong in the third category until they are substantiated per chain. If you hear a supplier say "guaranteed so many per cent less", you can ask which record that comes from.

§ 05What you need to do yourself

An evidence file from the supplier is half of it. The other half is your own administration: link the deliveries to your projects, keep the records with the reporting, and make sure that whoever gets the question knows where the file is. At the start of a project, ask what form the file will take and who receives it — not at the end. And ask every energy supplier, not only us, the same thing: which record backs this claim?

§ 06Further

The eight steps are set out with data points on the Proof page, including the regulatory framework that shows, per requirement from RED III, CSRD and CBAM, which part of the evidence file provides the answer. Want to know what the file would look like for your situation? The scan sketches out the first route.

§ 07References

• ISCC — Chain-of-custody requirements: which data has to be recorded and kept for each transfer.Certification scheme · recognised by the EUPrimary
• European Union — Directive (EU) 2023/2413 (RED III) — mass balance, certification and registration as the basis for tracking sustainability characteristics.Legislation · primaryPrimary
• EFRAG — ESRS E1 — data points on energy consumption and energy mix that the evidence file ties into.Reporting standardPrimary
• Powercrumbs — Proof — The Proof Trail (eight steps), claim levels and the regulatory framework as described on the site.Own documentationInternal

Full references (titles, dates, links) to follow.

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