In April, we convened the Perseus User Needs & Impact Advisory Group, co-chaired by Sage and Icebreaker One. The meeting aimed to address the following:

  1. Open discussion about what products might come out of Perseus
  2. Update AG members on progress made, and framing of what Perseus is doing and where we are going (demonstrator)
  3. Working groups to all be kicked off with lead
    1. Updates from the working group lead 
  4. Use case –  call for more and reviewing the documented ones we’ve got so far

Meeting Summary

  • It was noted that:
    • New members are joining from the banking sector, carbon reporting solutions and related commercial actors.
    • A proposal for support of Perseus is under review by the Government.
  • It was discussed that member outcomes of Perseus include:
    • Elevating emissions reporting and accounting with higher granularity.
    • Trust, transparency and improving understanding of data sources.
    • Simplicity, standardisation and automation to make reporting easy.
    • SMEs will be able to differentiate their propositions in tendering to corporates.
  • It was noted that updates on AG1’s working groups (WGs) were presented:
    • AG1 has four WGs in user needs; assurance; ecosystem map; and future use cases.
    • The Assurance group has begun to explore questions on existing technical standards and demonstrate the value of Perseus. The next steps are to map the process and information flows, identify validation of data integrity and define assurance processes.
    • The user needs group will kick off by exploring the bank’s requirements, including what specific insights they need to unlock financing and reduce associated risks.
      • It was discussed that national vs regional carbon intensity will have different effects on SME credit scores and this should be considered on the roadmap.
  • Open questions from AG2 were discussed:
    • How will SME permissions work? 
    • How permission will pass through from SME → Accounting → Bank? It was discussed that:
      • Banks would like access to energy data, especially in the instance of using decarbonising tools. There are open questions about the granularity required by the application vendors vs the banks and lenders.
      • SME emissions and consumption data are separate datasets.
      • Data minimisation principles must be followed, and linked to specific outcomes. For example, if banks and lenders only require the carbon intensity information, not the raw consumption data, this must not be shared (without additional consent). 
    • The group needs to clarify what tariff information is required.
    • These questions will also need to be addressed by AG3/AG5.

The next meeting will take place on July 16th 2024.