Car: BASIC

💡 High-Level Description

The BASIC methodology is a transparent, input-driven calculator for car travel when you already know either:

• the specific emission rate of the vehicle in gCO₂/km, or

• the energy/fuel consumption (e.g., L/100 km, kWh/100 km) plus the fuel type (to derive gCO₂/km via fuel-specific factors).

It is designed for simple, traceable calculations where the data source is your own measurement, OEM specs, or a trusted dataset. BASIC does not infer vehicle classes or default factors; it relies on your supplied intensity (g/km) or your supplied consumption with explicit fuel type.

Audit mode: Set items[].audit = true to create immutable audit records (must be enabled for your account).

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Sample API Requests

A. Direct intensity (preferred when you know gCO₂/km)

{
  "expand": ["items"],
  "items": [
    {
      "type": "car",
      "methodology": "BASIC",
      "external_reference": "TRIP-001",
      "distance_in_km": 245.6,
      "co2_grams_per_km": 120
    }
  ]
}

B. Consumption-based (derive g/km from 100-km consumption + fuel type)

{
  "expand": ["items"],
  "items": [
    {
      "type": "car",
      "methodology": "BASIC",
      "external_reference": "TRIP-002",
      "origin": "Munich, Germany",
      "destination": "Prague, Czechia",
      "consumption_per_100_km": 6.2,
      "fuel_type": "petrol"
    }
  ]
}

C. Duration-based distance fallback (when distance is unknown)

If you don’t have distance or origin/destination, you may pass number_of_days. SQUAKE estimates: estimated_distance_in_km = number_of_days * 60.

{
  "expand": ["items"],
  "items": [
    {
      "type": "car",
      "methodology": "BASIC",
      "external_reference": "TRIP-003",
      "number_of_days": 4,
      "co2_grams_per_km": 95
    }
  ]
}

Precedence rules Distance source: distance_in_km > origin/destination > number_of_days. Intensity source: co2_grams_per_km > (consumption_per_100_km + fuel_type).

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Sample API Response

{
  "carbon_quantity": 29472,
  "carbon_unit": "gram",
  "items": [
    {
      "carbon_quantity": 29472,
      "carbon_unit": "gram",
      "external_reference": "TRIP-001",
      "type": "car",
      "methodology": "BASIC",
      "distance": 245.6,
      "distance_unit": "kilometer"
    }
  ]
}

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API Request Items

• "type": "car" (required)

• "methodology": "BASIC" (required)

• "external_reference": Optional correlation ID (≤128 chars)

• Distance inputs (choose one):

  • "distance_in_km": numeric (overrides other distance inputs)

  • "origin" and "destination": postal text, UN/LOCODE, IATA/ICAO, or "lat,lon"

  • "number_of_days": integer ≥ 1 (fallback; estimates distance as days * 60)

• Intensity inputs (choose one path):

  • "co2_grams_per_km": number ≥ 0 (direct gCO₂/km)

  • OR "consumption_per_100_km" and "fuel_type":

    • "consumption_per_100_km": number [0..1000]

    • "fuel_type": one of "diesel" | "petrol" | "electricity" | "ethanol" | "bio_diesel" | "lpg" | "hydrogen" | "hvo"

• "audit": boolean (immutable audit record; feature-gated)

Validation tip: For the consumption path, fuel_type is mandatory. For the g/km path, fuel_type is not required.

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Default Values

• No default for "fuel_type" (required only when using "consumption_per_100_km").

• No default for "co2_grams_per_km" or "consumption_per_100_km"—you must provide one of the intensity paths.

• Distance estimation default for "number_of_days": 60 km/day.

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Notes

• Use direct co2_grams_per_km whenever available (OEM/telematics/lab data) for maximum fidelity.

• When using consumption, ensure the unit matches what your integration expects (e.g., L/100 km for liquid fuels, kWh/100 km for BEVs).

• BASIC does not infer vehicle classes or apply regional defaults; it uses exactly what you supply.

• For electric vehicles, either provide co2_grams_per_km (preferred if you have grid-mix allocation) or consumption_per_100_km with "fuel_type": "electricity" (uses configured electricity factors).

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Bibliography

• Smart Freight Centre (SFC) — Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) Framework for Logistics Emissions Accounting, latest edition.

• SFC — GLEC Framework Guidance & Technical Documentation (supporting fuel/energy factors and calculation principles).