Journey · Provenance
Show an auditor where a number came from
Any figure in Slate can be traced back to a publisher's own row in a named edition. This is how you show it.
By the end you'll have
- A ready answer to “where does this number come from?”
- Know what each provenance section proves
About 5 minutes.
1. Open the provenance panel
On the Calculated tab, click the green (or amber) icon on a row. A panel opens with the sections below.
2. What each section proves
| Section | Shows | An auditor learns |
|---|---|---|
| As published | The publisher's own row beside what Slate stored, with source file and checksum | The factor was not altered or re-typed |
| How the publisher was chosen | Every publisher asked, in order, with why earlier ones were skipped | No source was cherry-picked |
| Global warming potentials | The GWP set and each gas's value applied | The CO₂e conversion is reproducible |
| Unquantified gases | Gases with no published figure, and why | Nothing was assumed to be zero |
3. Make the answer stable
Provenance names a release (the publisher's edition). Because releases can be pinned, last year's figure keeps its edition after the publisher publishes a new one. See Releases and pinning.
A good habit before sign-off
Sample a few rows from each scope, open their provenance, and confirm the edition and GWP set match your reporting policy.