Frequently Asked Questions

Self-reported ESG data using factor-based estimation methods carries uncertainty ranges of 38% to 150% per IPCC and GHG Protocol documentation. This makes the data difficult to audit, easy to manipulate, and increasingly unacceptable to institutional investors, regulators, and rating agencies.

Satellite remote sensing produces data that is independent (the satellite records what it observes regardless of what the asset owner reports), reproducible (any party can re-run the same analysis on the same open dataset), spatially precise (every data point is geolocated), and historically archived (Sentinel-2 data extends back to 2015). These characteristics are impossible to replicate with self-reporting.

Zolena Lab uses Copernicus Sentinel-2 Level-2A imagery produced by the European Space Agency. Key specifications: 10-metre spatial resolution, 5-day revisit frequency, 13 spectral bands, free and open access under the Copernicus open data licence.

We chose Sentinel-2 because it is the satellite referenced in EU technical guidance on EUDR implementation, it provides the optimal balance of resolution and coverage for our analysis range (10 to 1,000+ acres), and its open data status means our analysis costs remain low — allowing us to offer reports at a fraction of the cost of traditional environmental consulting.

Zolena Lab references open-access environmental sensing and machine learning calibration research from the University of Calgary Schulich School of Engineering (Du, K. et al., CC BY 4.0 licence) in its data processing methodology. This academic reference provides algorithmic traceability and is cited in the appendix of all reports.

This reference does not imply a formal partnership, endorsement, or institutional affiliation with the University of Calgary or the Schulich School of Engineering.

Zolena Lab Inc. is incorporated and headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with operational presence in Wuhan, China. We serve clients globally — Sentinel-2 covers the entire Earth surface, and our public climate and hazard databases (NASA FIRMS, JRC, C3S) provide global coverage. Current priority markets are Canada (land risk screening, green space ESG, property ESG) and China (EUDR export compliance, property ESG for logistics parks).

Payment is by E-Transfer to [email protected]. Please include your selected product edition in the payment memo. Report production begins upon payment confirmation. Each report is issued with a unique report ID for audit traceability. We do not currently accept credit card payments.

The Zolena Land Risk Score™ is a composite environmental risk rating expressed as a risk grade (L1 Low Risk through L4 High Risk) paired with an Investment Grade (A Proceed through D Defer).

Scoring weights: current environmental state 50% (Layer 01 NDVI, SWIR, RGB plus Layer 03 500m buffer pressure); historical change trajectory 30% (Layer 02 10-year NDVI trend plus Layer 04 climate hazard history); future climate trend 20% (Pro Edition only, C3S/CanESM/IPCC AR6). The 50% weight on current state reflects that land buyers are primarily concerned with present condition.

No. A Zolena Pre-Purchase Land Environmental Risk Screening is a preliminary satellite-based desktop screening tool. It does not constitute a Phase I or Phase II ESA as defined under ASTM E1527 or Canadian Standards Association Z768. Zolena Lab is not a licensed environmental engineer or regulated professional.

Think of it as a screening step that happens before you decide whether a formal Phase I is warranted. If our screening identifies L3 or L4 risk signals, that is a strong indicator to commission a Phase I before bidding. If our screening shows L1 or L2, you can proceed with more confidence and potentially avoid unnecessary Phase I costs on lower-risk parcels.

Sentinel-2 at 10-metre resolution is most effective for parcels larger than approximately 10 hectares (25 acres). The optimal range is 25 to 250 acres — the typical size for high-value commercial and industrial land in Canada. For very large parcels (over 1,000 acres), we combine Sentinel-2 with Landsat for historical coverage back to the 1980s. For smaller parcels, we can discuss supplementary higher-resolution commercial imagery.

Alberta and other high-latitude Canadian parcels require careful snow handling. We apply an NDSI snow mask (threshold greater than 0.4) to exclude snow-covered pixels, restrict all analysis to the May through September growing season window, and compare years on a same-season basis (summer to summer only). This protocol is documented in the methodology appendix of every Alberta report and is consistent with peer-reviewed remote sensing literature for northern Canada.

The Lite Edition (CAD $800, 48-hour delivery) covers: current environmental state (RGB, NDVI, SWIR), 10-year historical NDVI trajectory, 500-metre surrounding pressure scan, and climate hazard history (wildfire, flood, drought). It produces an L1–L4 risk grade and A–D investment recommendation.

The Pro Edition (CAD $2,500, 5–7 business days) adds: full watershed-level upstream scan (5–20km), public contaminated sites registry cross-reference (Alberta EPEA and federal databases), 50-year climate risk projection (C3S, CanESM, IPCC AR6 for 2030/2040/2050), and a full decision-support narrative suitable for legal due diligence file integration.

Yes. Sentinel-2 covers the entire Earth surface. We can produce land risk screening reports for parcels in any country where Copernicus satellite coverage is available. We have operational experience with parcels in Canada and China. International parcels may have different data availability for the contaminated sites registry check, which relies on country-specific public databases. Contact us to discuss your specific geography.

EU Regulation 2023/1115 (EUDR) requires companies placing certain commodities on the EU market to verify that their products were not produced on land that was deforested or forest-degraded after December 31, 2020. The seven commodity categories covered are: cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soy, wood (and derived products), and rubber.

Chinese SME exporters supplying EU buyers in any of these commodity chains must be able to provide verifiable evidence — not just supplier declarations — that their supply chain source areas are deforestation-free.

Yes for commercially relevant deforestation events. Sentinel-2 at 10-metre resolution can detect forest clearing affecting areas larger than approximately 1 hectare — which covers the vast majority of commercially significant deforestation associated with agricultural commodity production. The EU's own technical guidance on EUDR implementation references Sentinel-2 as an appropriate data source for geolocation and land-use verification.

We disclose the resolution limitation in all reports and recommend supplementary higher-resolution commercial imagery for small-plot verification when required.

EU importers and regulators require evidence of independent verification — not just supplier declarations. A Canadian environmental intelligence company with University of Calgary academic affiliation provides geographic and institutional independence from both the Chinese exporter and the source country government. The satellite data itself — sourced from a European Space Agency open platform — is independently verifiable by any party with technical capability. This combination of Canadian third-party independence and ESA-sourced data is particularly credible for EU compliance purposes.

The A-Track (CNY 3–8万/year) is a domestic disclosure package using satellite-observable data only, aligned with CSRC and Chinese exchange ESG guidelines. No client-provided internal data is required.

The B-Track (CNY 8–25万/year) is an international disclosure package aligned with GRI, CSRD, TCFD, and EUDR. It combines satellite data with client-provided domestic supply chain documentation. Important: the B-Track report includes an explicit disclaimer that client-provided data has not been independently verified by Zolena Lab — only the satellite-derived components carry independent verification status.

No. A Zolena satellite compliance verification package provides documented, satellite-based evidence that strengthens an EUDR due diligence statement — it does not constitute regulatory approval or a guarantee of EU market access. EUDR compliance ultimately requires the exporter to submit a due diligence statement through the EU Information System, taking responsibility for completeness and accuracy. Our package strengthens the evidentiary basis of that statement with independently verifiable satellite data.

Yes, with disclosed uncertainty. Sentinel-2 NDVI is a well-established proxy for vegetation biomass density. Combined with IPCC 2006 Guidelines biomass factors for temperate forests, this produces a carbon sequestration estimate expressed in tonnes CO₂ equivalent per year.

The result carries an uncertainty range of ±30% to ±50%, which is explicitly disclosed in all reports. This is more defensible than purely factor-based estimates that use no site-specific data and typically do not disclose uncertainty at all. The approach is appropriate for corporate ESG disclosure purposes where the goal is a credible, defensible estimate rather than a precision measurement.

The Zolena Green Space Score™ is a composite indicator (0–100) of green space quality, calculated from four satellite-measured dimensions: vegetation health — NDVI mean (35% weight); green coverage density — vegetated area fraction (25%); carbon sequestration capacity — NDVI-biomass-IPCC proxy (25%); and community accessibility — population within 500-metre radius (15%, GRI 413-1 aligned).

Score interpretation: 80–100 exceptional green asset; 60–79 strong performer; 40–59 adequate with improvement potential; below 40 significant improvement opportunity.

Sentinel-2 is most effective for green spaces larger than approximately 1,000 square metres (0.1 hectares). Parks, green corridors, campus grounds, and community gardens of this size or larger are suitable. The Calgary parks database in our system covers five major parks with areas ranging from 16 to 160 hectares, which serve as benchmarks for report scoring.

Zolena Lab reports are aligned with GRI 2021 Standard 413-1 (Local Communities) in their structure and indicator selection. GRI certification is a separate process undertaken by the reporting company, not the data provider. Our report provides the satellite-measured data companies need to complete GRI-aligned disclosures credibly. We do not claim GRI certification for our data service.

Any real property with a defined boundary and meaningful green space or rooftop component. Most suitable: logistics and industrial parks (large footprint, rooftop solar potential, green buffer zones), commercial campuses, mixed-use developments with landscaped areas, and residential developments with community green space. Sentinel-2 is most effective for properties larger than approximately 2 hectares. Smaller properties may require supplementary higher-resolution imagery.

Yes. The report is specifically designed to provide the environmental performance data that financial institutions require for green financing eligibility assessment. The carbon sequestration estimate, vegetation health indicators, solar potential assessment, and climate risk overlay directly address the environmental criteria commonly used in green bond frameworks and green loan principles. The data provenance documentation ensures lenders can independently verify the underlying satellite data.

Both versions use the same underlying satellite data, packaged for different markets. The China Version (物业价值智能报告) focuses on energy savings, asset appreciation, domestic green financing, and solar potential — suitable for A-share listed company disclosure and domestic ESG requirements. The International Version (Property ESG Value Intelligence) is aligned with GRI 2021, GRESB, TNFD, TCFD, and CSRD — suitable for institutional investor reporting and international green bond prospectus use.

NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) is calculated as: (NIR minus Red) divided by (NIR plus Red). Using Sentinel-2 bands: (B8 minus B4) divided by (B8 plus B4). Values range from -1 to +1. Healthy vegetation typically scores 0.4 to 0.9; bare soil or stressed vegetation 0.0 to 0.3; water bodies below 0.0.

NDVI is one of the most extensively validated remote sensing indices, with over four decades of scientific application. Zolena Lab uses it as the primary indicator for vegetation health, carbon sequestration proxy, deforestation detection, and land disturbance assessment — and a year-over-year same-season decline greater than 0.1 is the primary trigger for flagging change events.

SWIR (Shortwave Infrared, Sentinel-2 bands B11, B8, B4) penetrates vegetation canopy more deeply and is sensitive to soil moisture content, mineral composition, and certain organic compounds. It can detect subsurface moisture anomalies and hydrocarbon residue signatures on soil surfaces — indicators that are invisible in standard RGB photography and not captured by NDVI. In land risk screening, SWIR signatures that suggest elevated soil disturbance or unusual soil composition are flagged as secondary investigation triggers alongside NDVI decline patterns.

Zolena Lab uses four public databases for climate and hazard assessment: NASA FIRMS (active fire points, 2000 to present, global, MODIS and VIIRS at 375m resolution); JRC Global Surface Water v1.4 (historical permanent and seasonal water coverage, 1984 to 2021, global); Copernicus C3S Climate Data Store (drought indices SPI and SPEI, freeze-thaw frequency, precipitation anomalies, historical and projected); and CanESM plus IPCC AR6 (50-year regional climate projections for 2030, 2040, 2050, Pro Edition only). All four are freely available open datasets.

Zolena Lab discloses the following limitations in all reports: spatial resolution — Sentinel-2 is 10 metres per pixel; features smaller than 10 metres may not be detectable; sub-surface conditions — satellite observes surface and near-surface only; buried contamination and groundwater cannot be assessed; carbon precision — estimates carry ±30% to ±50% uncertainty per IPCC specifications; cloud cover — optical imagery cannot penetrate cloud; persistent cloud cover may limit imagery availability; self-reported data in B-Track EUDR reports — client-provided data is not independently verified by Zolena Lab and is explicitly disclaimed.

Zolena Lab products align with the following standards: GRI 413-1 (Local Communities) for green space ESG; TCFD (physical climate risk) across all products; CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) for EUDR B-Track and property ESG international versions; EUDR (EU Regulation 2023/1115) for supply chain compliance; GRESB for property ESG value reports; TNFD (biodiversity proxy) for property ESG; IPCC 2006 Guidelines for carbon sequestration estimation; and ASTM E1527 and CSA Z768 are referenced to define the scope boundary of land risk screening.