Allocation is the process of dividing the environmental impact of a shared process or facility between multiple products that use it. Mass allocation is the most common method — it distributes impacts proportionally based on the weight (mass) of each product passing through the process.
In Root, mass allocation is used to calculate how much of a facility's environmental footprint (from electricity, heat, and water consumption) should be assigned to each individual product.
A simple example
Imagine a factory consumes 1,000 kWh of electricity in a given month, and during that month it produces:
Product A: 600 kg
Product B: 400 kg
Using mass allocation:
Product A receives 60% of the facility's electricity impact (600/1000)
Product B receives 40% (400/1000)
This proportional split is applied to all utility impacts (electricity, heat, water) for that facility in that time period.
Why does Root use mass allocation?
Mass allocation is recommended by ISO 14044 (the international standard for LCA) when it is not possible to directly measure the energy and resource consumption for each individual product. It is the most widely adopted approach in product-level LCA because:
It is objective and data-driven — based on measurable production quantities
It is consistent — the same method is applied across all facilities and products
It is auditable — easy to explain and verify for reporting purposes
How Root applies mass allocation
Root automatically calculates mass allocation by:
Reading your purchase orders and sales orders to determine which products passed through each facility and in what quantities
Summing the total mass of all products processed in each facility during the utility contract period
Dividing each product's mass by the total to get an allocation factor
Applying that factor to the facility's total utility impacts
This is why it is important to keep your purchase/sales order data and facility utility data up to date — the quality of your allocation depends on the completeness of this information.
FAQ
What if I don't have order data for a facility?
If there is no order data linking products to a facility, Root cannot calculate a facility impact for those products. You will see the facility's impact in the Facility Impact Dashboard, but it will not be distributed to products. This is a data gap you should aim to close by uploading the relevant orders.
Are there other allocation methods?
Yes. ISO 14044 also recognises economic allocation (based on revenue) and other physical allocation methods. Root uses mass allocation as the default because it is the most widely accepted approach for manufactured goods. If your company has specific requirements, contact Root's LCA team to discuss alternatives.
Does allocation affect the total company footprint?
No. Allocation only affects how the facility's impact is distributed across products. The total facility impact remains unchanged.