---
title: I Audited My Own Marketing Claims Against My Own Database
description: What I found when I checked every public figure CarbonConstruct publishes against live SQL — and the questions worth asking any carbon vendor before a tender.
---

<https://carbonconstruct.online>

# [I Audited My Own Marketing Claims Against My Own Database](https://carbonconstruct.online/i-audited-my-own-marketing-claims-against-my-own-database)

 Written by [Steve Jenkins](https://carbonconstruct.online/author/steve-jenkins) | Oct 18, 2026, 10:52:54 PM

Earlier this year I spent two days doing something most software founders would never willingly do: I audited my own company's marketing claims against the database that's supposed to back them up.

I run CarbonConstruct, a carbon compliance platform for commercial builders, and before that I spent 17 years as a carpenter and plasterer on Queensland sites. That trade background means I can't stand a number that doesn't reconcile, whether it's on a BOQ or on our own sales page.

So I pulled live SQL against our materials database and checked every public figure line by line. A couple of findings are worth sharing, because they apply to any carbon tool you're assessing, not just mine.

## Not every row in a materials database is a verified EPD

Ours holds 4,800+ published materials, and roughly 2,000+ of those are Tier 1 rows backed by an actual registered EPD. The rest are category averages: useful, but a different claim entirely. A vendor that blurs the two is handing you a bigger number than the data supports.

## A column named "verified" that was never switched on

I also found a database column literally named "verified" that had never been switched on for a single row in the system, not because the underlying work wasn't done, but because the flag was never wired up. If that column existed in your vendor's database, would they know? Would you?

## The words that don't mean what they sound like

With the ACCC actively pursuing greenwashing claims, and the Green Star® and NABERS trade marks tightly controlled by their owners, phrases like "AI-verified," "audit-grade" and "Green Star aligned" get thrown around a lot in this industry. None of them mean what they sound like unless someone can show you the query behind the number.

CarbonConstruct™ produces reports for use in Green Star® and NABERS Embodied Carbon submissions. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or certified by the Green Building Council of Australia or NABERS.

## The rule I work to now

Every public number we publish has to trace back to a query I can re-run on demand, or it doesn't go out. Slower than writing good copy. It's the only way I'd trust a number from someone else.

Next time you're assessing a carbon tool for a tender or a Green Star submission, ask the vendor one question: show me where that number comes from. Watch what happens next.

What's the worst vendor claim you've caught in a tender?

[View full post](https://carbonconstruct.online/i-audited-my-own-marketing-claims-against-my-own-database)

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