Scope 3 emissions
Scope 3 emissions are all the other indirect emissions across a company’s value chain — from purchased goods and business travel to the use and disposal of sold products. The GHG Protocol splits Scope 3 into 15 categories, and it is usually the largest and hardest part of a carbon footprint.
Classify an activity freeThe three scopes at a glance
- • On-site fuel
- • Company vehicles
- • Refrigerants
- • Purchased electricity
- • Heat / steam
- • Cooling
- • Purchased goods
- • Business travel
- • Waste
Examples of Scope 3 emissions
- Purchased goods and services
- Business travel and employee commuting
- Upstream and downstream transport
- Waste generated in operations
- Use and end-of-life of sold products
How to calculate Scope 3
Screen which of the 15 categories are relevant, then estimate each — often using spend-based factors at first (spend × factor) and refining to activity-based data over time. Scope 3 is an estimate by nature; focus effort on the largest categories.
The 15 Scope 3 categories
- 1. Purchased goods & services
- 2. Capital goods
- 3. Fuel- and energy-related activities
- 4. Upstream transportation & distribution
- 5. Waste generated in operations
- 6. Business travel
- 7. Employee commuting
- 8. Upstream leased assets
- 9. Downstream transportation & distribution
- 10. Processing of sold products
- 11. Use of sold products
- 12. End-of-life treatment of sold products
- 13. Downstream leased assets
- 14. Franchises
- 15. Investments
Frequently asked questions
Why is Scope 3 so important?
For most organisations Scope 3 is by far the largest share of emissions — often the majority — because it covers the entire value chain. It is also what value-chain customers increasingly ask suppliers to report.
How many Scope 3 categories are there?
The GHG Protocol defines 15 Scope 3 categories — 8 upstream and 7 downstream — covering everything from purchased goods to investments.