Scope 1, 2 & 3 Emissions

The categorisation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into Scope 1, 2, and 3 originates from the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). This framework has been adopted by the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) under the CSRD, making it a regulatory requirement for in-scope companies.

Scope 1 emissions are direct GHG emissions from sources owned or controlled by the company. This includes emissions from combustion in owned or controlled boilers, furnaces, and vehicles, as well as emissions from chemical production in owned or controlled process equipment. These are typically the most straightforward to measure and report.

Scope 2 emissions are indirect GHG emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating, and cooling consumed by the company. Companies must report Scope 2 emissions using both the location-based method (reflecting the average emissions intensity of the grid) and the market-based method (reflecting emissions from the specific energy purchased through contractual instruments such as guarantees of origin).

Scope 3 emissions encompass all other indirect emissions that occur in the company's value chain, both upstream and downstream. The GHG Protocol identifies 15 categories of Scope 3 emissions, including purchased goods and services, capital goods, fuel and energy-related activities, upstream transportation, waste, business travel, employee commuting, leased assets, downstream transportation, processing of sold products, use of sold products, end-of-life treatment, downstream leased assets, franchises, and investments. Scope 3 emissions typically represent the largest share of a company's carbon footprint (often 70% or more) and are the most challenging to measure accurately.