Scope 3 emissions are all other indirect emissions that occur in your company’s value chain and are not already included within scope 2. These emissions are a consequence of your company’s business activities, but occur from sources your company does not own nor control.
This article gives you a short introduction to the different categories of scope 3. If you are a Normative Business user, looking for details on how to collect data for this scope, go to the data collection page.
Upstream scope 3 emissions
Category 1 - Purchased goods and services
Category description
Extraction, production, and transportation of goods and services purchased or acquired (e.g., raw materials, products, legal counseling, etc.) by the reporting company in the reporting year, not otherwise included in categories 2 - 8.
Minimum boundary
All upstream (cradle-to-gate) emissions of purchased goods and services.
Category 2 - Capital goods
Category description
Extraction, production, and transportation of capital goods purchased or acquired by the reporting company in the reporting year.
Minimum boundary
All upstream (cradle-to-gate) emissions of purchased capital goods.
Category 3 - Fuel- and engergy-related activities
Category description
Extraction, production, and transportation of fuels and energy purchased or acquired by the reporting company in the reporting year which are not already accounted for in scope 1 or scope 2, including:
- Upstream emissions of purchased fuels (extraction, production, and transportation of fuels consumed by the reporting company).
- Upstream emissions of purchased electricity (extraction, production, and transportation of fuels consumed in the generation of electricity, steam, heating, and cooling consumed by the reporting company).
- Transmission and distribution (T&D) losses (generation of electricity, steam, heating and cooling that is consumed [i.e., lost] in a T&D system) – reported by end user.
- Generation of purchased electricity that is sold to end users (generation of electricity, steam, heating and cooling that is purchased by the reporting company and sold to end users) – reported by utility company or energy retailer only.
Minimum boundary
- For upstream emissions of purchased fuels: All upstream (cradle-to-gate) emissions of purchased fuels (from raw material extraction up to the point of, but excluding, combustion).
- For upstream emissions of purchased electricity: all upstream (cradle-to-gate) emissions of purchased fuels (from raw material extraction up to the point of, but excluding, combustion by a power generator).
- For T&D losses: All upstream (cradle-to-gate) emissions of energy consumed in a T&D system, including emissions from combustion.
- For the generation of purchased electricity that is sold to end users: Emissions from the generation of purchased energy.
Category 4 - Upstream transportation and distribution
Category description
Transportation and distribution (paid by the reporting company) of products purchased by the reporting company in the reporting year between a company’s tier 1 suppliers and its own operations (in vehicles and facilities not owned or controlled by the reporting company).
Transportation and distribution services purchased by the reporting company in the reporting year, including inbound logistics, outbound logistics (e.g., of sold products), and transportation and distribution between a company’s own facilities (in vehicles and facilities not owned or controlled by the reporting company).
Minimum boundary
The scope 1 and scope 2 emissions of transportation and distribution providers that occur during the use of vehicles and facilities (e.g., from energy use).
Optional: The life cycle emissions associated with manufacturing vehicles, facilities, or infrastructure.
Category 5 - Waste generated in operations
Category description
Disposal and treatment of waste generated in the reporting company’s operations in the reporting year (in facilities not owned or controlled by the reporting company).
Minimum boundary
The scope 1 and scope 2 emissions of waste management suppliers that occur during disposal or treatment.
Optional: Emissions from the transportation of waste.
Category 6 - Business travel
Category description
Transportation of employees for business-related activities during the reporting year (in vehicles not owned or operated by the reporting company).
Minimum boundary
The scope 1 and scope 2 emissions of transportation carriers that occur during the use of vehicles (e.g., from energy use).
Optional: The life cycle emissions associated with manufacturing vehicles or infrastructure.
Category 7 - Employee commuting
Category description
Transportation of employees betweentheir homes and their worksites duringthe reporting year (in vehicles notowned or operated by the reportingcompany).
Minimum boundary
The scope 1 and scope 2 emissions of employees and transportation providers that occur during the use of vehicles (e.g., from energy use).
Optional: Emissions from employee teleworking.
Category 8 - Upstream leased assets
Category description
Operation of assets leased by the reporting company (lessee) in the reporting year and not included in scope 1 and scope 2 – reported by lessee.
Minimum boundary
The scope 1 and scope 2 emissions of lessors that occur during the reporting company’s operation of leased assets (e.g., from energy use).
Optional: The life cycle emissions associated with manufacturing or constructing leased assets.
Downstream scope 3 emissions
Category 9 - Downstream transportation and distribution
Category description
Transportation and distribution of products sold by the reporting company in the reporting year between the reporting company’s operations and the end consumer (if not paid for by the reporting company), including retail and storage (in vehicles and facilities not owned or controlled by the reporting company).
Minimum boundary
The scope 1 and scope 2 emissions of transportation providers, distributors, and retailers that occur during the use of vehicles and facilities (e.g., from energy use).
Optional: The life cycle emissions associated with manufacturing vehicles, facilities, or infrastructure.
Category 10 - Processing of sold products
Category description
Processing of intermediate products sold in the reporting year by downstream companies (e.g., manufacturers). Intermediate products are goods integrated into another product before use (cranberries that will be added to a granola bar; a car engine that will be installed in a car).
Minimum boundary
The scope 1 and scope 2 emissions of downstream companies that occur during processing (e.g., from energy use).
Category 11 - Use of sold products
Category description
End use of goods and services sold by the reporting company in the reporting year.
Minimum boundary
The direct use-phase emissions of sold products over their expected lifetime (i.e., the scope 1 and scope 2 emissions of end users that occur from the use of products that directly consume energy (fuels or electricity) during use; fuels and feedstocks; and GHGs and products that contain or form GHGs that are emitted during use).
Optional: The indirect use-phase emissions of sold products over their expected lifetime (i.e., emissions from the use of products that indirectly consume energy [fuels or electricity] during use).
Category 12 - End-of-life treatment of sold products
Category description
Waste disposal and treatment of products sold by the reporting company (in the reporting year) at the end of their life.
Minimum boundary
The scope 1 and scope 2 emissions of waste management companies that occur during disposal or treatment of sold products.
Category 13 - Downstream leased assets
Category description
Operation of assets owned by the reporting company (lessor) and leased to other entities in the reporting year, not included in scope 1 and scope 2 – reported by lessor.
Minimum boundary
The scope 1 and scope 2 emissions of lessees that occur during operation of leased assets (e.g., from energy use).
Optional: The life cycle emissions associated with manufacturing or constructing leased assets.
Category 14 - Franchises
Category description
Operation of franchises in the reporting year, not included in scope 1 and scope 2 – reported by franchisor.
Minimum boundary
The scope 1 and scope 2 emissions of franchisees that occur during operation of franchises (e.g., from energy use).
Optional: The life cycle emissions associated with manufacturing or constructing franchises.
Category 15 - Investments
Category description
Operation of investments (including equity and debt investments and project finance) in the reporting year, not included in scope 1 or scope 2.
Minimum boundary
See the description of category 15 (Investments) from the Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting
and Reporting Standard, starting at page 53, for the required and optional boundaries.