The 15 Scope 3 categories, one by one.
The GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard sorts a company's value-chain emissions into 15 categories: eight upstream (what you buy and how it reaches you) and seven downstream (what happens to what you sell). This guide explains each one, the data it needs, and which categories carry most of the footprint for typical businesses.
Upstream and downstream.
Emissions from goods and services you purchase or acquire: materials, equipment, energy production losses, inbound transport, waste, travel, commuting and leased assets you use.
Emissions from goods and services you sell: outbound transport, processing and use by customers, end-of-life, assets you lease out, franchises and investments.
All 15 categories, with the data each needs.
| # | Category | What it covers | Data you typically need |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Purchased goods and services | Cradle-to-gate emissions of everything you buy, except capital goods | Spend or quantities by supplier and material; supplier footprints where available |
| 2 | Capital goods | Machinery, buildings, vehicles and IT bought in the year | Capex register by asset type |
| 3 | Fuel- and energy-related activities | Upstream emissions of fuels and electricity, and grid losses, not in Scopes 1 and 2 | The same energy data as Scopes 1 and 2 |
| 4 | Upstream transportation and distribution | Inbound freight and third-party logistics you pay for | Tonne-kilometres by mode, or freight spend |
| 5 | Waste generated in operations | Disposal and treatment of your operational waste | Waste tonnes by type and treatment route |
| 6 | Business travel | Flights, rail, hotels, rental cars for work | Travel agency reports, expense data |
| 7 | Employee commuting | Staff travel between home and work, and remote working | Commuting survey or headcount by site and mode |
| 8 | Upstream leased assets | Assets you lease, if not already in Scopes 1 and 2 | Energy use of leased buildings or vehicles |
| 9 | Downstream transportation and distribution | Outbound transport you do not pay for | Tonne-kilometres to customers by mode |
| 10 | Processing of sold products | Further processing of intermediate products by customers | Product quantities and processing energy |
| 11 | Use of sold products | Energy or emissions when customers use what you sell | Units sold, lifetime, energy per use |
| 12 | End-of-life treatment of sold products | Disposal and recycling of what you sell | Product mass and material, end-of-life routes |
| 13 | Downstream leased assets | Assets you own and lease to others | Energy use of the leased assets |
| 14 | Franchises | Operations of franchisees | Franchise energy and activity data |
| 15 | Investments | Emissions of companies and projects you invest in or lend to | Holdings and investee footprints |
Source: GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard.
Which categories carry the footprint.
Manufacturers usually find category 1, purchased goods and services, is the largest item, because steel, aluminium, chemicals and packaging carry heavy upstream emissions. Categories 4 and 9, transport in and out, follow. For products that use energy, such as machines, appliances or vehicles, category 11, use of sold products, can be larger than everything else combined.
Service and software companies have small Scope 1 and 2 footprints, so Scope 3 dominates: purchased services and cloud (1), IT equipment (2), business travel (6) and commuting (7).
Suppliers answering a customer request should remember the other side of the table: your Scope 1 and 2 emissions are part of your customer's category 1. That is why EU and US customers now ask for supplier-specific numbers. Supplier data replaces a generic spend-based estimate in their inventory, and a lower verified number makes you the easier supplier to keep.
Financial institutions report category 15, investments, which is often the largest share of their total.
How Scope 3 is calculated.
The GHG Protocol's Scope 3 calculation guidance offers several methods per category. Most first inventories mix them: precise where data exists, estimated where it does not.
Product footprints can be exchanged between companies in the PACT data format; Karbon360° is a PACT conformant solution.
Your Scope 1 and 2 are your customer's Scope 3. A real number beats their estimate.
Frequently asked.
What are the 15 Scope 3 categories?
Which Scope 3 categories are upstream and which are downstream?
Do we have to report all 15 categories?
Which Scope 3 category is usually the largest?
What is the difference between spend-based and supplier-specific data?
Map your Scope 3 before a customer does.
Habitat screens all 15 categories, calculates the material ones and documents every factor and exclusion. Fixed-fee quote within 48 hours.