Scope 1, 2 and 3 are the three scopes into which the GHG Protocol divides an organization's emissions. Scope 1 covers direct emissions from sources the company owns or controls; Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from purchased electricity, heat and steam; Scope 3 covers all other indirect emissions across the value chain. This split prevents double counting within a report and shows which emissions the company can influence directly.
Scope 1: direct emissions
Scope 1 includes emissions that physically occur at your facilities or from your vehicles:
- stationary combustion: boiler houses, furnaces and generators running on gas, fuel oil or coal;
- mobile combustion: company-owned vehicles and off-road machinery, as well as leased ones operated under your control;
- process emissions: production of cement, chemicals and metals;
- fugitive emissions: leaks of methane, refrigerants and SF₆.
Example: a boiler house burned 120,000 m³ of natural gas in a year. In this worked example, we use an emission factor of 2.04 kg CO₂e/m³: 120,000 × 2.04 = 244,800 kg, or 244.8 t CO₂e in Scope 1.
Scope 2: purchased energy
Scope 2 covers emissions from generating the electricity, heat, steam and cooling that you buy. The emissions themselves occur at a power plant or a combined heat and power (CHP) plant, but they are caused by your consumption.
Example: an office consumed 150,000 kWh of grid electricity and 200,000 kWh of heat. In this worked example, we use emission factors of 0.726 kg CO₂e/kWh for the grid and 0.2 kg CO₂e/kWh for heat:
- electricity: 150,000 × 0.726 = 108.9 t CO₂e;
- heat: 200,000 × 0.2 = 40.0 t CO₂e;
- total Scope 2: 148.9 t CO₂e.
For Scope 2, the GHG Protocol provides two methods, location-based and market-based. Both are explained in Scope 2: calculation methods.
Scope 3: the value chain
The Scope 3 Standard (2011) defines 15 categories: 8 upstream (purchased goods and services, capital goods, fuel and energy not included in Scope 1 or 2, transportation, waste, business travel, employee commuting and leased assets) and 7 downstream (transportation and use of sold products, their end-of-life treatment, franchises, investments and others). For many companies, Scope 3 is the largest part of the footprint, but also the hardest to calculate. For where to begin, see Scope 3: the 15 categories.
Where one scope ends and another begins
Which scope a source belongs to depends on who controls it, and that is set by your organizational boundaries. A few typical situations:
| Situation | Scope |
|---|---|
| Company-owned gas-fired boiler house | Scope 1 |
| Heat from a municipal CHP plant | Scope 2 |
| Electricity from your own gas-fired mini-CHP | Scope 1 (gas); no Scope 2 arises |
| Product delivery by a third-party carrier | Scope 3 |
| Company-owned truck | Scope 1 |
The same emissions must not be counted in two scopes of the same company. At the same time, one company's Scope 2 is an energy company's Scope 1, and that is perfectly normal: double counting is ruled out within a single report, not between different organizations.
How it works in the platform
Data is entered on the Data entry screen for each facility and year, month by month, on separate Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 tabs. In Scope 1, the platform covers stationary combustion (boilers, furnaces), mobile combustion (road vehicles, off-road machinery, rail, water and air transport) and industrial processes (clinker, lime). Scope 2 covers purchased electricity and heat, entered by connection and meter, and produces two results: “Location-based” and “Market-based”. Scope 3 is tracked for categories 1–14; category 15 (investments) is not part of GHG and will be offered as a separate service. Totals by scope are shown in company GHG analytics.
Frequently asked questions
Which scope does a leased office fall under?
It depends on the approach you chose for your organizational boundaries. Under the operational control approach, if you operate the office, its energy use is usually included in your Scope 1 and 2; otherwise, it may fall under Scope 3 as leased assets.
Is Scope 3 mandatory under the GHG Protocol?
The Corporate Standard requires companies to report Scope 1 and 2 and treats Scope 3 as optional. However, customers, banks and target-setting programs often expect at least an estimate of the significant Scope 3 categories.
Where does electricity from your own solar plant belong?
Electricity from your own solar PV plant creates no Scope 2 emissions: it reduces the amount you buy from the grid. As a result, Scope 2 goes down in proportion to the kWh it replaces.