To tackle climate change at company level, the essential starting point is to carry out a corporate carbon footprint assessment - in other words, to measure your greenhouse gas emissions. Here, we'll explain in detail what these famous "scopes" you keep hearing about actually are.
So, what exactly are scopes? To measure a company's greenhouse gas emissions, several methodologies exist, and they all share one thing in common: they categorise emissions into 3 boundaries, known as "scopes." These are the well-known Scopes 1, 2 and 3 of a carbon footprint assessment.
1. How are emissions categorised?
To make it easier to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions generated by a company's activity, a categorisation into 3 scopes was created.
The international carbon accounting methodology, the GHG Protocol, is the origin of this categorisation, which has since been adopted by other methodologies such as the ISO 14064 standard or the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) methodology.
Scope 1 = direct greenhouse gas emissions
These are greenhouse gas emissions that occur directly within the company. A few examples:
- emissions linked to gas heating in an office or a factory
- emissions from fuel combustion in service vehicles owned by the company
- refrigerant gas leaks from air conditioning units, fridges, or cold rooms
Scope 2 = indirect emissions linked to energy
These are mainly emissions linked to electricity, which isn't emitted directly at the workplace but at the moment it's produced (for example, the combustion taking place at a gas-fired power plant).
Scope 3 = other indirect emissions
This covers all other emissions. Scope 3 is, by definition, very broad and generally represents the vast majority of emissions linked to a company's activity. Failing to account for Scope 3 means having a very incomplete picture of your company's carbon footprint.
A few examples of "Scope 3" emissions:
- purchases of goods and raw materials
- purchases of services (administrative, digital, etc.)
- employee commuting
- use of products or services sold
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2. Scope 1: direct emissions
Scope 1 accounts for direct emissions within the company's boundary. The company is directly responsible for these greenhouse gas emissions.
Here, in detail, are the different sub-categories (or "emission items") of Scope 1:
To make this clearer, here's what the results of a supermarket's carbon footprint assessment could look like:
For a service-based company, which has neither gas heating nor company vehicles, Scope 1 is generally limited to refrigerant gas leaks from fridges and air conditioning — which are potent greenhouse gases. This is often small compared to the rest of the emissions generated by an activity!
Note: emissions occurring upstream of combustion are not accounted for in Scope 1 - only emissions that occur directly at the moment of combustion are counted.
For example, the emissions linked to the extraction, refining, and transport of the diesel burned by company vehicles are not counted in Scope 1 but in Scope 3 (sub-category "Upstream energy-related activities").
3. Scope 2: indirect emissions linked to energy
Scope 2 accounts for indirect emissions linked to energy consumption, whether electricity, heat, or cold. By definition, this is a very narrow scope, with only 2 sub-categories.
Here are the 2 sub-categories (or "emission items") of Scope 2:
Example of Scope 2 for a supermarket:
Note: here too, so-called "upstream" emissions from electricity production are not accounted for in Scope 2.
For example, emissions linked to the extraction and transport of the gas burned in thermal power plants that produce electricity, or to the manufacturing of solar panels and wind turbines, are not counted in Scope 2 but in Scope 3 (sub-category "Upstream energy-related activities").
Read our article dedicated to accounting for emissions linked to electricity consumption in a carbon footprint assessment.
4. Scope 3: other indirect emissions
Scope 3 accounts for all other indirect emissions. Put simply, it's "everything else."
Scope 3 emissions are commonly split into "upstream" emissions (before the production of goods or services sold) and "downstream" emissions (after the production of goods or services sold). Here is the detail of all the sub-categories (or "emission items") of Scope 3:
Scope 3 emissions therefore very often represent the vast majority of emissions generated by a company's activity!
Example of Scope 3 for a supermarket:
How is Scope 3 calculated in a carbon footprint assessment? Find out in our dedicated article: Calculating Scope 3 in a carbon footprint assessment - the different possible approaches.
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Conclusion
Scopes 1, 2 and 3 represent the different major categories of an organisation's greenhouse gas emissions. Scope 3 generally accounts for the vast majority of induced emissions - and therefore of the actions that can be taken to fight climate change.
This categorisation by scope is interesting and used worldwide across the various carbon accounting methodologies. However, we believe it's insufficient on its own to give a clear read of a carbon footprint and easily translate it into concrete actions.
That's why, at Sami, in addition to reading by Scope, we offer a more natural categorisation that stays closer to a company's actual activity!
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