Scope 1, 2, and 3 Emissions

Scope 1: Direct Emissions

Scope 1 emissions are direct greenhouse gas emissions that occur from sources owned or controlled by an organization. These emissions are a direct result of the organization's activities.

Examples of Scope 1 emissions:

• Fuel combustion in company-owned vehicles and equipment
• Natural gas used for heating facilities
• Fugitive emissions from refrigeration and air-conditioning systems
• Chemical production in owned or controlled process equipment
• On-site waste management facilities

Scope 2: Indirect Energy Emissions

Scope 2 emissions are indirect greenhouse gas emissions from the generation of purchased energy consumed by the organization. These primarily relate to electricity, but also include steam, heating, and cooling purchased for own use.

Key aspects of Scope 2 emissions:

• Purchased electricity for facilities and operations
• Purchased steam for industrial processes
• District heating and cooling systems
• Can be calculated using location-based or market-based methods

Scope 3: Other Indirect Emissions

Scope 3 emissions include all other indirect emissions that occur in a company's value chain. These are typically the largest source of emissions for most organizations but also the most challenging to measure and manage.

Scope 3 categories include:

• Upstream Activities:
  • Purchased goods and services
  • Transportation and distribution
  • Business travel
  • Employee commuting
  • Leased assets
• Downstream Activities:
  • Use of sold products
  • End-of-life treatment of sold products
  • Investments
  • Franchises

Managing Emissions with CarbonSig

CarbonSig helps organizations track and manage emissions across all three scopes by:

• Automatically categorizing emissions into the appropriate scopes based on process mapping
• Creating detailed inventories of emission sources across the value chain
• Collecting and validating data from suppliers for accurate Scope 3 calculations
• Providing tools for scenario analysis and emission reduction planning
• Generating reports that align with greenhouse gas accounting standards

Key Insight: Understanding and managing all three scopes of emissions is crucial for effective climate action. While Scope 1 and 2 emissions are directly under an organization's control, Scope 3 emissions often represent the largest opportunity for greenhouse gas reductions and require collaboration across the value chain.