How do you measure Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions? Overview of Scope 1-3

|  December 29, 2022

🕓 Reading time 7 minutes

Table of contents

1. Background of Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions in the Greenhouse Gas Protocol

2. Categorization Scope 1-3 and examples

3. Do all scopes 1-3 have to be recorded?

4. New reporting limits in Scope 3 through the CSRD

1. Background of Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions in the Greenhouse Gas Protocol

The Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard of the GHG Protocol as well as the ESRS E1 Climate Change of CSRD reporting categorize the Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG emissions) of companies in three scopes. These serve to distinguish between direct and indirect emissions in calculation and reporting.

According to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, direct GHG emissions are emissions from sources owned or controlled by the company being accounted for. Indirect GHG emissions are emissions that result from the company's activities but occur at the source, which is owned or controlled by another company.

A company's direct emissions are simultaneously indirect emissions from other companies' upstream and downstream activities in the value chain. These direct and indirect GHG emissions are classified into different scopes and reported accordingly. This categorization ensures that multiple companies do not report the emissions from their activities in the same scope.

2. Categorization Scope 1-3 and examples

Scope 1

Scope 1 includes all direct greenhouse gas emissions, such as primary energy sources consumed directly in company properties. Examples include natural gas, heating oil, gasoline, and diesel. In addition, there are emissions from refrigerant leaks and the combustion-engine-powered vehicle fleet.

Scope 2

Scope 2 includes the indirect greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the generation of the purchased energy. CO2 emissions arise from the consumption of secondary energy sources, such as electricity, district heating, steam, or cooling energy in buildings and electric vehicles.

Scope 3

Scope 3 includes other indirect greenhouse gas emissions that are primarily associated with the company’s activities. Scope 3 Emissions are 15 categories and classified into upstream and downstream areas. This ensures a clear and consistent presentation. CO2 emissions in Scope 3 This includes, for example, the consumption of energy in rented assets (e.g. real estate, vehicles), the purchase of goods and services, waste disposal, water and wastewater, business travel and employee commuting.

Read article: Scope 3 emissions in focus | Explanation of the 15 categories according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol

3. Do all scopes 1-3 have to be recorded?

According to the GHG Protocol, accounting and reporting of Scope 3 Emissions for the carbon footprint are optional. The reason for this is the challenging consideration of numerous actors and processes involved in a company's value chain. This is now changing due to the new requirements of the Climate Change Standard of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

4. New reporting limits in Scope 3 through the CSRD

With the introduction of the new EFRAG standards for reporting companies under the CSRD, the requirements for the Scope 3 Reporting. Scope 3 of the carbon footprint must be calculated according to the EFRAG standard ESRS E1 Climate Change are now mandatory for all companies to include in their calculations. However, the Climate Change Standard allows some flexibility for individual Scope 3 categories. Some categories remain optional depending on their relevance to the company's activities. Others Scope 3 Categories can be viewed together to reduce the effort required for CO2 calculation and reporting.

Especially the survey of Scope 3 Emissions (also required for the ESRS E1 Climate Change CSRD) presents many companies with new challenges: There are data gaps that need to be closed and uncertainties as to which data is actually required for recognized accounting. Procedure regarding the Scope 3 For these reasons, emissions should supported by experts become.

From the quintessence of our practical experience, our team at Green Vision Solutions has developed a clear and TÜV-certified process for the Corporate Carbon Footprint developed – and have already successfully applied this to over 200 companies. Together with you, we will also Scope 1, 2 and 3 – guaranteed easy and no prior knowledge required on your part! 

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