Q7 - Categories of supply chain emissions

Hi, I’m Barbara, the Co-CEO of 100% Renewables, a consultancy specialising in the development of Climate Action strategies. And in today’s video, I’ll be talking about scope 3 emission sources.
Scope 3 emissions happen upstream and downstream of your business. Examples are waste, air travel, the consumption of goods and services, contractor emissions, or leased assets.
According to the GHG Protocol, specifically the Corporate Value Chain Accounting and Reporting Standard, there are 15 categories of Scope 3 emissions.
Keen to hear what they are? It’s going to be a long list.
Here it is:
Let’s start with upstream emissions first.
1. Purchased goods and services - this is pretty self-explanatory. It’s what your business buys on a daily basis such as stationery or professional services.
2. Capital goods - this is equipment that you use for manufacturing your product or providing your service
3. Upstream fuel- and energy-related emissions, such as transmission and distribution losses for your electricity, or emissions related to the production of transport fuels such as diesel
4. Upstream transportation and distribution - this emission source relates to getting products delivered to your business, using third-party transportation providers.
5. Waste generated in operations. These are emissions from third-party disposal and treatment of waste
6. Business travel. This is emissions caused by the transportation of your employees for business-related activities in vehicles that are owned or operated by third parties, such as aircraft, trains, buses, and passenger cars, such as taxis.
7. Employee commuting - this accounts for travel between your employees’ homes and your business.
8. Upstream leased assets - this emission source comes from assets that you rent that are not already included in your scope 1 and scope 2 emissions.
And now, let’s have a look at downstream emissions.
9. Downstream transportation and distribution - this emission source comes from the transportation and distribution of products that you sell to your end-consumers
10. Processing of sold products - This category includes emissions from the processing of products that you have sold to third parties (not the end-user) who use your products in their manufacturing.
11. Use of sold products - these are emissions that are caused by using your final product. Say you were manufacturing laptops. This emission source would be the electricity consumption of your laptops.
12. End-of-life treatment of sold products. Sadly, most products that we use end up as waste, and this emission source is the carbon emissions caused by landfilling or incineration.
13. Downstream leased assets - This category includes emissions from the operation of assets that you own and lease to other businesses that are not already included in your scope 1 or scope 2 inventory.
14. Franchises - This category includes emissions from the operation of franchises not included in your scope 1 or scope 2 inventory.
15. Investments - This category includes emissions associated with your investments that are not already included in your scope 1 or scope 2 inventory. Category 15 is primarily designed for banks.
While this list can be a bit overwhelming, not all emission sources will be relevant. It’s important to prioritise your data collection efforts and focus on your most significant and relevant emission sources. You can ask questions such as whether you expect the emission source to be large relative to your scope 1 and scope 2 sources, or whether you have influence over the activity, or whether your stakeholders deem the emission source relevant.
In my next video, I’ll be talking about the benefits of calculating a scope 3 carbon inventory.
Thanks for watching!