The Three Scopes Explained
Scope 1: Direct Emissions
Emissions from sources owned or controlled by the organization. Examples: company vehicles, on-site fuel combustion, manufacturing processes, refrigerant leaks.
Scope 2: Indirect Energy Emissions
Emissions from purchased electricity, heat, steam, or cooling. These are indirect because they occur at the power plant, not at the company's facility.
Scope 3: Value Chain Emissions
All other indirect emissions across the entire value chain — both upstream (suppliers, business travel, commuting) and downstream (product use, end-of-life treatment). For most companies, Scope 3 represents 70-90% of total emissions.
Why All Three Matter
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) requires companies to measure and set targets for all three scopes. Focusing only on Scope 1 and 2 misses the majority of a company's climate impact.