Understanding Scope 1, 2, and 3 Emissions: A Complete Guide
If you're exploring carbon accounting or sustainability reporting, you've likely heard of Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. But what do they actually mean, and why do they matter so much in today’s business landscape?
This guide will break down the three emission scopes, explain how they relate to your organization's climate impact, and help you understand why tracking all three scopes is essential in 2025 — especially with tools like Carbondeck.
📅 What Are Scope 1, 2, and 3 Emissions?
The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol classifies emissions into three categories:
- Scope 1: Direct emissions from sources you own or control
- Scope 2: Indirect emissions from purchased energy
- Scope 3: All other indirect emissions across your value chain
Understanding these scopes is critical for setting targets, reducing emissions, and aligning with global regulations like CSRD, IFRS S2, and the GHG Protocol.
❓ Why Understanding Scopes Matters
Failing to track all three scopes:
- Leaves blind spots in your carbon footprint
- Hinders your ability to meet Net Zero or ESG targets
- Makes it difficult to comply with mandatory disclosures
⚡ Scope 3 can account for up to 90% of a company’s total emissions.
Being thorough isn’t just good practice — it’s fast becoming a legal obligation.
🚨 Scope 1: Direct Emissions
These come from sources owned or controlled by your company, including:
- Company vehicles
- Fuel combustion in boilers, furnaces, or generators
- Manufacturing facilities
It’s often the most visible source of emissions and the easiest to control directly.
🌜 Scope 2: Indirect Energy Emissions
These emissions result from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating, or cooling used by your organization.
Examples:
- Grid electricity
- District heating or cooling
Switching to renewable energy or improving energy efficiency can drastically reduce Scope 2 emissions.
🌿 Scope 3: Value Chain Emissions
Scope 3 emissions are all other indirect emissions, both upstream and downstream. They include:
- Purchased goods and services
- Business travel
- Employee commuting
- Waste disposal
- Transportation and distribution
- Use of sold products
- Investments
These emissions are the hardest to measure and often the largest share of your total footprint.
⚠️ Challenges in Tracking Scope 3 Emissions
- Data availability: Relies on suppliers, vendors, or customers
- Complexity: Difficult to map entire value chains
- Emission factor selection: Requires sector-specific factors and methodologies
This is why many companies rely on software like Carbondeck to automate and standardize data collection and calculations.
🚀 How Carbondeck Helps Track All Emission Scopes
Carbondeck is built to handle the complexities of Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, offering:
- Data import from spreadsheets, ERPs, and utility systems
- Preloaded emission factors by geography and industry
- Smart Scope 3 mapping tools
- Automated calculation and reporting
- Audit-ready outputs for CSRD, IFRS S2, and GHG Protocol compliance
Whether you're a multinational or a consultancy serving clients, Carbondeck makes full-scope emissions tracking scalable and simple.
Start Managing All Emissions in One Place
Don’t let complexity delay your sustainability strategy.
With Carbondeck, you can measure, manage, and reduce emissions across Scope 1, 2, and 3 — all in one dashboard.