Scope 3 emissions
Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions · Value chain emissions
Scope 3 emissions are indirect greenhouse gas emissions that occur in the value chain, including purchased goods and services, transport, business travel, use of sold products and end-of-life treatment.
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Simply put
What it means in ordinary work
They are emissions created outside the organisation's direct operations but connected to what it buys, sells or uses. For many organisations, purchased goods and services are a significant part.
Why it matters
Procurement decisions can influence a large share of an organisation's value-chain emissions. Reliable scope 3 data is necessary for targets, reporting and supplier engagement.
A hypothetical in practice
A hypothetical buyer requests product-level emissions data from key suppliers and uses spend-based estimates for lower-impact categories, labelling the method and data quality clearly.
Common pitfalls
Spend-based estimates are coarse and can reward cheap rather than low-carbon products. Use better data where material.
Different boundaries and calculation methods make comparisons difficult. Document the methodology.
Regional lens
How this lands where you work
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As-of date for date-sensitive regional content: 5 November 2026. Read the review policy.