Scope 3 Emissions

What Are Scope 3 Emissions?

Scope 3 emissions are all other indirect greenhouse gas emissions in your value chain, outside Scope 1 and Scope 2. They cover ‘upstream’ impacts from everything that flows into your business (such as purchased goods and services, capital goods and employee commuting) and ‘downstream’ impacts from how your products and services are delivered, used and treated at end of life.

Under the GHG Protocol, these activities are organised into 15 Scope 3 categories. At Seedling, we focus on collecting the most accurate data available for each category, combining activity data with spend-based methods where needed, so you see more than just the emissions from your own sites and vehicles.

The categories include:

Upstream:

• 1. Purchased goods & services
• 2. Capital goods
• 3. Fuel & energy-related activities
• 4. Upstream transportation & distribution
• 5. Waste generated in operations
• 6. Business travel
• 7. Employee commuting
• 8. Upstream leased assets

Downstream:

• 9. Downstream transportation & distribution
• 10. Processing of sold products
• 11. Use of sold products
• 12. End-of-life treatment of sold products
• 13. Downstream leased assets
• 14. Franchises
• 15. Investments

Examples of Scope 3 Emissions

For many businesses, Scope 3 emissions make up a large share of their footprint because they reflect how suppliers, logistics partners and customers operate across the full lifecycle of a product or service.

Examples include:

• Emissions from third-party factories manufacturing your products or packaging
• Freight emissions from shipping goods between suppliers, warehouses and customers
• Customer energy use and disposal impacts when products are used, recycled or thrown away

How to Calculate Scope 3 Emissions

Calculating Scope 3 emissions starts with mapping your value chain and choosing the most suitable data source for each category. Most organisations begin with higher-level data and improve accuracy as better supplier and activity data becomes available.

Common data sources include:

• Procurement data: quantities or spend for key goods, materials and services
• Supplier information: product carbon footprints or lifecycle data where available
• Logistics data: weights, distances and transport modes from freight invoices or reports
• People and waste data: travel booking reports, employee surveys on commuting and homeworking, and waste volumes by type and treatment route

You can then apply appropriate emission factors from EEIO (spend-based) and activity-based datasets, in line with the GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard, and structure results clearly by Scope 3 category and location.

How to Reduce Scope 3 Emissions

Because Scope 3 emissions sit in your value chain, reductions rely on collaboration and influence rather than direct control. The focus is on procurement choices, product and service design, logistics, and how people travel and work.

Effective approaches include:

• Including climate criteria in purchasing and engaging key suppliers on their own reduction plans
• Switching to lower-impact materials, products and packaging, and cutting avoidable waste
• Optimising logistics routes and modes, and avoiding unnecessary air freight where possible
• Updating travel and commuting policies to favour lower-carbon options, and supporting employees with alternatives such as trains, active travel or salary sacrifice schemes

Seedling breaks down Scope 3 emissions by category, highlights hotspots, and helps you prioritise practical actions, so value-chain reductions feed directly into your Net Zero or Carbon Reduction Plans.