What is Scope 3 Category 4: Upstream transportation and distribution?
Category 4 covers emissions from transporting and storing the goods and services you buy, before they reach your sites. It includes third-party freight and warehousing that sit upstream of your own operations.
What are Scope 3 Category 4: Upstream transportation and distribution?
Based on the GHG Protocol, Category 4 includes emissions from transportation and distribution of products purchased by your organisation in the reporting year, in vehicles and facilities not owned or controlled by your organisation. This typically includes inbound freight from suppliers, third-party warehousing, and distribution between supplier sites and your locations.
Category 4 is different from Scope 3 Category 9 (Downstream transportation and distribution), which covers transport after you sell products. It is also different from Scope 1, where you would count fuel burned in vehicles you own or operate.
Examples of Scope 3 Category 4: Upstream transportation and distribution
Common examples include:
- Supplier deliveries to your sites (road, sea, rail, air freight)
- Third-party warehousing used for inbound stock or components
- Logistics between supplier facilities and your contract manufacturers (where relevant)
- Inbound chilled or refrigerated logistics (including energy and refrigerants, where data exists)
- Upstream distribution hubs used before goods reach your control
How to calculate Scope 3 Category 4: Upstream transportation and distribution
Most teams model this using freight activity data where possible:
- Map key inbound routes and modes
- Gather activity data (tonne-km, shipment weights, distances, mode split, storage time)
- Use spend-based estimates only as a fallback when activity data is not available
- Apply emission factors by mode and vehicle type
- Add warehousing emissions where relevant (kWh, floor area and time, or proxy data)
- Sum across suppliers, routes, and facilities
Common data sources include:
- Freight invoices and carrier reports
- Procurement systems (supplier locations, shipment volumes)
- Warehouse data from logistics partners
- Order and inventory systems (weights, volumes, delivery frequency)
How to reduce Scope 3 Category 4: Upstream transportation and distribution
Reductions typically come from changing how goods move, and how much you move, for example:
- Improve planning to reduce urgent shipments and air freight
- Increase load efficiency and reduce part-filled deliveries
- Optimise packaging to cut weight and volume
- Consolidate suppliers or use closer suppliers where it makes sense
- Engage logistics partners on lower-carbon fleets and fuels
- Focus first on the lanes and suppliers that drive most transport emissions
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