What is Scope 3 Category 10: Processing of sold products?
Category 10 covers emissions that happen when another company processes your sold product further (for example, turning an intermediate material into a finished good). It is most relevant when you sell intermediate products rather than final products used directly by consumers.
What are Scope 3 Category 10: Processing of sold products?
In GHG Protocol terms, Category 10 includes the emissions from processing of intermediate products sold by your organisation in the reporting year, when those products are transformed or incorporated into other products by customers (usually other businesses). This typically means modelling the energy and materials used in downstream manufacturing or processing steps that occur after your sale.
Category 10 is different from Scope 3 Category 11 (Use of sold products), which covers emissions during the customer’s use phase, and Scope 3 Category 12 (End-of-life), which covers disposal and treatment at end-of-life. It is also different from Scope 3 Category 9 (Downstream transportation and distribution), which covers shipping and storage after sale, not manufacturing or processing.
Examples of Scope 3 Category 10: Processing of sold products
Common examples include:
- Processing raw or semi-finished materials (metals, chemicals, textiles, plastics) into components or finished products
- Manufacturing steps applied by customers to your intermediate products (cutting, moulding, machining, heat treatment, dyeing, finishing)
- Industrial processing of ingredients (food ingredients, additives, packaging inputs) into finished goods
- Assembly processes where your sold components require energy-intensive transformation before final sale
How to calculate Scope 3 Category 10: Processing of sold products
The typical activity-based approach is:
- Identify which sold products are intermediate and are typically processed further
- Define likely processing routes and geographies (where processing occurs)
- Estimate processing activity per unit sold (energy, heat, fuels, process emissions where relevant)
- Multiply by sales volumes in the reporting year
- Apply emission factors (electricity, fuels, process emission factors)
- Sum across product lines and processing routes
In practice, teams often combine data sources:
- Product specs and typical downstream processing assumptions (industry averages can be a starting point)
- Customer or sector data (where available)
- Sales volumes by product type and region
- LCA datasets or recognised industrial process factors (where appropriate and consistent)
How to reduce Scope 3 Category 10: Processing of sold products
Because Category 10 is driven by what customers do next, reductions often come from product design choices and customer collaboration, for example:
- Reduce processing intensity: adjust product formats to require less energy-intensive finishing
- Improve yield: reduce scrap and rework during customer processing
- Provide low-carbon processing guidance: recommended settings, best practice, and training
- Collaborate with customers: encourage renewable electricity, efficiency upgrades, or better process controls
- Substitution and design: materials or specifications that reduce processing needs without compromising performance
- Focus on hotspots: target the few product lines and processes that drive most processing emissions
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