What is Scope 3 Category 9: Downstream transportation and distribution?

What are Scope 3 Category 9: Downstream transportation and distribution?

‍In GHG Protocol terms, Category 9 includes emissions from the transportation and distribution of products sold by your organisation in the reporting year, in vehicles and facilities not owned or controlled by your organisation. This typically means modelling freight movements and storage after your sale, such as shipping to distributors, retailers, and end customers, plus third-party warehousing and cold chain where relevant.

The key is that the distribution is not paid for by your business. This is what makes Category 9 different from Scope 3 Category 4 (Upstream transportation and distribution), which covers freight and upstream logistics purchased and handled by your business. It is also different from Category 11 (Use of sold products), which covers emissions during product use, not delivery and storage.‍

Examples of Scope 3 Category 9: Downstream transportation and distribution‍

Common examples include:

• Third-party shipping from your warehouse to retailers, distributors, or end customers, paid for by them
• International freight after sale (air, sea, road, rail) where you no longer control the transport
• Storage in third-party warehouses or distribution centres (including refrigeration where relevant)
• Last-mile delivery handled by external carriers
• Returns logistics, where included in your chosen boundary and method (often a practical inclusion when data exists)

How to calculate Scope 3 Category 9: Downstream transportation and distribution‍

A typical activity-based structure is:

• Map downstream legs (routes, modes, geographies)
• Gather activity data (tonne-km, km, shipment counts, weights, volumes, or spend as a fallback)
• Include warehousing/storage activity where relevant (kWh, floor area and time, or proxy data)
• Apply emission factors by mode (road, air, sea, rail) and storage type
• Sum across routes, modes, and facilities

Common data sources include:

• Logistics provider reports (lane data, weights, distances, mode split)
• Sales and fulfilment systems (order counts, weights, destinations)
• Warehouse data (energy use for storage, chilled vs ambient, time in storage)
• Emission factors from recognised datasets (mode-specific factors, refrigerants where relevant)

How to reduce Scope 3 Category 9: Downstream transportation and distribution‍

Because Category 9 is driven by logistics choices, reductions often come from optimising routes, modes, and packaging, for example:

• Mode shift: move from air to sea or rail where service levels allow
• Improve load efficiency: higher fill rates, fewer partial shipments
• Optimise packaging: reduce weight and volume to cut freight emissions
• Regionalise inventory: store closer to demand to reduce distances
• Work with carriers: choose lower-carbon options and cleaner fleets where available
• Reduce returns: improve product information, quality control, and reverse logistics efficiency