Understanding Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions — without the jargon

Scope 1, 2, and 3 sound like a technicality. They are actually the entire architecture of corporate carbon accounting — and getting them straight is the difference between a credible ESG report and a contested one.

Scope 1 — what you burn

Direct emissions from sources you own or control: company vehicles, on-site boilers, fuel-fired processes. If you light it, it is Scope 1.

Scope 2 — what you buy

Indirect emissions from the energy you purchase — mainly grid electricity. You did not burn the coal, but you created the demand that did.

Scope 3 — everything else

Every other emission across your value chain: suppliers, business travel, the use and disposal of your products. It is the largest category for most companies, the hardest to measure, and the one most reports quietly underestimate.

“If your Scope 3 number looks small, it is not small. It is unmeasured.”

The good news: granular energy data automates Scope 1 and 2 almost entirely, and gives you the credible foundation Scope 3 estimates need.