Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission scopes and categories are essential for understanding and categorising the sources of emissions contributing to climate change and companies' carbon footprint.
GHG emissions are divided into three main scopes:
- Scope 1 includes direct emissions from owned or controlled sources, such as fuel combustion in company vehicles or facilities.
- Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, heating, and cooling that a company consumes.
- Scope 3, the broadest category, encompasses all other indirect emissions in a company's value chain, including upstream and downstream emissions.
These scopes are categorised into specific areas like energy use, transportation, and waste management, helping organisations effectively identify and strategise how to reduce their environmental impact.
This classification system is vital for measuring, managing, and reporting GHG emissions, facilitating targeted actions towards global climate change mitigation.
To learn more about GHG emission scopes and categories, read the following articles:
- What are Scopes 1, 2 and 3 of Carbon Emissions?
- What are indirect emissions?
- What are Scope 4 emissions?
A detailed guide on the topic will be released soon.