Scope 1, 2 & 3 Emissions: Definitions, Examples & How to Report

Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions are the three categories the GHG Protocol uses to classify a company's greenhouse gas emissions:

1. Direct emissions from owned sources

2. Indirect emissions from purchased energy

3. All other indirect emissions across the value chain.

Every serious climate disclosure, from CSRD, BRSR to CDP, is built on this split.

This classification matters because each scope demands different datasets, controls, and reduction levers. A company that treats them as a single number cannot set credible targets, or withstand scrutiny from its customers, lenders or regulators.

This guide defines each scope with examples, shows how they differ, covers what the major reporting frameworks require across regions, and explains how to collect the data without drowning in spreadsheets.

What are Scope 1, 2, and 3 Emissions? 

Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions are defined by the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard the accounting framework behind virtually every corporate emissions disclosure worldwide.

The scopes are designed to avoid any double counting within one inventory: one company's scope 1 is another company's scope 3, and the boundary between them is of ownership and control.

Scope 1 Emissions: Definition and Examples 

Scope 1 emissions are direct greenhouse gas emissions from sources a company owns or controls. These emissions are the easiest to identify and measure as they stem from on-site operations or company-owned assets. 

Common Examples:

1. Fuel Combustion:

• Mobile Sources: Service vans, delivery trucks, company cars, and heavy machinery like construction equipment.

• Stationary Sources: Burning fuel in boilers, generators, or other company-owned equipment.

2. Fugitive Emissions:

• Refrigeration: Chemicals released from refrigeration units or AC systems.

• Fire Suppression: Emissions from company-owned fire safety systems, such as sprinklers or extinguishers

Scope 2 Emissions: Definition and Examples 

Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam,heating and cooling consumed by the company. These emissions occur at the power plant, but the consumption decision sits with the buyer.

The GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance defines two calculation methods:

• The Location-Based Method: This method applies the average emission factor of the local grid factors published by national authorities: the IEA and national grid operators internationally, or the Central Electricity Authority for Indian sites.

• The Market-Based Method: This method reflects contractual choices, such as renewable power purchase agreements or energy attribute certificates. Companies with such contracts report both figures.

Examples:

• Purchased Electricity: Emissions from electricity generated by fossil fuels powering offices, factories, or data centres.

• Purchased Steam or Heat: Emissions from externally sourced steam or heating used in manufacturing, chemical production, food processing, or building operations.

• Purchased Cooling: Emissions from refrigeration or air conditioning in commercial buildings, supermarkets, or offices.

Scope 3 Emissions: Definition and Examples 

Scope 3 emissions are all other indirect greenhouse gas emissions across a company’s value chain. They occur in assets and activities the company neither owns nor controls: its suppliers, logistics partners, employees' commutes and its products in use.

They usually form the largest portion of total emissions and are complex to measure due to dependence on external partners like suppliers, customers, and logistics providers. Addressing them is critical for genuine carbon neutrality.

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol organises all of this into 15 defined categories; our guide to the 15 categories of scope 3 emissions walks through each one with examples.

Examples: 

• Purchased Goods and Services: Emissions from producing goods or materials procured by the company.

• Product Use and End-of-Life Treatment: Emissions generated when consumers use or discard the company’s products.

• Operational Waste: Emissions from waste collection, processing, and disposal handled outside the company.

How The Three Scopes Differ? 

The distinguishing aspects of the 3 scopes are tabulated as follows: 

These differences highlight the types of carbon emissions a business must manage within its scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions framework. 

Scope 1, 2 & 3 Reporting Requirements by Region 

The three scopes are global, but what regulators require of them differs by market. The table below covers the regions where most multi-market reporters file.

Two things remain constant everywhere, the frameworks all inherit the GHG Protocol's scope definitions, so one properly built inventory serves every filing. The direction of travel is also identical: Scope 1 and 2 first, followed by Scope 3 and then assurance last, in every region.

How to Measure and Report the Three Scopes

Measurement follows the same sequence in every framework:

1. Set the organisational boundary: which entities and sites are in the inventory, using equity share or control.

2. Identify emission sources per scope across the sites.

3. Collect activity data: fuel volumes, electricity units, travel records, supplier spend or supplier-specific data.

4. Apply emission factors appropriate to each geography and energy source.

5. Calculate, document assumptions, and report against the chosen framework, whether CSRD, CDP or BRSR.

The reporting formats differ, but the underlying inventory is a single dataset. Companies that build it once, as per GHG Protocol rules, can serve every disclosure from the same numbers.

How to Automate Scope 1, 2 and 3 Data Collection

Most reporting teams do not struggle with the concepts; they struggle with collection of data. Scope 1 and 2 data sits in fuel invoices, utility bills and meter readings scattered across sites. Scope 3 data sits outside the company entirely, with suppliers and logistics partners who each report differently.

Automation changes the economics of the exercise in three places:

• Source integration: utility bills, fuel purchases and meter data flow into one system instead of monthly spreadsheet collection from each site.

• Supplier data at scale: structured supplier questionnaires and spend-based estimation cover the scope 3 categories that manual outreach never completes.

• Audit trail by default: every figure carries its source document and emission factor, which is exactly what assurance providers ask to see, whether under CSRD or BRSR Core.

Oren's GHG accounting platform does this work for reporting teams across regions: Scope 1, 2 and 3 inventories built to GHG Protocol rules, mapped to CSRD, BRSR, CDP and exchange disclosure fields, with the evidence trail that assurance requires. If your scope 3 data collection still runs on spreadsheets, schedule a demo with us today.

Conclusion 

Scope 1 covers direct emissions from owned sources, while Scope 2 covers purchased energy, and Scope 3 encompasses everything else in the value chain. This split comes from the GHG Protocol and underpins every major disclosure framework.

Scope 3 is usually the largest and always the hardest to account, as the relevant data belongs to suppliers, partners and customers rather than to the reporting company.

Regulators everywhere follow the same sequence: Scope 1 and 2 disclosures come first, followed by Scope 3, with assurance at the end. CSRD, BRSR, the NSRF and the GCC exchanges differ only in how far along that path they are.

Teams that automate collection early spend their effort on reduction rather than reconciliation, and walk into assurance with evidence instead of explanations.