What are scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions?

Summary

In this video, Alyssa Rade, Chief Sustainability Officer at Sustain.Life, explains the three scopes of emissions—Scope 1 (burn), Scope 2 (buy), and Scope 3 (beyond)—to help businesses measure their carbon footprint. Scope 1 covers direct emissions from fuel use, while Scope 2 refers to purchased energy like electricity. Scope 3, the most complex, includes emissions from upstream and downstream activities, such as raw material processing and product disposal. Through an example of a t-shirt manufacturer, Alyssa demonstrates how understanding and tracking these emissions can give a comprehensive view of a company’s environmental impact. She introduces Sustain.Life as a platform to simplify emissions tracking and management.

Takeaways

• 😀 Scope 1 emissions (BURN) are directly related to the fuel a business burns, like gas in company cars or heating oil for equipment.
• 😀 Scope 2 emissions (BUY) come from purchased energy sources such as electricity, steam, heating, and cooling, which are indirect emissions as they are generated offsite.
• 😀 Scope 3 emissions (BEYOND) are the most complex to measure and encompass all other emissions linked to a business's supply chain and product lifecycle.
• 😀 The three B's—BURN (Scope 1), BUY (Scope 2), and BEYOND (Scope 3)—offer a simplified way to remember the different types of emissions.
• 😀 Scope 3 emissions include 15 categories and represent the emissions outside of direct operations, both upstream and downstream.
• 😀 Upstream Scope 3 emissions include emissions from the production and transportation of raw materials, like processing fibers or delivering cotton to a factory.
• 😀 Downstream Scope 3 emissions occur at the product's end-of-life stage, such as emissions from a t-shirt decomposing in a landfill.
• 😀 For businesses, tracking Scope 1 and 2 emissions is more straightforward, while Scope 3 emissions are harder to measure but essential for a complete emissions assessment.
• 😀 A t-shirt manufacturer’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions would involve things like diesel used for factory equipment and electricity for factory operations.
• 😀 Tools like Sustain.Life can help businesses accurately calculate and track their emissions across Scope 1, 2, and 3, making it easier to manage sustainability efforts.

Q & A

What are the three scopes of emissions discussed in the video?

The three scopes of emissions are Scope 1 (BURN), Scope 2 (BUY), and Scope 3 (BEYOND).

What does Scope 1 emissions cover?

Scope 1 emissions include all the fuels your business burns directly, such as gas in company cars and heating oil used to power equipment.

How are Scope 2 emissions different from Scope 1 emissions?

Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from purchased electricity, steam, heating, and cooling. While your company consumes this energy, it is generated offsite, meaning you don’t have direct control over it.

What is the main challenge with Scope 3 emissions?

The main challenge with Scope 3 emissions is that they are difficult to measure and encompass a wide range of activities that support the business, both upstream and downstream from operations.

Can you give an example of Scope 3 emissions?

An example of Scope 3 emissions includes the energy required to process fibers into cotton for a t-shirt, as well as the emissions from transportation to deliver materials to the factory.

What is the 'shorthand' way to remember the three scopes?

The three 'B’s' shorthand for the scopes are: Scope 1 - BURN, Scope 2 - BUY, and Scope 3 - BEYOND.

Why is Scope 3 considered the most complex to address?

Scope 3 is considered the most complex because it includes numerous indirect emissions from various activities across the entire supply chain and product lifecycle, making it harder to measure and manage.

How does Scope 3 relate to the example of a t-shirt manufacturer?

For a t-shirt manufacturer, Scope 3 emissions would include upstream emissions such as energy used to process fibers and transport raw materials, as well as downstream emissions like the t-shirt's end-of-life impact in a landfill.

What should a company do to fully understand its environmental impact?

To fully understand its environmental impact, a company should assess Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, with particular attention to Scope 3, as it represents the broader and often more significant indirect emissions.

How can a company simplify the process of measuring its emissions?

A company can simplify the process of measuring emissions by using platforms like Sustain.Life, which help identify and manage emissions across all three scopes.