Emissions scopes
According to GHG emissions protocols and standards (e.g., GHG protocol, Bilan Carbone... ), emissions might be divided into 3 scopes:
- Scope 1: Direct GHG emissions
Scope 1 covers all direct GHG emissions physically produced by an activity. It includes fuel combustion, process emissions and fugitive emissions. These direct emissions are used to compute national inventories like those defined under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
- Scope 2: Indirect GHG emissions
Scope 2 covers indirect GHG emissions from consumption of purchased electricity, heat or steam. It refers to consumption of a final energy for which emissions occur at the energy production site and not at the place of consumption.
- Scope 3: Other indirect GHG emissions
Scope 3 covers other indirect emissions produced from sources outside of the organizational boundaries of the reporting entity but are necessary for its activity. For example: extraction and production of purchased materials and fuels, transport-related activities in vehicles not owned or controlled by the reporting entity, electricity-related activities (e.g. transmission and distribution (T&D) losses) not covered in Scope 2, outsourced activities, waste disposal, etc. Scope 3 emissions (also known as value chain emissions) often represent the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and in some cases can account for up to 90% of the total carbon impact.
