Scope 3 Standard Background

The Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard has been created through a broad, inclusive, multi-stakeholder process. Over a three year period:

• 2,300 participants were involved from 55 countries;
• 96 members participated in technical working groups to draft the standard, and;
• 34 companies from various industries road tested the standard in 2010.

The Scope 3 Standard provides a methodology that can be used to account for and report emissions from companies of all sectors, globally. It is accompanied by a suite of user-friendly guidance and tools developed by the GHG Protocol to make Scope 3 accounting more easy and accessible. 

What is the Scope 3 Standard? 

Until recently, most companies have focused on measuring emissions from their own operations and electricity consumption. But what about all of the emissions a company is responsible for outside of its own walls—from the goods it purchases to the disposal of the products it sells? In fact, the majority of total corporate emissions come from Scope 3 sources, which means many companies have been missing out on significant opportunities for improvement.

Released in 2011, the Scope 3 Standard is the only internationally accepted method for companies to account for these types of value chain emissions. Users of the standard can now account for emissions from 15 categories of Scope 3 activities, both upstream and downstream of their operations. The Scope 3 framework also supports strategies to partner with suppliers and customers to address climate impacts throughout the value chain. Minor corrections to the Scope 3 Standard are recorded below.