The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol Corporate Standard (opens in a new window) classifies a company’s greenhouse gas emissions into three Scopes:
Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions from owned or controlled sources
Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy
Scope 3 emissions are all indirect emissions (not included in Scope 2) that occur in the value chain of the reporting company, including both upstream and downstream emissions. Several different categories of emissions are part of Scope 3, including emissions arising from investments.