The three scopes are a way of categorising different kinds of carbon emissions a company creates through its wider value chain. This was established by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol to cover both direct and indirect emissions so that organisations gain a full picture of their carbon footprint.
Scope 1 – Direct greenhouse gas emissions that are well within the companies control such as fuel combustion on site, company vehicles and air conditioning, for example.
Scope 2 – Indirect greenhouse gas emissions from purchased utilities such as electricity, steam, heat and cooling.
Scope 3 – As the largest scope of the 3, this includes all emissions associated with the company that you are not directly responsible for within the supply chain. According to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol this contains 15 categories such as purchased goods and services, transportation and distribution, and use of sold products to name a few.