Measuring Scope 3 Emissions: The Key to Achieving Net-Zero Goals

Why Measure Scope 3 Emissions?

Identifying and measuring Scope 3 emissions along your value chain is more complex than measuring Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. However, creating a comprehensive Scope 3 inventory will result in major benefits for your organization’s climate strategy, such as identifying decarbonization hotspots across the supply chain, pinpointing inefficiencies to optimize your value chain, and discovering opportunities for more efficient production strategies. Scope 3 reporting also allows organizations to find efficient vendors through disclosure requirements and create collaborative targets to drive broader emission reductions.

Comprehensive Scope 3 data provides the complete emissions picture needed to inform accurate net-zero roadmaps for organizations and to establish credible climate commitments. Measuring Scope 3 emissions early on in your organization’s ESG initiatives can satisfy rising stakeholder expectations and establish processes if new legislation mandates Scope 3 reporting. Scope 3 reporting helps to build resilience against regulatory and financial risks associated with high carbon activities along your organization’s value chain.

Common Challenges When Measuring Scope 3 Emissions

Measuring Scope 3 emissions can be time-intensive due to the indirect nature of these emissions, which come from sources not directly controlled by a company. Here are some of the challenges most frequently faced by businesses in their efforts to accurately measure Scope 3 emissions:

Data Collection and Quality

Collecting accurate data across the supply chain is a key challenge. Many suppliers lack the necessary resources and systems to measure their emissions, and some are unable or slow to share data, forcing companies to rely on estimates or industry averages. Collecting accurate data on employee commuting habits and remote work energy usage is another significant challenge. Each employee’s commute or home energy usage can vary widely based on their location, mode of transportation, and home setup.

Complexity and Variety of Emissions Sources

Scope 3 emissions cover a broad range of activities, including employee commuting, downstream product use, and end-of-life disposal, each requiring specific data and different measurement methods. Managing these various categories is complex and increases the risk of incomplete or inaccurate reporting. The rise of hybrid and remote work has led to a geographically distributed workforce. This makes standardizing commuting and work-from-home emissions even more challenging to get a clear view of overall emissions.

Improving Scope 3 emissions measurement is essential for meaningful climate impact. By engaging suppliers, investing in tools, and collaborating on industry standards, companies can start to overcome these obstacles and make progress toward their emissions reduction goals.

Strategies for Reducing Scope 3 Emissions

Scope 3 emissions include 15 different categories of emissions along an organization’s value chain, so there are many different ways an organization can reduce Scope 3 emissions. Some Scope 3 management strategies involve:

• Prioritizing emission hotspot categories using spend analytics and lifecycle data.
• Requiring supplier emission disclosures and setting joint reduction targets.
• Implementing employee benefit tools like the Carbon Savings Account to reduce Scope 3 emissions from employee commuting and telecommuting.
• Offsetting unavoidable emissions using verified carbon credits.
• Reporting and communicating your full footprint and reduction plans.

How the Carbon Savings Account Reduces Scope 3 Emissions

The Carbon Savings Account® incentivizes and empowers employees to reduce scope 3 emissions by making energy-efficient home technology and personal transportation upgrades. The CSA provides educational tools and resources to help employees understand their energy consumption and make better choices that reduce their carbon footprints.

Here’s an overview of how the CSA works:

1. Contribute: Companies sponsor the CSA benefit and contribute funds to employees’ CSAs.
2. Upgrade: Employees CSA funds to make energy-efficient home technology and personal transportation upgrades.
3. Reduce: Upgrades help employees reduce energy, water usage, and fuel consumption, decreasing the company’s scope 3 emissions.
4. Measure: The CSA tracks each individual employees emissions reduction so employers can report on total savings.

Success Story: Reducing Scope 3 Emissions Through Employee Engagement

The team at New York Life was looking for a way to provide an equitable financial wellness benefit to its employees while simultaneously reducing employee work-from-home corporate emissions. With the rise in both hybrid and remote work, they saw this as an opportunity to make some changes to their sustainability strategy.

To help reduce Scope 3 emissions in the work-from-home corporate emissions category, New York Life partnered with Scope Zero to offer a Carbon Savings Account (CSA) to a portion of New York Life’s employees. By implementing this benefit, New York Life was able to save $11,730 in annual utility bill savings, plus eliminating 53.5 equivalent tons of CO2 for employees’ homes.

This strategy only targeted one category within Scope 3 emissions, but imagine the impact it could make if this was the norm and every organization was required to measure and implement strategies like this one.

Interested in learning how the CSA can help your company measure and reduce scope 3 emissions? Request a demo to learn more about the CSA.

Scope 3 Emissions Measurement FAQ

What are Scope 3 emissions?

Scope 3 emissions are all indirect upstream and downstream emissions created by a company’s business activities not owned or controlled by the company. For most organizations, Scope 3 emissions account for most of their greenhouse gas emissions. Learn more about Scope 3 emissions in our blog.

What is the standard framework for measuring Scope 3 emissions?

The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol provides widely used standards for measuring and reporting Scope 3 emissions, offering guidelines on categorizing and calculating emissions.

How do companies measure employee commute and work-from-home emissions?

Accurate data on employee commuting and remote work emissions can involve a combination of employee surveys, estimation tools, and assumptions based on geographic and job role data. Scope Zero’s CSA does this by collecting employee home and transportation data to build a baseline consumption profile. Then the CSA measures the emissions reductions resulting from energy efficient appliances, home technology, and personal transportation.

Reduce Scope 3 Emissions with Scope Zero

Improve employee financial wellness while minimizing Scope 3 emissions with Scope Zero’s Carbon Savings Account®. Schedule a demo to learn how to measure, reduce, and report Scope 3 work-from-home and commute emissions.

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