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GHG Scopes 101:

Understanding Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 Emissions

Hand-selected content, lessons, videos, and resources from the top scientists, organizations, and influencers so you can understand and measure scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions.

 

 

CIBO

CIBO

How to Evaluate Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 Emissions for Your Business

Our experts have curated tools and knowledge to help you and your business offset your GHG emissions

 

An Introduction to Scope 1, 2, and 3 Emissions

Embark on this path to gain the knowledge you need to start understanding and offsetting your business’s greenhouse gas emissions. Use this pathway to fast-track your knowledge of key terms, concepts, and differences between scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3 emissions.

Experience: Beginner

For those who want to:

  • Discover and demonstrate an understanding of key greenhouse emission terms
  • Learn the difference between scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3 emissions
  • Understand how scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3 greenhouse emissions can impact a business
1

What is a Scope 1 Emission?

| 1 minute

Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions from company-owned and controlled resources. In other words, emissions released into the atmosphere as a direct result of a set of activities at a firm level.

2

What is a Scope 2 Emission?

| 1 minute

Scope 2 emissions are indirect GHG emissions associated with the purchase of electricity, steam, heat, or cooling. Although the CO2e emissions result from an organisation’s activities, they occur at sources it doesn’t own or control.

3

What is a Scope 3 Emission?

| 1 minute

Scope 3 Emissions are from sources that the company does not own or control, covering areas associated with business travel, procurement, waste and water. They are those not included in scope 1 or scope 2 and extend the reach to account for GHG emissions through the entire value chain of the reporting company, including both upstream and downstream emissions.

4

What is the Difference Between Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 Emissions?

| 2 minutes

To help delineate direct and indirect emission sources, improve transparency, and provide utility for different types of organizations and different types of climate policies and business goals, three “scopes” (scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3) are defined for GHG accounting and reporting purposes.

5

Breaking Down Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 Emissions

| 2 minutes

Organizations, consumers and investors are increasingly scrutinizing sustainability programs and looking for companies to rise to the challenge of reducing their impact on the environment. To become more sustainable, companies should start by understanding their current situation and start monitoring carbon emissions. To start, companies must classify their carbon footprint in three scopes.

6

FAQ from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol on GHG Emissions

| 3.5 minutes

GHG Protocol establishes comprehensive global standardized frameworks to measure and manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from private and public sector operations, value chains and mitigation actions.

Test your knowledge!

It’s quiz time to see what you learned about scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3 emissions.

Educational Material on Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 Emissions

 

Putting together the many ways to measure scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3 emissions can be confusing. Whether you’re having trouble understanding the difference between each option or or how to make this endeavor work for your organization, the learning path will break it down.

Experience: Intermediate

For those who want to:

  • Understand the benefits of Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emission reporting
  • Explore the main difficulties in reining in indirect emissions in the supply chain
  • Hear how monitoring Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emission can help reduce the impact of climate change
7

The Benefits of Scope Reporting

| 2 minutes

To combat climate change, organizations are looking to efficiently measure and track greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As companies continue to align with the global sustainable development agenda, it has become essential to ensure that carbon and GHG reduction strategies are in place. Understanding and reporting on emissions now will empower your business and provide a proactive approach to aligning with increasingly mandatory climate regulations.

8

Why Organizations Should Measure their Emissions

| 4 minutes

As more companies focus on reducing their carbon footprint, there’s one element that is key but often overlooked — reducing emissions from their supply chains. Anastasia O’Rourke ’09 PhD who is managing director of the Yale School of the Environment’s Carbon Containment Lab, focuses on advancing sustainable and green purchasing, and helping organizations look for opportunities in their own supply chains to make a positive impact on reducing carbon emissions.

9

IPCC: Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis

| 1 hour

The Sixth Assessment Report by the IPCC addresses the most up-to-date physical understanding of the climate system and climate change, bringing together the latest advances in climate science, and combining multiple lines of evidence from paleoclimate, observations, process understanding, and global and regional climate simulations.

10

World Economic Forum: Time to Utilize the Full Power of AI to Accelerate Our Fight Against Climate Change

| 6 minutes

Recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have produced groundbreaking technological innovation. It’s now time to embrace this progress and utilise the full power of AI to help accelerate our fight against climate change.

11

CNBC: Climate Experts are Worried about the Toughest Carbon Emissions for Companies to Capture

| 13 minutes

It is for companies to track all Scope 3 emissions, the greenhouse gas emissions of other companies in a company’s value chain. But it is also an admission that if it’s “code red for humanity” in slowing climate change, the corporate world has not come nearly far enough in recent decades in figuring out how to track carbon emissions through the entire supply chain. And that is a point of frustration for climate experts who have been working on science-based carbon targets, tracking and accounting for decades.

12

Guide to Scope 3 Emissions Reporting

| 5 minutes

Reporting and reducing Scope 3 emissions is of most immediate relevance to organizations who report to CDP or have committed to Science Based Targets; and it has the most impact for organizations that operate in one of the eight supply chains that account for over 50% of global emissions – namely food, construction, fashion, fast-moving-consumer-goods, electronics, automotive, professional services and freight.

Test your knowledge!

It’s quiz time to see what you learned about scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3 emissions.

Explore Educational Material on Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 Emissions

 

New standards provide an essential foundation for strategic thinking around reducing greenhouse gas emissions. They allow businesses to identify the activities that generate the most emissions. Taking the next steps on this learning path helps you learn how CIBO Enterprise can help you address those areas of concern and work on reducing emissions.

Experience: Expert

For those who want to:

  • Learn how CIBO Enterprise can offset scope 3 emissions
  • Ways to build insetting and offsetting into a supply chain
  • Deliver and demonstrate the value of CIBO Enterprise on sustainability initiatives
14

Introducing CIBO Enterprise, the First Technology Platform Built to Power Scope 3 Sustainability, Carbon, and Incentive Programs Across Grower Networks

| 3 minutes

As a company accelerates its net zero journey, it will become increasingly clear that solutions to reduce emissions within the supply chain will be the most challenging, yet most impactful. Businesses with agriculture in their supply chains know that they have to act if they’re going to bring the climate commitments from their boardroom to life at the farm gate. That’s where CIBO Enterprise comes in.

15

Steps Corporations Can Take to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

| 14 minutes

Most corporations start with Scope 1 and 2 emissions, which can be reduced through direct actions taken by the company. Although Scope 3 emissions are more challenging to reduce, for many companies, they represent a majority of overall emissions, so to truly make an impact they should not be ignored.

16

How CIBO Can Offset Scope 3 Emissions in Agriculture

| 2 minutes

CIBO is on a mission to power an agriculture ecosystem that is environmentally and economically sustainable. CIBO’s technology can predict the potential impact of regenerative practices from any farm field. We call it Regenerative Potential, which evaluates the land’s ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester soil carbon over the course of a growing season precisely to individual acreage.

 

17

Why Growers Enroll Their Fields in CIBO

| 2 minutes

CIBO provides a breakthrough new approach to supporting, measuring, and, most importantly, compensating farmers for their sustainable practices. Find out why your organization should enroll their growers in CIBO today.

18

Recorded Webinar: How to Choose and Report on a Carbon and Climate Initiative

| 60 minutes

In recent years, there has been an explosion of awareness and increased consciousness around climate change. Corporations are making very bold proclamations and commitments from the boardroom out to their supply chains. As a result, more and more companies around the world are stepping forward with climate commitments. However, these voluntary commitments often lack regulatory or legal definitions, making them challenging to understand.

19

How CIBO Uses Proven, Science-based Technology to Scale Regenerative Agriculture

| 3 minutes

With our transformative technology, CIBO clarifies the best restorative choices, enabling organizations and farmers to reap the full rewards of sustainable practices. By opening up the market for both buyers and sellers, CIBO is focused on driving the transition to sustainable agriculture, providing an understanding of the land and its regenerative potential.

Test your knowledge!

It’s quiz time to see what you learned about scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3 emissions.

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Download the eBook:

The Definitive Guide To Regenerative Agriculture


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The Definitive Guide to Low Carbon Corn for Carbon Neutral Ethanol


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Getting Started on Your Scope 3 Journey in Agriculture


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Confidence in Carbon Modeling


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The Current State of Net-Zero Target Setting and Accounting in Agriculture


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Boots on the Ground: Accelerating Regenerative Agriculture Program adoption with CIBO’s Tech-Enabled Grower Network Partners