This article explains how to configure your accounts and report against the GHG Protocol's Scope 3 reporting framework. To do this there are 2 main areas to consider. The first area concerns what we call Lifecycle emissions and this relates to emissions produced as the result of the consumption of a scope 1 or 2 source, for example transmission and distribution losses from electricity. The second area concerns all other categories that are not directly tied to scope 1 or 2 sources, for example employee commuting, capital goods or use of sold products. These emissions sources are tracked separately from Scope 1 or 2 sources and do not share activity data with other accounts.

Background on the GHG Protocol's Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard

Upstream emissions are indirect GHG emissions related to purchased or acquired goods and services. Emission categories include:

Upstream

  1. Purchased goods and services

  2. Capital goods

  3. Fuel- and energy-related activities (not included in scope 1 or scope 2)

  4. Upstream transportation and distribution

  5. Waste generated in operations

  6. Business travel

  7. Employee commuting

  8. Upstream leased assets

Downstream

Downstream emissions are indirect GHG emissions related to sold goods and services.

  1. Downstream transportation and distribution

  2. Processing of sold products

  3. Use of sold products

  4. End-of-life treatment of sold products

  5. Downstream leased assets

  6. Franchises

  7. Investments

For complete definitions on each of these categories, see table 5.4 on page 34 of the standard.

Lifecycle Emissions

This category of emissions relates to the direct use of a Scope 1 or Scope 2 source with the most common use being the Fuel- and energy-related activities (not included in scope 1 or scope 2) which are usually associated with energy or fuel consumption.

Here is the description provided by the standard:

pp.42 Scope 3 Standard

Fuel- and energy-related activities (not included in scope 1 or scope 2)

Extraction, production, and transportation of fuels and energy purchased or acquired by the reporting company in the reporting year, not already accounted for in scope 1 or scope 2, including:

A. Upstream emissions of purchased fuels (extraction, production, and transportation of fuels consumed by the reporting company)

B. Upstream emissions of purchased electricity (extraction, production, and transportation of fuels consumed in the generation of electricity, steam, heating, and cooling consumed by the reporting company)

C. Transmission and distribution (T&D) losses (generation of electricity, steam, heating and cooling that is consumed (i.e., lost) in a T&D system) – reported by end user

D. Generation of purchased electricity that is sold to end users (generation of electricity, steam, heating, and cooling that is purchased by the reporting company and sold to end users) – reported by utility company or energy retailer only

Envizi treats this category separately because this specific Scope 3 category will often share the same activity data (ie, consumption) as the associated Scope 1 or 2 source. This means that capturing the same activity data in another account is not required.

If you wish to have these emissions reported as part of your regular Scope 3 total you will need to create additional accounts and capture the same activity again in a new account style which sits under a Scope 3 data type.

Other Scope 3 Emissions

All other categories are not linked to Scope 1 and 2 emission sources and therefore activity data is tracked and captured in separate accounts in Envizi.

Tagging Accounts and Meters

All accounts and meters in Envizi can be tagged with a Scope 3 tag.

  1. First, navigate to the grid of accounts and select one or more accounts that you would like to categorize.

  2. Next right-click on your selection and choose Tag Accounts or Tag Meters.

  3. Select Scope 3 as the tag type and then choose the appropriate tag.

  4. Optional - you can also select effective dates or reporting percentages when an account or meter needs to be apportioned due to shared ownership or accounts that have been opened or closed but are still receiving data.

Dashboards

To view a breakdown of emissions by Scope 3 category select the dashboard called Performance by Tag. On the dashboard choose Scope 3 as the Tag Type. See screenshot below:

To view Lifecycle emissions you must select the Emissions Performance Dashboard. 

All performance dashboards show Scope 3 sources by default, but these dashboards will not show the Scope 3 breakdown.

Reporting

To view an extract of Lifecycle emissions you can run the Monthly Data Summary report and select Include Lifecycle Emissions (where available) in Filter By #1.

If you would like to see all of your Scope 3 data categorized by Scope 3 type, you can also select Scope 3 in Filter By #2.

This will allow you to report down to the account/meter level.

You can also extract the underlying data on the Emissions Performance Dashboard by selecting the export to csv option at the top right of the grid. This will show you the indirect amounts per data type and location.