---
term: "Scope 3 emissions"
aliases: ["scope 3", "value chain emissions", "indirect emissions"]
category: Concept
updated: 2026-09-08
canonical: https://verdatir.com/glossary/scope-3
publisher: Verdatir (https://verdatir.com)
---

# Scope 3 emissions

> All indirect greenhouse gas emissions that occur in a company's value chain, upstream and downstream, other than the purchased energy counted in Scope 2, as defined by the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard.

The GHG Protocol divides a company's emissions into three scopes. Scope 1 covers direct emissions from owned or controlled sources, Scope 2 covers purchased electricity, heat and steam, and Scope 3 covers everything else in the value chain.

## The fifteen categories

The Scope 3 Standard defines fifteen categories, eight upstream (including purchased goods and services, capital goods, fuel- and energy-related activities, transport and business travel) and seven downstream (including use of sold products, end-of-life treatment and investments). For most manufacturers, purchased goods and services is the largest category.

## Why product data matters

Category 1 emissions are calculated from what a company buys. Spend-based or average-data methods are quick but blunt; supplier-specific product carbon footprints are more accurate but require consistent methodology and data exchange, which is what PACT and Catena-X provide.

## Reporting pressure

CSRD, investor frameworks and customer requirements increasingly require Scope 3 disclosure with assurance, which pushes data quality requirements down the supply chain.

## Where Verdatir fits

Verdatir verifies the supplier and product footprints that feed Scope 3 inventories and keeps their lineage intact, so that an assured corporate number can be traced back to verified product-level data.

## Sources

- [GHG Protocol — Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard](https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-value-chain-scope-3-standard)