Measuring accurate and consistent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is critical when meeting sustainability targets, setting effective reduction strategies, and complying with new regulatory requirements. Scope 3 can be the most complex area to measure, but it also holds the greatest opportunity for finding operational efficiencies and hitting your sustainability targets. Read on for insights into the challenges around Scope 3 data, followed by answers to some of the most common questions.
The call for ambitious climate protection is getting louder
The Paris Climate Agreement manifested the commitment of the global community to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius. Recent climate negotiations have underscored that this goal will only be achieved if governments and companies rapidly accelerate reductions, particularly across Scope 3 value chain emissions.
Additionally, the financial market is becoming increasingly concerned with the climate impact of industries and is raising the pressure, especially through the EU taxonomy. The EU taxonomy is a classification system to clearly define sustainable investments and respective economic activities that contribute to the European initiative of the Green Deal to lead Europe into a sustainable future. Alongside CSRD and SFDR in Europe, investor-driven frameworks like TCFD and ISSB standards are further reinforcing the importance of transparent, comparable climate data.
The corporate response is increasingly bold and data-driven
Before companies can set ambitious climate protection targets, such as science-based targets or net zero commitments, the first step is to identify and assess the corporate carbon footprint. Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions data (according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol) are used to measure how much CO2 a company emits directly and indirectly along its value chain. In practice, measuring the indirect Scope 3 emissions data poses particular challenges for companies. The Greenhouse Gas Protocol is the primary standard to provide guidance and structure along Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions in the corporate carbon accounting process:
- Scope 1: direct emissions within the company
- Scope 2: indirect emissions from purchased energy
- Scope 3: indirect emissions in the upstream and downstream supply chain
Today, Scope 3 often represents more than 90% of a company’s carbon footprint, making it essential for setting credible targets and meeting disclosure obligations.
Scope 3 data: an undertaking with challenges
The main challenge in collecting especially Scope 3 emissions data is the prevailing lack of reliable data. From this main challenge, corresponding sub challenges can be derived:
- Complexity and lack of capacity: The GHG Protocol shows the depth of content and data that a carbon footprint requires. Especially for Scope 3, there are various categories as well as calculation and approximation methods in the upstream and downstream value chain. Therefore, there is often a lack of capacity in companies in regard to those who take on this laborious task.
- Lack of transparency and limited influence: Especially for Scope 3 emissions data, relevant data sources are not always collected within the organization itself, but come from suppliers, service providers or customers. Therefore, good and trusting relationships in the value chain are needed to create the willingness to collect relevant data and make it transparent.
Depending on the degree of complexity of the company and the value chain, there are different approaches to obtaining reliable emissions data for accounting purposes. These methods range from the least accurate and simplest to the most accurate and complex:
Method |
Description |
Accuracy & Complexity |
Expenditure-based |
Sales multiplied by the average emission factors per monetary unit |
Low accuracy / Simple |
Average data |
Product quantity (kg) × industry’s average emission factors per kg |
Medium-low accuracy / Simple–Moderate |
Hybrid |
Combination of supplier-specific activity data and industry average data |
Medium-high accuracy / Moderate–Complex |
Supplier-specific |
Inventory data at product level (cradle-to-gate) from goods or service suppliers |
High accuracy / Most complex |
The most precise method is the supplier-specific method. The more concrete and valid the data is, the more reliable it is for deriving effective reduction measures.
Practical implications: Your Top Questions Answered
In theory, frameworks and standards as well as initial best practices orient companies to the best methods for gathering and reporting on Scope 3 emissions. However, in practice, there are still some open questions. Therefore, let’s look at some of the most frequently asked questions:
What standard should I apply to create a Corporate Carbon Footprint?
The GHG protocol is more or less the bible for creating a carbon footprint. Here, all relevant categories along the Scopes are defined and described. In addition, frameworks such as CDP, GRI, SASB are certainly helpful, although these only address climate protection as one part of an holistic sustainability reporting.
For companies subject to CSRD, EFRAG standards now define how carbon data must be disclosed. For U.S.-based firms, SEC and California rules set additional requirements.
What relevance do Scope 3 emissions data have for companies that want to set science-based targets?
The Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) has developed a framework for companies to set ambitious climate targets that align with a 1.5°C pathway. Companies must set a Scope 3 target if these emissions account for more than 40% of their footprint. SBTi has also tightened rules, phasing out heavy reliance on offsets and requiring sector-specific guidance, making accurate Scope 3 data more critical than ever.
It is essential to establish a comprehensive and highly accurate Scope 3 calculation in order to be SBTi-validated. Without this, organizations risk setting targets on an unreliable baseline, which undermines both credibility and the ability to track real progress toward decarbonization. Robust sustainability software plays a key role here, helping companies structure, validate, and scale Scope 3 calculations with the transparency required for both SBTi and regulatory disclosure.
Where should you start when collecting emissions data?
The most important first step is: simply start. Start with Scope 1 and Scope 2 data and concentrate in Scope 3 on the categories that are easier to collect or where you can make good assumptions for estimated values. A good example is often business travel, as there is already tracked data due to the travel cost accounting. This can be used for the calculation of the footprint. Later on, new categories can be added step by step and the data quality of existing categories can be improved.
Where can I find the relevant emission factors for calculating the footprint?
Reliable databases such as DEFRA or EcoInvent, the International Energy Agency (IEA), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provide widely used emission factors. Today’s sustainability software integrates these databases directly, enabling region- and sector-specific calculations.
How to deal with partial data?
The GHG Protocol provides guidance for each category in Scope 3. Increasingly, disclosure regimes also require companies to rate their data quality (e.g., primary vs. estimated), making consistent documentation and transparency essential.
What should be considered when including suppliers in data collection?
Supplier engagement is now a core part of carbon accounting. Many organizations embed emissions data requests directly into procurement processes and contracts, often starting with their top suppliers. Supplier engagement platforms and portals are also becoming standard tools to streamline data collection and improve quality.
Why is software essential for reliable climate data?
The more the topic of climate protection and carbon footprinting becomes professionalized and incorporated into the operational plans of a company, the more important it is to use reliable tools in order to cope with the complexity. Compared to spreadsheets, professional sustainability software significantly improves data quality through automated validation, centralized workflows, supplier portals, and integrated emissions factor libraries. Modern platforms also offer scenario analysis, disclosure mapping, and AI-enabled anomaly detection to support net-zero planning and compliance.
How Cority Helps
At Cority, we understand the challenge of Scope 3 carbon accounting and the opportunity it represents. Our Sustainability solution helps you move beyond spreadsheets with a modern, AI-ready platform that brings together emissions data, supplier engagement, and reporting in one place.
With Cority, you can:
- Collect, calculate, and validate Scope 1–3 data with confidence
- Access over 1 million global emission factors from trusted sources
- Engage suppliers through standardized, configurable questionnaires
- Align disclosures with CSRD, SEC, CDP, and other leading frameworks
- Use scenario modeling and analytics to track your path to net-zero
Cority’s Converged EHS+ platform combines modern technology, unrivaled EHS+ data, and deep industry expertise to give organizations a sustainable performance advantage. Whether you’re just starting carbon accounting or scaling a global net-zero strategy, we meet you where you are and help you every step of the way.
