Scopes & Categories

Overview

The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard classifies emissions into three scopes based on where they occur in the value chain:

Scope 1: Direct Emissions

Emissions from sources that are owned or controlled by your organization:

• Stationary Combustion - Fuel burned in boilers, furnaces, generators
• Mobile Combustion - Company-owned vehicles, trucks, forklifts
• Process Emissions - Chemical reactions, industrial processes
• Fugitive Emissions - Refrigerants, AC systems, leaks

Example: Company Vehicle Fleet

API: POST /api/v1/calculate/fuel (no key needed).

curl -X POST https://zerocarbon.org.in/api/v1/calculate/fuel \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"fuel_type": "diesel", "amount": 1000, "unit": "L", "country": "IN"}'

Scope 2: Indirect Emissions

Emissions from the generation of purchased energy (electricity, heat, steam, cooling):

• Purchased Electricity - Grid electricity for offices, factories, warehouses
• Purchased Heat - District heating systems
• Purchased Steam - Industrial steam from third parties
• Purchased Cooling - Chilled water, cooling services

Example: Office Electricity

API: POST /api/v1/calculate/electricity (no key needed). Location-based, national grid average.

curl -X POST https://zerocarbon.org.in/api/v1/calculate/electricity \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"kwh": 5000, "country_code": "IN"}'

Scope 3: Value Chain Emissions

All other indirect emissions that occur in your value chain (both upstream and downstream):

Upstream (Categories 1-8)

• Category 1: Purchased Goods and Services
• Category 2: Capital Goods
• Category 3: Fuel and Energy Related Activities
• Category 4: Transportation and Distribution (Upstream)
• Category 5: Waste Generated in Operations
• Category 6: Business Travel
• Category 7: Employee Commuting
• Category 8: Leased Assets (Upstream)

Downstream (Categories 9-15)

• Category 9: Transportation and Distribution (Downstream)
• Category 10: Processing of Sold Products
• Category 11: Use of Sold Products
• Category 12: End-of-Life Treatment of Sold Products
• Category 13: Leased Assets (Downstream)
• Category 14: Franchises
• Category 15: Investments

Example: Business Travel

API: POST /api/v1/calculate/flight for Category 6 (no key needed), and POST /api/v1/calculate/spend for a spend-based Category 1 estimate (API key required).

curl -X POST https://zerocarbon.org.in/api/v1/calculate/flight \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"distance_km": 2500, "passengers": 1, "cabin_class": "economy", "country": "IN"}'

Choosing the Right Scope

Use this decision tree to determine the correct scope: