Scope 1, 2 and 3 Emissions
Examples & Calculations
The world's most-used carbon accounting standard divides corporate emissions into three scopes. Here are real-world examples, calculation methods, and what they mean for your BRSR or ESG report.
Direct Emissions
You produce them
~15–25%
of typical footprint
Energy Emissions
From purchased power
~10–20%
of typical footprint
Value Chain
Upstream & downstream
~60–80%
of typical footprint
Scope 1: Direct Emissions — Examples
Emissions from sources your company owns or controls. Reported on a location basis.
On-site boilers & furnaces
Natural gas, LPG, coal combustion
Company-owned vehicles
Cars, trucks, forklifts (petrol/diesel)
Manufacturing processes
Cement kilns, steel furnaces, chemical reactions
Diesel generators
On-site power backup and remote sites
Refrigerant leaks
HFC leaks from HVAC and cold storage
// Scope 1 Calculation Example
Diesel consumed: 10,000 litres/year
× Emission factor: 2.68 kg CO2e/litre
= 26.8 tCO2e/year
Scope 2: Energy Emissions — Examples
Indirect emissions from purchased energy. Can be reported market-based or location-based.
Grid electricity
India factor: ~0.82 kg CO2e/kWh (CEA 2024)
Purchased steam
Industrial steam from external suppliers
District cooling
Chilled water from centralized systems
Purchased heating
External district heat networks
// Scope 2 Calculation Example (India grid)
Electricity consumed: 500,000 kWh/year
× India grid factor: 0.82 kg CO2e/kWh
= 410 tCO2e/year
Scope 3: Value Chain Emissions — Examples
All other indirect emissions across 15 categories. Typically the largest part of your footprint.
Purchased goods & services (Cat. 1)
Spend-based or supplier-specific method
Business travel (Cat. 6)
Flights, trains, hotels — per km factors
Employee commuting (Cat. 7)
Daily travel to office — mode × distance
Upstream transportation (Cat. 4)
Logistics/freight inbound to your facility
Use of sold products (Cat. 11)
Emissions when customers use your product
End-of-life treatment (Cat. 12)
Disposal and recycling of your products
// Scope 3 Category 6 — Business Travel
Flights: 50,000 km/year (economy, short-haul)
× Factor: 0.255 kg CO2e/passenger-km
= 12.75 tCO2e/year
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Scope 1 emissions examples?
Scope 1 emissions examples include: diesel used in company-owned generators, petrol/diesel consumed by company vehicles (cars, trucks, forklifts), natural gas burned in on-site boilers or furnaces, process emissions from manufacturing (cement kilns, steel furnaces), and refrigerant (HFC) leaks from air conditioning systems. All are direct emissions from sources your company owns or controls.
What are Scope 2 emissions examples?
Scope 2 emissions examples include: electricity purchased from the grid (most common), purchased steam for heating industrial processes, district cooling in commercial buildings, and purchased heat. In India, grid electricity has an emission factor of approximately 0.82 kg CO2e/kWh (CEA national average). Switching to renewable energy (solar, wind PPAs) reduces Scope 2 to near zero.
What are Scope 3 emissions examples?
Scope 3 emissions examples include (upstream): purchased goods and services from suppliers, capital goods, business travel (flights, hotels), employee commuting, fuel and energy-related activities, and transportation of purchased goods. Downstream examples include: transportation of sold products, use of sold products by customers, end-of-life treatment of sold products. Scope 3 typically represents 70–90% of a company's total footprint.
How do you calculate Scope 1 emissions?
Scope 1 calculation: Activity Data × Emission Factor = CO2e emissions. Example: A company consumes 10,000 litres of diesel/year. Diesel emission factor = 2.68 kg CO2e/litre. Scope 1 emissions = 10,000 × 2.68 = 26,800 kg = 26.8 tCO2e/year. ZeroCarbon automatically applies GHG Protocol-aligned emission factors for India, removing the need for manual calculation.
What is the difference between Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions?
Scope 1 emissions come directly from sources your company owns or controls (combustion, process, fugitive). Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from energy you purchase — mainly electricity. You don't produce Scope 2 emissions yourself; the power plant producing your electricity does. Both are within your operational boundary and must be reported under GHG Protocol and BRSR.
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