Scope 1, 2 and 3: building a credible greenhouse gas baseline

The three scopes

The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard groups an organisation's emissions into three scopes. Using the same structure makes a baseline easier to compare, review and update.

• Scope 1: direct emissions from sources the organisation owns or controls, such as on-site generators, boilers and company vehicles.
• Scope 2: indirect emissions from purchased electricity, steam, heat or cooling.
• Scope 3: other indirect emissions across the value chain, such as purchased goods, transport and the use of sold products.

Context matters

In many African markets, diesel and petrol generators supplement or replace grid supply. That shifts a meaningful share of electricity-related emissions into Scope 1, and it means fuel records are often as important as electricity bills.

Scope 3 is usually the hardest to measure. It is reasonable to begin with the categories that are most material and where data can realistically be obtained, and to say clearly which categories are excluded and why.

Make the baseline reviewable

A baseline is only as credible as its documentation. Record the activity data used, the emission factors and their sources, the assumptions made and the gaps that remain. A data register and an improvement plan turn a one-off calculation into a baseline that gets better each year.