> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.salvidia.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Scopes 1, 2, and 3 explained

> A practical explanation of Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, with examples and how they show up in your Salvidia assessments.

When people talk about carbon footprints, you’ll almost always hear **Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3**.

They’re simply a way of **grouping emissions** based on how directly they’re linked to your organisation, event, or product.

At a high level:

* **Scope 1** – direct emissions from sources you own or control
* **Scope 2** – indirect emissions from purchased energy
* **Scope 3** – all other indirect emissions in your value chain

Salvidia uses these scopes to **organise your results**, so it’s worth understanding the basics.

***

## Why scopes exist

Scopes come from the **GHG Protocol**, which is the most widely used standard for greenhouse gas accounting.

They help you:

* Avoid **double counting** between different organisations
* Understand how **direct** or **indirect** emissions are
* Communicate clearly with stakeholders (“this is Scope 1, that is Scope 3”)

You don’t need to memorise every category — but you should know **what roughly belongs where**.

***

## Scope 1 – Direct emissions

> Emissions from sources that are **owned or controlled** by your organisation.

Common examples:

* Fuel burned in **company-owned vehicles**
* **Gas** used in onsite boilers or heaters
* **Diesel generators** you operate
* **Refrigerant leaks** from chillers, fridges, or air conditioning units
* Onsite **industrial processes** (if relevant)

If you directly control the equipment that’s burning fuel or leaking refrigerant, it’s usually **Scope 1**.

<Columns>
  <Column>
    <Card title="Typical data sources">
      <ul>
        <li>Fuel purchase records</li>
        <li>Onsite meter readings</li>
        <li>Maintenance logs for refrigerants</li>
      </ul>
    </Card>
  </Column>

  <Column>
    <Card title="Where you’ll see it in Salvidia">
      <ul>
        <li>Energy and utilities tables</li>
        <li>Fuel and refrigerant entries</li>
        <li>Results breakdown: Scope 1</li>
      </ul>
    </Card>
  </Column>
</Columns>

***

## Scope 2 – Purchased electricity and energy

> Emissions from the **generation of purchased energy** that you use, mainly **electricity**.

Common examples:

* Electricity used in offices, warehouses, venues, factories
* Sometimes purchased **steam, heat, or cooling** from external providers

You don’t own the power plant, but your **demand for electricity** drives emissions at the plant’s end. That’s why Scope 2 is **indirect**, but still separated from Scope 3.

<Columns>
  <Column>
    <Card title="Typical data sources">
      <ul>
        <li>Electricity bills</li>
        <li>Meter readings</li>
        <li>Site energy reports</li>
      </ul>
    </Card>
  </Column>

  <Column>
    <Card title="Where you’ll see it in Salvidia">
      <ul>
        <li>Electricity rows in energy tables</li>
        <li>Location- or market-based results (where applicable)</li>
        <li>Results breakdown: Scope 2</li>
      </ul>
    </Card>
  </Column>
</Columns>

<Note>
  Many organisations start with Scope 1 and 2 because the data is easier to access and they’re often required in reporting frameworks.
</Note>

***

## Scope 3 – Other indirect emissions

> All other **indirect emissions** that happen because of your activities, but occur outside your own direct operations.

This is where most organisations’ emissions usually sit.

Typical categories include things like:

* **Purchased goods and services** (what you buy)
* **Capital goods** (buildings, machinery, equipment)
* **Fuel- and energy-related activities** (upstream energy emissions not in Scope 1 or 2)
* **Upstream transport and distribution**
* **Waste generated** in operations
* **Business travel** (flights, hotels, taxis, rideshare)
* **Employee commuting**
* **Downstream transport, use, and end-of-life** of your products

In events and products, Scope 3 is often where most of the footprint shows up.

<Columns>
  <Column>
    <Card title="Typical data sources">
      <ul>
        <li>Finance exports (spend by category)</li>
        <li>Travel booking data</li>
        <li>Supplier and contractor reports</li>
        <li>Waste contractor data</li>
      </ul>
    </Card>
  </Column>

  <Column>
    <Card title="Where you’ll see it in Salvidia">
      <ul>
        <li>Travel and transport tables</li>
        <li>Purchases and services tables</li>
        <li>Waste and materials tables</li>
        <li>Results breakdown: Scope 3</li>
      </ul>
    </Card>
  </Column>
</Columns>

***

## How scopes look in Salvidia

When you run an assessment in Salvidia, your results are organised by:

* **Scope** (1, 2, 3)
* **Category** (energy, travel, waste, etc.)
* **Assessment type** (organisation, event, product)

That means you can:

* See your **total Scope 1, 2, and 3**
* Drill down into **which categories** are driving each scope
* Compare **year-on-year** or assessment-to-assessment

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Organisation assessments">
    You’ll typically see:

    <ul>
      <li>Scope 1: fuels, onsite energy, refrigerants</li>
      <li>Scope 2: electricity and purchased energy</li>
      <li>Scope 3: purchases, travel, waste, freight, etc.</li>
    </ul>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Event assessments">
    You’ll typically see:

    <ul>
      <li>Scope 1: onsite fuel or generators (if you operate them)</li>
      <li>Scope 2: electricity supplied directly to the event (where applicable)</li>
      <li>Scope 3: attendee travel, exhibitors, catering, waste, etc.</li>
    </ul>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Product assessments">
    You’ll typically see:

    <ul>
      <li>Most emissions modelled in a way that maps back to Scope 3 for the organisation that sells the product.</li>
    </ul>

    Product footprints are usually framed as <b>life cycle stages</b> (materials, manufacturing, distribution, use, end-of-life), but they line up with Scope 3 from the organisation’s perspective.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

***

## Common questions

### Are Scope 3 emissions “less important”?

No.

Scope 3 is often **where the majority of impact is**, especially for:

* Service businesses
* Product companies with complex supply chains
* Events with lots of travel and suppliers

Scopes are about **classification**, not importance. Many net-zero strategies now expect organisations to address **material Scope 3** emissions, not just Scope 1 and 2.

***

### Do I have to measure all Scope 3 categories on day one?

No.

A pragmatic approach is:

1. Start with **Scope 1 and 2** plus a few **key Scope 3 categories** where you know impact is high (e.g. travel, major spend categories, or key suppliers).
2. Each year, improve **coverage and data quality**.

What matters is being **transparent** about what you included and how the footprint was built.

***

### Is double counting a problem?

It can be if you’re not careful, which is why scopes exist.

Example:

* A supplier’s **Scope 1** (fuel in their vehicles) can be your **Scope 3** (purchased services).
* That’s okay — it’s by design. Different organisations report the same physical emissions in different scopes.

Inside **one assessment**, what you want to avoid is **counting the same activity twice** (e.g. recording the same spend and the same activity with two separate factors).

Salvidia’s structured tables help reduce this by giving you **clear places** to put each type of data.

***

## How to think about scopes in your work

<Columns>
  <Column>
    <Card title="Scope 1">
      “Emissions from stuff we directly operate.”

      <br />

      Vehicles, boilers, onsite combustion, refrigerants.
    </Card>
  </Column>

  <Column>
    <Card title="Scope 2">
      “Emissions from energy we buy.”

      <br />

      Mostly electricity; sometimes purchased steam/heat.
    </Card>
  </Column>

  <Column>
    <Card title="Scope 3">
      “Everything else our activity causes.”

      <br />

      Purchases, travel, waste, supply chain, product use and end-of-life.
    </Card>
  </Column>
</Columns>

If you remember nothing else:

* Scopes are just a **classification system**.
* Most organisations’ impact is heavily **Scope 3-heavy**.
* Salvidia handles the **sorting into scopes** for you, as long as you put data in the right tables.

***

## Where to go next

* Learn about [**Activity-based vs spend-based data**](/guides/activity-based-vs-spend-based)
* See how to define [**Organisational boundaries**](/guides/organisational-boundaries)
* Or jump into your first real footprint with [**Create your first assessment**](/start-here/create-first-assessment).