What is the emission in the value chain (scope 3)?

Scope 3 is everything outside scope 1 and 2

Scope 3 is the emissions that arise in the rest of the value chain: not the own facilities (scope 1) and not the purchased energy (scope 2), but everything before and after. Think of emissions from suppliers, transport by third parties, production of purchased raw materials, business travel, commuting of employees, and the use and disposal of the own product by the customer. The GHG Protocol divides scope 3 into fifteen categories, divided between upstream (before the own activity) and downstream (after).

For most smaller suppliers, a full scope 3 calculation is not feasible: it requires data from suppliers and customers that is often not available. If the questionnaire asks for scope 3 and that calculation is missing, the common answer is that the company has not yet calculated this — that is a factual state of affairs, not a shortcoming that is assessed here. Those who have already had scope 1 and scope 2 calculated can submit those figures as a building block; see the direct emissions of greenhouse gases and indirect emissions from purchased energy for what exactly falls under that. A question about scope 3 often comes together with a question about a reduction target: without scope 1 and 2 in order, a meaningful answer to that last question is usually not yet possible.

The classification comes from the GHG Protocol

The division into scope 1, 2 and 3 is established by the GHG Protocol, the international standard on which virtually all customer questionnaires about emissions are based. Scope 3 is defined therein as the indirect emissions that do not fall under scope 2, broken down into the fifteen standard categories described in the protocol.