Scope 1 Emissions

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the most widely used standard for measuring corporate emissions, divides emissions into three scopes. Scope 1 covers direct emissions from the organisation’s own operations.

Sources of Scope 1 emissions include burning fuels on site, such as gas for heating; fuel used by company-owned or controlled vehicles; industrial processes that release greenhouse gases, such as cement or chemical production; and leaks of refrigerant gases from air conditioning.

For example, a delivery company’s Scope 1 emissions would include the diesel burned by its fleet of trucks. A steel company’s Scope 1 emissions would include emissions from its blast furnaces.

Scope 1 emissions are usually the easiest to measure and the most directly under a company’s control. They are included in most mandatory climate reporting requirements. Companies can reduce them by switching to cleaner fuels, electrifying vehicles and equipment, improving energy efficiency and changing industrial processes. For heavy industry and energy companies, Scope 1 emissions often make up a large share of their total footprint.