Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions explained: a guide for Indian companies
What Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions mean under the GHG Protocol, how location-based and market-based Scope 2 differ, the 15 Scope 3 categories, and what Indian companies and MSME suppliers are being asked for.
What mistakes should companies avoid?
- Counting one thing twice: diesel in your own trucks is Scope 1; diesel used by a hired transporter is Scope 3, Category 4. It cannot be both.
- Reporting only the market-based Scope 2 figure: the Guidance requires both figures where contracts exist.
- Treating carbon credits as reductions: buying credits does not lower your Scope 1, 2 or 3. The Corporate Standard keeps any offsets separate from the inventory.
- Forgetting refrigerants: HFC leaks from air conditioners and chillers are Scope 1, and these gases have high global warming potentials.
- Dropping categories silently: every exclusion must be disclosed and justified.
Sources: GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (revised edition, 2004); GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance (2015); GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard (2011); GHG Protocol: public consultations page; GHG Protocol: release opening Scope 2 and electricity-sector consequential consultations; GHG Protocol: key standard development updates FAQ (29 July 2026); GHG Protocol: Scope 3 Standard Revisions Phase 1 Progress Update (March 2026, draft); SEBI: Format of BRSR Core, Annexure I (July 2023); SEBI circular SEBI/HO/CFD/CFD-PoD-1/P/CIR/2025/42 (28 March 2025); Central Electricity Authority, CO2 Baseline Database for the Indian Power Sector, User Guide Version 22.0 (August 2026)
This article was prepared with AI assistance and checked by the GreenEye team against the sources shown in each section.
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