Greenhouse gas emissions reporting: Scope 3 Group 3 - research
Research into future reporting of scope 3 'Group 3' greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by Scottish local authorities and other public bodies. 'Group 3' emissions include those from the processing, use and end of life treatment of sold products; downstream transportation and distribution; and franchises.
Footnotes
1 GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard
2 Scottish Government has identified three groups of scope 3 emissions in relation to public bodies GHG reporting: Scottish Government Climate change delivery: improvement report
3 GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard
4 Where Category 12 does apply, there is the potential for double counting if the reporting organisation is a Local Authority that already reports emissions from area-wide waste.
5 See Chapter 5, Endnote 2, p.57 in GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard
6 Public bodies climate change duties - draft statutory guidance: consultation analysis - final report
7 Under the Climate Change (Duties of Public Bodies: Reporting Requirements) (Scotland) Order 2015 public bodies in Scotland are required to report on the delivery of emission reduction targets, amongst other targets on adaptation and sustainability. Emissions reporting, to track delivery of targets, is delivered as part of PBCCDRs. Emissions reporting typically comprises Scope 1 and Scope 2, with some Scope 3 emissions being reported as well.
8 In the data received from SSN, the LA emissions were not categorised into Scopes, so the research team reviewed all entries. In the non-LA reports, emissions were categorised by Scope, so these were filtered to focus on Scope 3.
9 GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard
10 GHG Protocol Scope 3 Calculation Guidance
11 SSN Interim Guidance on Public Bodies Climate Change Duties Annual Compliance Reporting
12 Climate change duties: statutory guidance for public bodies
13 Note this category includes the selling of any products that does not fall into the activity of selling of products in shops.
14 In cases where an activity’s emissions differ in impact and or influence between Scope 3 Group 3 categories, these are represented by different points in the matrix.
15 2026 Government Greenhouse Gas Conversion Factors For Company Reporting
16 If using other conversion factors, public bodies would need to consider whether these still align with the requirements of the reporting guidance.
17 Scottish Public Finance Manual
18 Scottish Public Finance Manual, Best Value
19 Public bodies climate change duties statutory guidance
20 GHG Protocol Scope 3 Calculation Guidance
21 These are adapted from the Action Priority Matrix approach.
23 GHG Protocol Scope 3 Calculation Guidance
24 For example, UNOPS has produced detailed step-by-step guidance that could potentially be used; however, this is unlikely to be practical for public bodies to adopt.
25 Biomass in a Low Carbon Economy: Report by the Committee on Climate Change
26 Public bodies climate change duties statutory guidance
27 Emissions from medical equipment disposed of at home may already be accounted for by Local Authorities that report emissions from area wide waste.
28 The stored carbon itself would not count as a Scope 3 downstream category, as biogenic carbon is normally reported separately. According to the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard (p. 88): ‘Consensus methods have yet to be developed under the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard for accounting of sequestered atmospheric carbon as it moves through the value chain of biomass-based industries.’
29 Under the GHG Protocol, there is no fixed minimum interval at which the materiality assessments need to be undertaken. However, it would be reasonable to expect that they are current enough to be fit-for-purpose, and revisited when there are significant changes, e.g. every 2-3 years (this will vary).
30 On the other hand, if and when reporting requirements are introduced, in the longer term this might result in better data availability.
31 Although the Defra factors are widely used for this purpose, for both public and private sector carbon accounting, it is important to note that they are not intended to be used this way, as the CO2e/£ spent values are based on household expenditure. See UK consumption account methodology.
32 This applies only to downstream transportation and distribution that is not paid for by the reporting organisation. If the downstream transportation and distribution is paid for by the reporting organisation, these emissions would instead fall under Category 4 – Upstream Transportation and Distribution.
33 Where there are minor in-use phase emissions under Category 11 due to electricity use, emissions are often small and will continue to decrease due to grid decarbonisation. Therefore, even if these are relevant, they may not be material for the purpose of producing a GHG emissions inventory. They have been included for completeness. Additionally, Indirect use-phase emissions in Category 11 are applicable to several types of activity, but are optional to report under the GHG Protocol.
34 For Local Authorities that already report emissions from area-wide waste, there is a risk of double-counting with emissions in Category 12 – End-of-life treatment of sold products. This would occur if the waste from sold products is disposed of within the Local Authority area.
35 GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals Standard
36 Inhalers can be recycled and propellant can be reused. It is important to note that for end-of-life treatment only inhalers not being recycled should be included. If those recycled are included, this would lead to an overestimate of emissions.
38 Forestry and Land Scotland: timber sales
39 Forestry and Land Scotland: the timber industry
40 Biodegradable municipal waste landfill ban. Note the landfill ban will take full effect from 1 January 2028.
41 Brodies LLP. (2025) Scottish Landfill Ban: Temporary Reprieve for the Waste Industry
42 There may be data on the export of timber across Scotland and the UK.
43 GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals Standard
44 GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals Guidance
45 GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals Guidance, Section 4.4.4 Determining the time boundary, p.54.
46 Climate Change Duties - statutory guidance for public bodies
48 CIBSE energy benchmarking tool
49 Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024
50 Scottish Government. (2026) A Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland
51 Zero Waste Scotland. (2024) Scotland’s Circular Economy and Waste Route Map to 2030
52 Scottish Government. (2024) Scotland’s Circular Economy and Waste Route Map to 2030
53 Plastics Europe. Mechanical Recycling
55 Evans et al. (2024) RMI Plastics Extrusion and Molding Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Guidance
59 Sustainability Magazine. (2025) How has the Royal Mail become the UK's greenest parcel operator?
60 These estimates were based on the assumption that online courses took about a day to complete, and students spent on average 2 hours per week hybrid learning. Under these assumptions, emissions from hybrid learning and online courses would account for <0.5% of Fourth Valley College’s emissions per year.
61 There would also be a trade-off due to the increase in other emissions such as student commuting.
62 GHG Protocol Corporate Standard Revisions Phase 1 Progress Update, December 2025
63 GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard Revisions Phase 1 Progress Update March 2026
64 GHG Protocol Scope 3 Technical Working Group Meeting. Phase 2, Meeting 12. April 2026. Note that this is based on a working draft and subject to change.
Contact
Email: climate.change@gov.scot