Category 1: Purchased Goods and Services
Upstream emissions from the production of goods and services purchased or acquired by your company.
In brief
Scope 3 Category 1 covers upstream (cradle-to-gate) emissions from the production of goods and services a company purchases or acquires in the reporting year, including raw material extraction, agricultural activities, manufacturing, and transportation of materials between suppliers. It includes all purchased goods and services not covered by upstream categories 2 through 8, such as production-related procurement, office supplies, and professional services.
GHG Protocol Reference
The following content is extracted from the GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard.
View original GHG Protocol Standard (PDF)Selko Emissions
Category 1 is for many companies (especially in goods-heavy sectors) the most carbon intensive Scope 3 category. It encompasses all upstream emissions from purchased goods and services.
Emission Factor Methods
Supplier-specific
Primary data from suppliers on actual emissions
Average-data
Based on mass/units of goods (e.g., kg CO₂e per kg of material)
Spend-based
Based on spend data and EEIO emission factors
Methods range from primary data (left) to modeled estimates (right)
Related content
Scope 3 cat. 2: Capital goods
Upstream emissions from the production of capital goods your company purchases, such as machinery, equipment and buildings.
Read moreWhat are Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions?
The GHG Protocol splits corporate greenhouse gas emissions into three scopes. We explain what each covers and why the split matters.
Read moreScope 3 cat. 4: Upstream transportation
Emissions from transporting and distributing purchased products in vehicles your company does not own or control.
Read moreReady to make progress?
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