4 Tips for Measuring Scope 3 Emissions

Introduction

As shippers begin their sustainability journeys, they encounter significant hurdles measuring and reducing scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Unlike scope 1 and 2 emissions, GHG emissions that fall under scope 3 don’t occur within shippers’ own infrastructure. This makes them difficult to track — and leads to major visibility challenges for shippers trying to understand their full emissions output.

According to Breakthrough data, Scope 3 emissions typically make up the majority (70-90%) of an organization’s entire emissions footprint.

If you can’t identify scope 3 sources and measure their impact, you’ll likely fall short of meeting sustainability initiatives.

With mounting consumer pressure and the potential for regulatory fines, designing your scope 3 emissions reduction strategy is particularly pressing — and may feel overwhelming.

Your transportation network is a good place to start. In recent years, transportation has produced more emissions than any other sector — making it a prime target for emissions reduction. Since transportation networks generate data via suppliers, carriers, and strategic partners, analyzing your transportation emissions is an actionable foundation for your sustainability journey.

You can’t improve what you can’t measure — so here are four tips to help measure scope 3 emissions in your transportation network.

1. Start Where You Are

For many shippers, prioritizing cost reduction and operational efficiency has long been the status quo. But as organizations design and implement sustainability initiatives, they have to flex a new muscle: incorporating sustainability in decision-making. As you begin your sustainability journey and analysis of scope 3 transportation emissions, be patient with yourself and your team while you strengthen this new skill.

Start by taking stock of the data available to you. While the information needed to understand your scope 3 transportation emissions is likely owned by other organizations, chances are you have in-house data that can inform your analysis and measurement strategies. Specifically, the data you have — and the data you don’t — will unlock understanding of the kinds of information you need to fill in the gaps and build a complete emissions reduction plan.

2. Lean into Trusted Partnerships

To gain a full view of your scope 3 transportation emissions, you need to access data from your suppliers, carriers, and advisors. Cultivate strategic partnerships to gather cross-organizational data — and clearly communicate how this data will benefit your sustainability initiatives.

Keep in mind that no organization manages data the same way. While the complexity of navigating multiple data systems can be time-consuming, it’s easier with robust collaboration and communication processes. As you streamline stakeholder communication and optimize data collection methods, your organizational partnerships will strengthen over time.

3. Clarify Sustainability KPIs

Until clear expectations are set about prioritizing sustainability initiatives in company-wide strategy, your organization will likely be slow to change day-to-day operations. When it comes to initiatives that support emissions reduction, success starts with communicating specific sustainability and transportation KPIs.

Delineate which team members are responsible for KPI execution. Consider how sustainability can be infused into conversations about timing, delivery, and cost. Emissions intensity reduction requires all hands on deck, so foster awareness of scope 3 transportation emissions within teams to inform a real path to analyzing emissions output and identifying potential targets for reduction.

4. Take a Nimble Approach

The sustainability market is still maturing, and so are emissions regulations, reporting standards, and data and measurement methodologies. From data collection to outside partnerships, flexibility is crucial in any scope 1 and 3 emissions reduction strategy.

Don’t lock yourself into a single methodology or data collection process. Instead, build data frameworks and partnerships that are flexible enough to adapt to evolutions in reporting requirements and sustainability regulations. Nimble frameworks help with more than changing industry standards — they also enable easier adoption of alternative energy sources. Even when regulations are steady, a flexible approach helps uncover new avenues to fine-tune and optimize your emissions reduction plan.