Scope 3 Emissions in Purchasing: What to Ask Your Suppliers
Purchased goods are often the largest part of Scope 3 emissions. How the GHG Protocol methods work and which data to request from packaging and print suppliers.
5 min lesing
Scope 3 emissions are the greenhouse gas emissions in a company's value chain, outside its own sites and purchased energy. For companies that buy a lot of packaging, print and promotional products, purchased goods and services are often a large part of it, which makes purchasing a team that can actually move the number. This guide explains how Scope 3 emissions from purchases are calculated and what data to ask suppliers for.
What are Scope 3 emissions?
The GHG Protocol's Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard, released in 2011, is the method companies use to account for value chain emissions across 15 upstream and downstream categories. Scope 1 covers a company's own direct emissions and Scope 2 its purchased electricity, heat and steam. Everything else in the value chain, from raw materials to the end of life of sold products, falls under Scope 3.
Which Scope 3 categories matter for purchasing?
- Category 1, purchased goods and services: the cradle-to-gate emissions of everything you buy, such as boxes, labels, brochures and merchandise.
- Category 2, capital goods: machines, displays and equipment bought as assets.
- Category 4, upstream transportation and distribution: transport of purchased products from tier 1 suppliers in vehicles you do not own or control.
- Category 5, waste generated in operations: for example packaging waste from incoming goods.
The GHG Protocol guidance for Category 1 defines it as upstream, cradle-to-gate emissions from producing the goods and services bought in the reporting year. Transport from tier 1 suppliers is reported separately in Category 4, which is worth knowing when you choose between delivery terms.
How are Scope 3 emissions from purchases calculated?
The Scope 3 calculation guidance, developed with the Carbon Trust, describes four methods for Category 1, from most to least supplier specific.
| Method | How it works | Data from suppliers |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier-specific | Quantity bought multiplied by the supplier's cradle-to-gate product footprint | Product footprint, methods, emission factors, any verification |
| Hybrid | Supplier activity data combined with secondary data for gaps | Allocated Scope 1 and 2 emissions, material inputs, input transport, waste |
| Average-data | Mass or units bought multiplied by industry-average emission factors | None; uses your own purchase records |
| Spend-based | Money spent multiplied by input-output emission factors | None; uses spend data |
Companies can mix methods and focus supplier data collection on the purchases that contribute most. Spend-based figures are a quick start, but they move with prices rather than with real emission reductions. If you switch to a supplier with lower-carbon board at the same price, a spend-based inventory will not show it.
What should buyers ask suppliers for?
Start with your largest categories by spend or by weight. For many companies in our niche these are corrugated packaging, folding cartons, printed matter and textiles.
Questions for a first round
- Can you provide a cradle-to-gate carbon footprint per product or per unit (for example per tonne of board or per 1,000 boxes)? Which method and data sources did you use?
- If not, can you share your Scope 1 and 2 emissions for the producing site and a basis for allocating them to our order?
- What are the main materials by weight, and what share is recycled or certified fibre?
- Where do the main materials come from, and how are they transported to your site?
- Has any of this data been verified by a third party?
Making the data comparable
Two suppliers quoting a footprint per box are only comparable if they use the same unit, boundary and reference year. Ask for the functional unit, the system boundary (cradle-to-gate) and the year. Ask whether transport to your site is included, because under the GHG Protocol it belongs in a different category.
Respecting the limits on small suppliers
If you report under the CSRD, note that the Omnibus changes introduced a value chain cap. Reporting companies cannot require suppliers with no more than 1,000 employees to provide information beyond the voluntary standard. You can still ask and many suppliers will help, but build your process around what small suppliers can reasonably give. Our guide to CSRD supplier data requests explains the cap.
Common pitfalls when collecting supplier emission data
Supplier data improves an inventory only if it is used carefully. These are the mistakes purchasing teams run into most often.
- Double counting transport: a footprint that includes delivery to your site, added to a separate transport calculation, counts the same kilometres twice.
- Company averages presented as product data: a supplier's total emissions divided by its turnover says little about one specific box or brochure, especially for suppliers with very different product lines.
- Mixed years: combining a supplier's figure from one year with purchase volumes from another distorts trends.
- No record of the method: without knowing how a figure was calculated, you cannot defend it to an auditor or compare it next year.
- Asking everyone for everything: long questionnaires sent to every supplier produce low response rates. Ask the suppliers that matter most for the data that matters most.
Keep a simple log for each supplier figure: the value, unit, boundary, year, method and whether it was verified.
Is the Scope 3 standard changing?
Yes, a revision is under way, and a March 2026 progress update from the GHG Protocol describes draft revisions in three series, including proposals to report emissions by data type, to encourage goals for the share of supplier-specific data, and to limit how corporate-level supplier data is allocated to products. None of this is final: the drafts still need approval by the independent standards board and a public consultation. For buyers the direction is clear, though: product-level supplier data will count for more than averages.
How purchasing can reduce Scope 3 emissions
Data is a means to an end, and the changes that usually make a difference in packaging and print are practical:
- Right-size boxes and reduce void fill, so less material is bought and shipped.
- Specify lower grammage where performance allows, and recycled or certified fibre.
- Consolidate orders and deliveries to cut transport.
- Print closer to the point of use where it makes sense.
- Ask suppliers about their energy sources and reduction plans, and include this in supplier evaluation.
Collecting supplier data through your requests
The easiest moment to ask for emission data is when you request a quote. On Flobid, you can add your data questions to a request, for example for printed corrugated packaging, and compare answers side by side with prices. Our quote checklist helps you keep requests consistent.
Sources
- Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard, GHG Protocol
- Category 1: Purchased Goods and Services (Scope 3 Calculation Guidance), GHG Protocol
- Scope 3 Calculation Guidance, GHG Protocol
- Scope 3 Standard Revisions: Phase 1 Progress Update, GHG Protocol (2026)
- Omnibus explained: key changes to the CSRD, Accountancy Europe (2026)
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Which Scope 3 category covers purchased packaging and print?
Category 1, purchased goods and services, which covers the cradle-to-gate emissions of goods bought in the reporting year. Transport from tier 1 suppliers in vehicles you do not control is Category 4.
What is the difference between spend-based and supplier-specific methods?
The spend-based method multiplies money spent by average emission factors, while the supplier-specific method uses the supplier's own product footprint, which reflects real differences between suppliers.
Can I require small suppliers to provide emission data?
If you report under the CSRD, the value chain cap means you cannot require suppliers with no more than 1,000 employees to provide information beyond the voluntary standard for that reporting.