It is important for a company to monitor and report its greenhouse gases emissions before being able to engage in any reduction planning. To harmonize and facilitate this impact reporting, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol), a worldwide accounting emissions methodology, classifies greenhouse gases emissions into 3 categories: Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions.
- Scope 1️⃣ Emissions: These are direct emissions that come from sources that are owned or controlled by the organization like company-owned vehicles, on-site combustion of fossil fuels, and industrial processes.
- Scope 2️⃣ Emissions: These are indirect emissions associated with the generation of electricity, heat, or steam that an organization purchases or consumes. This often includes emissions from power plants supplying electricity to the organization.
- Scope 3️⃣ Emissions: Scope 3 emissions are the most extensive category because it covers all other ‘indirect’ emissions associated with the company's activities but emitted by third party companies in the value chain. Examples of Scope 3 emissions can include emissions from: business travel, employee commuting, or even fuel- and energy-related Activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2.
Scope 3 emissions are typically more challenging for organizations to measure and manage compared to Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions because they often require data from various external stakeholders. However, addressing Scope 3 emissions is essential for a comprehensive understanding of an organization's environmental impact and for making informed decisions to reduce its overall carbon footprint, as it often makes up the largest part of the overall emissions.
For large natural gas consumers this means that they need to grasp all indirect greenhouse gas emissions and environmental consequences associated with the entire life cycle of their gas supply such as:
- Upstream Emissions including extraction and production to refine and process the natural gas
- Emissions associated with the transportation of gas from production sites to distribution centers and then to end-users, including leakage during transportation, compression, and pumping – processes needed to maintain gas pressure in pipelines – impacts.
As these emissions are out of the control of consumers, getting access to reliable emissions data can be tricky and often relies significantly on effective partnerships with suppliers.
TEO - The Energy Origin unlocks the access to gas production ESG data and brings more transparency to the entire gas value chain. By digitalizing volumes and ESG attributes of gas, producers can easily share their unique supply attributes data with end-consumers, allowing them to simply assess and report the impacts of their supply.