Solutions / Supply Chain
Scope 3 accounting that shows its working.
All 15 GHG Protocol Scope 3 categories with explicit calculation methods — spend-based, activity-based, or supplier-specific. Every estimate labelled by method and data quality so your auditor knows exactly what they are reviewing.
Scope 3 challenge
Why Scope 3 is hard — and what rigorous practice looks like.
For most companies, Scope 3 represents the largest share of total GHG emissions. The GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain Standard provides the framework; getting the data to populate it is where most inventories fail. Carbonkindle does not hide this complexity — it surfaces it with documented methods and data quality scores.
Data is scattered
Scope 3 data lives in procurement systems, expense reports, logistics platforms, and supplier spreadsheets. Carbonkindle connects them through structured templates and import tools.
Methods documented per category
Category 1 (purchased goods) uses Ecoinvent spend-based factors. Category 4 and 9 (freight) use DEFRA tonne-km activity data. Category 6 (business travel) uses DEFRA distance factors. Every category's method is documented inline — no undifferentiated Scope 3 totals.
Spend-based as a documented interim, not a permanent answer
When supplier-specific primary data is not available, spend-based Ecoinvent averages fill the gap — labelled as estimated, not measured. When better data arrives, the estimate is replaced and the change is logged with a restatement note in the audit trail.
Data collection
Supplier data collection: structured templates, not blank requests.
Supplier response rates for unstructured emission data requests are low. Carbonkindle provides category-specific templates pre-formatted to the data fields the calculation engine needs — reducing the cognitive burden on suppliers and improving the quality of what comes back.
- Standardised supplier data request templates per category
- Spend-based estimates as interim fallback with clear labelling
- Data quality tracking: supplier-specific vs estimated per category
- Year-over-year tracking of coverage improvement
Start your Scope 3 inventory with what you have today.
Spend-based estimates from procurement data give you a defensible Category 1 baseline while you run your supplier data collection programme. The inventory improves as the data improves — without starting over.