𝐔𝐧𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐞 4

Credit to Mohamed M. El-Haddad. Follow him for more sustainability content.

Original post :
__________
Tagar#Sharing This infographic by 𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢 titled “𝐔𝐧𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐞 4: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐞 4 𝐄𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠” introduces the concept of “Scope 4” emissions, a term 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 recognized by 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐬 (𝐆𝐇𝐆) 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐬 but used to describe emissions impacts beyond traditional scope boundaries (Scope 1, 2 and 3).

𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯:

𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐞 1:
Direct emissions from owned or controlled sources.

𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐞 2:
Indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy.

𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐞 3:
All other indirect emissions that occur in a company’s value chain.

𝑺𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒆 4 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔:

𝐀𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬:
Reductions in emissions outside the company’s value chain due to its actions, like customers switching from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles due to the company’s products.

𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬:
Emissions due to an increase in sales/consumption resulting from advertising activities.

𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧:
Emissions associated with providing advice or legal services to high-emission sectors.

𝐄𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬:
Emissions arising from advice or services provided linked to public infrastructure, resource extraction or activities with significant carbon footprints.

𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝-𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬:
Emissions ‘locked in’ due to design decisions, e.g., material selection, manufacturing processes, construction techniques, etc.

The infographic emphasizes the importance of accounting for avoided emissions to make informed decisions about innovation and investments, addressing key questions such as which innovations are crucial for emission reduction and how to prioritize investments.

It also highlights the difference between traditional “𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠” which is static and does not include downstream or lifecycle emissions and “𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠” which considers the broader impact of decisions on emissions within a wider system boundary.

The infographic also touches on potential issues with Scope 4 accounting such as confusion in balancing scope 1/2/3 inventories, the risk of greenwashing, challenges of standardization and transparency and problems with double counting avoided emissions.
__________
♻️ Find this post useful? Feel free to share it with your network 📣

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sustainability-infographics_sharing-sustainability-climateaction-activity-7344994523053191168-PB1V/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAtGGkQBsxwMBmX3lEJO8btihnfBCaHqTz4