Definition
This category includes all upstream cradle-to-gate emissions from the production of capital goods in the electronics sector that the reporting company purchased or acquired in the reporting year. Emissions from the use of capital goods by the reporting company are recorded either in Scope 1 (e.g. for fuel consumption) or in Scope 2 (e.g. for electricity consumption), and not in Scope 3.
In certain cases, it may be unclear whether the purchased product is a capital good (to be reported in scope 2) or a purchased good (to be reported in scope 1). Companies should use their own financial accounting procedures to decide which category to assign the product to. However, it is important that the emissions are not counted in both categories.
Accounting for electronics
The following methods can be used to calculate emissions from the purchase of electronics:
- The supplier-specific method: Consumption data is obtained directly from the supplier and multiplication with supplier-specific emission factors.
- The average data method: Emissions from goods are estimated by collecting data on the mass or other relevant units of the goods purchased and multiplying them by secondary emission factors.
- The spend-based average method: Estimates emissions based on the spend on the purchased product and multiplies the value by a secondary emission factor.
- The hybrid method: Combination of supplier-specific activity data and the use of secondary data if supplier-specific information is not available.
Accounting for electronics in the Climate Hub
Some predefined activities with emission factors are stored in the Climate Hub. You can enter the quantity here. The Climate Hub then calculates the emissions for you. If you would like to enter further activities or use your own emission factors, you can do so by clicking on the Add your own activity button at the bottom left. You can find a detailed description here.
Further information can be found in the Technical Guidance for Calculating Scope 3 Emissions of the GHG Protocol in Chapter 2: Capital Goods from page 36.