If you've started looking into carbon accounting for your e-commerce business, you've probably encountered the term "Scope 3 emissions." It sounds technical, but understanding it is crucial for any online retailer serious about sustainability.
The Three Scopes Explained
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol divides emissions into three categories:
- Scope 1: Direct emissions from sources you own or control (company vehicles, on-site fuel combustion)
- Scope 2: Indirect emissions from purchased electricity, heating, and cooling
- Scope 3: All other indirect emissions in your value chain—both upstream and downstream
Why Scope 3 Matters Most for E-commerce
For most e-commerce businesses, Scope 3 emissions dwarf Scopes 1 and 2 combined. If you're a typical online retailer without manufacturing facilities, your direct emissions might be minimal—maybe some office energy use and a company car or two.
But your Scope 3 emissions? They include:
- Shipping products to customers (downstream transportation)
- Manufacturing of products you sell (purchased goods)
- Packaging materials
- Returns and reverse logistics
- Customer travel to pick-up points
- End-of-life treatment of products
Downstream Transportation: The Low-Hanging Fruit
Of all Scope 3 categories, downstream transportation—shipping orders to customers—is often the easiest to measure and address. Here's why:
- Data availability: You already have origin, destination, and weight data for every order
- Established methodology: Emission factors for different transport modes are well-documented
- Direct control: You choose carriers and can influence shipping options
- Customer visibility: Shipping is tangible to customers in a way manufacturing isn't
How Shipping Emissions Are Calculated
The basic formula for shipping emissions is straightforward:
The complexity comes from determining the right emission factor. Different transport modes have vastly different carbon intensities:
- Ocean freight: ~0.00002 kgCO₂/km/kg (most efficient)
- Ground transport: ~0.00012 kgCO₂/km/kg
- Air freight: ~0.0006 kgCO₂/km/kg (30x ground)
Taking Action on Scope 3
Once you're measuring shipping emissions, you can start reducing them:
- Optimize warehouse locations to reduce average shipping distance
- Offer ground shipping incentives to reduce air freight
- Consolidate shipments where possible
- Partner with carriers investing in fleet electrification
- Offset remaining emissions through verified carbon projects
The key is to start measuring. You can't improve what you don't track, and Scope 3 downstream transportation is the perfect place to begin your e-commerce sustainability journey.