In most organizations, Scope 3 is the largest part of the total footprint, but the data is outside your control. Rather than waiting for perfect data, moving forward step by step is the healthiest approach.

  1. Screen the categories. Identify which of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol's 15 Scope 3 categories apply to you.
  2. Estimate with spend data. Multiply purchasing records by spend-based factors to get a first order of magnitude.
  3. Focus on hotspots. Usually a few categories and suppliers make up most of the total.
  4. Ask suppliers for primary data. Open a structured data form for your largest suppliers; replace estimates with measured data over time.
  5. Improve every year. Score data quality per category and raise it one level each year.

In Monitor you can give suppliers limited data entry access, and the data they enter passes through automatic validation.