The GHG Protocol have defined three scopes of emissions which are essentially who ‘owns’ those emissions and how much control a company has to change or influence them:

• Scope 1 covers direct emissions from owned or controlled sources, like the gas used to heat a building or the fuel used in the company’s fleet of vehicles.
• Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating and cooling consumed by the company.
• Scope 3 includes all other indirect emissions that occur in a company’s value chain, like the emissions from commuting to work, or purchased goods and services.