To help combat the growing climate crisis, many corporations and individuals are taking action to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This process starts with measuring current emissions and developing a comprehensive baseline, then finding places for improvement and making positive changes. In order to accurately measure GHG emissions and create a practical action plan, it is helpful to separate emissions into Scope 1, 2, and 3, categorized based on whether they result directly or indirectly from the company’s operations and activities.
This “Scope” system was developed as a part of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol’s Corporate Standards, first published in 2001 and revised with updates in best practices. Through delineating emissions based on where they occur, this system makes it easy for corporations to develop a plan of action.
Scope 1 emissions are also referred to as direct emissions. These emissions occur through direct burning of oil or gas for heating buildings or operating other owned assets, like gas-powered vehicles. Scope 1 emissions also include physical or chemical processing emissions, like the process emissions of the cement manufacturing process.
Reducing Scope 1 emissions is often a matter of adapting to less emissive habits— for example, modifying the routes of company-owned vehicles or implementing carpooling to reduce total mileage. Because these emissions are easy to identify and measure, managing Scope 1 is an excellent way to begin a journey to sustainability.
Scope 2 emissions, also called indirect emissions, are those associated with the generation of purchased energy, like steam or electricity. Though still the responsibility of the company, Scope 2 emissions physically occur at an electricity generation facility owned or operated by a public utility.
Scope 2 emissions, though “indirect,” can be reduced through direct action: for example, using less electricity will lead to a clear reduction in Scope 2 emissions. Energy-efficiency modifications, like implementation of new technologies in office buildings or installation of dimmer switches or light timers, can also help in reducing Scope 2 emissions— not to mention encouraging employees to develop eco-conscious habits, like turning off lights when a room isn’t in use.
Scope 3 emissions are both the most significant and the most complicated of the three categories. Scope 3 emissions can account for over 70% of a corporation’s organizational environmental footprint (OEF), and are associated with upstream and downstream activities within an individual or corporation’s value chain.
MIT’s Climate Sustainability Hub released a guide to measuring cement and concrete’s Scope 3 Emissions, focusing on the ways a building’s life cycle can match up with these essential materials. The report argues that “the majority of building life cycle emissions derive from the construction, use, and end-of-life stages that occur well after the material production stage.”
Corporations can make use of the GHG Protocol’s Value Chain Standard to guide them in identifying and measuring Scope 3 emissions. For concrete producers, Scope 3 emissions are extremely significant, and are largely comprised of cement-related emissions.
At CarbiCrete, our approach to achieving emissions reductions spans all three scopes. Internally, CarbiCrete quantifies Scope 1 and 2 emissions and implements strategies to reduce direct and indirect emissions through developing environmentally-friendly corporate habits. CarbiCrete technology itself presents an excellent opportunity to reduce industrial Scope 3 emissions, a much-needed solution for the concrete industry.
The CarbiCrete process addresses a major source of upstream Scope 3 emissions for concrete manufacturers through enabling concrete production without using cement. Steel slag, CarbiCrete’s not-so-secret ingredient, is a byproduct of steel production. Through providing a way to valorize this waste, CarbiCrete can help to reduce downstream Scope 3 transport, processing, and end-of-life emissions for steel producers. Through the continued development and adoption of CarbiCrete technology, emissions can be reduced across the entire corporate spectrum throughout the construction industry.
