Scope 3 — Value Chain

Scope 3 is 70% of your emissions. It's also the hardest to calculate. We automated it.

Value chain emissions span purchased goods and services, upstream and downstream freight, employee travel, waste, and the emissions embedded in your suppliers' own operations. Across manufacturing, Scope 3 typically accounts for 68–74% of a company's total GHG footprint — and it's the hardest category to calculate without structured data collection. Circulyft covers all 15 GHG Protocol Scope 3 categories, with six categories on live integrations and the remainder handled through supplier questionnaire import or spend-based estimation with documented assumptions.

GHG Protocol categories 15 of 15
Live integrations 6 categories
Supplier questionnaire Automated
Avg. share of total GHG 68–74%
All 15 Categories

GHG Protocol Scope 3 — upstream and downstream

Coverage status shows how Circulyft collects data for each category. Live integration = data pulled automatically via API or structured feed. Questionnaire / import = primary supplier data or structured CSV ingestion. Estimation = spend-based or activity-based proxy with documented emission factor and assumption set — all estimation assumptions are recorded in the audit trail for auditor review.

Cat. 1 — Upstream
Purchased goods and services
Questionnaire + spend-based
Cat. 2 — Upstream
Capital goods
Spend-based estimation
Cat. 3 — Upstream
Fuel and energy-related activities
Live integration
Cat. 4 — Upstream
Upstream transportation and distribution
Freight API
Cat. 5 — Upstream
Waste generated in operations
Waste manifest import
Cat. 6 — Upstream
Business travel
Expense system import
Cat. 7 — Upstream
Employee commuting
Survey-based estimation
Cat. 8 — Upstream
Upstream leased assets
Asset-based estimation
Cat. 9 — Downstream
Downstream transportation and distribution
Freight API
Cat. 10 — Downstream
Processing of sold products
Spend-based estimation
Cat. 11 — Downstream
Use of sold products
Product data import
Cat. 12 — Downstream
End-of-life treatment of sold products
Material composition estimation
Cat. 13 — Downstream
Downstream leased assets
Asset-based estimation
Cat. 14 — Downstream
Franchises
Questionnaire import
Cat. 15 — Downstream
Investments
PCAF-based estimation
Supplier Data Collection

Category 1 supplier data — collected, chased, and ingested without manual work

GHG Protocol Category 1 (purchased goods and services) requires primary supplier data wherever available — spend-based estimation is only a fallback. Circulyft's supplier module sends structured questionnaires to your supplier list, sends automated reminders at 7 and 14 days, and ingests completed responses directly into your Category 1 calculation. No spreadsheet collation, no re-entry.

Automated dispatch
Questionnaires sent to your supplier list via email. Branded with your company name to maximise response rates.
Response tracking
Dashboard shows completion status per supplier. Automated reminders sent at 7 and 14 days for non-responders.
Automatic ingestion
Completed questionnaire data flows directly into Category 1 calculations. No re-entry. Emission factors applied per submitted activity data.
Supplier Emissions Data — FY 2025 In Progress
Precision Parts Co.
1,248.4
622.7
Pending
Third-party verified (DNV)

Stop estimating your Scope 3. Get the primary data your ESRS E1 disclosure requires.

In a 30-minute demo, we walk through your supply chain and show you which Scope 3 categories you can cover with live integrations today — and which supplier questionnaires to send first.

Request a demo