What Are Scope 1, 2 and 3 Carbon Emissions: A Practical Guide for UK Businesses & Events

Tatiana
Dec 1, 2025
6 min read

Updated: Dec 5, 2025

As climate accountability becomes central to business strategy, measuring emissions is now a core part of responsible operations.

Understanding Scope 1, 2, and 3 carbon emissions is key to giving organisations like yours the insight they need to report accurately, reduce their impact, and move towards net zero with confidence.

At Scope, we’re here to make your first step simple, easy, and actionable, starting with a clear, trusted framework to make sense of it all. That’s where the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol comes in.

An infographic explaining why you need to understand scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions.

What is the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol?

The GHG Protocol is the global standard for corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting.

The key things you need to know about it are:

It was created by the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
It provides clear frameworks, tools, and guidance to measure and manage emissions consistently and credibly.
It supports businesses as they tackle carbon accounting.
It introduced the terms ‘Scope 1’, ‘Scope 2’ and ‘Scope 3’ to help organisations classify and report their emissions.

What Are Scope 1, 2, and 3 Carbon Emissions?

To help organisations distinguish between direct and indirect emissions, the GHG Protocol defines three categories:

Scope 1: Direct Emissions

These are emissions from sources that your company owns or controls. This could include:

combustion in boilers and furnaces
company vehicles

Scope 2: Indirect Emissions

On the other hand, Scope 2 emissions include emissions from purchased energy, like:

electricity
steam
heating or cooling generated off-site and consumed by the company

Scope 3: Other Indirect Emissions Across Your Value Chain

Finally, Scope 3 emissions consider all indirect emissions in the value chain of a reporting company, often making it the most complex category. For event organisers, this is especially significant.

This might include:

business travel (flights, trains, car hire, taxis)
employee commuting and remote working energy use
waste generated in operations or catering (including recycling and landfill)
venue energy usage
purchased goods and services (materials, equipment, software, etc.)
(with virtual or hybrid events) internet usage and data consumption

The GHG Protocol divides Scope 3 emissions into Upstream and Downstream categories, depending on where they occur in the value chain.

In simple terms, upstream covers everything a company buys to operate, while downstream includes everything that happens after its products or services are sold.

An infographic explaining what are Scope 1, 2 and 3 Carbon Emissions with an icon of a car, electricity and rubbish.

How Can You Reduce Scope 1, 2, and 3 Emissions?

You can reduce scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions through carbon accounting, giving businesses and organisations the knowledge to track their emission hotspots.

For Scope 1, this may mean switching to cleaner fuels, electrifying vehicles and optimising onsite equipment.
For Scope 2, this could consist of buying renewable electricity and improving energy efficiency across your sites.
For Scope 3, this could lead to working with suppliers, cutting travel, redesigning logistics and choosing lower-impact materials.

While reduction is always a positive step to change, working out where your business specifically needs to make cuts is near impossible without carbon accounting.

Scope Carbon Tracking offers collaboration with suppliers, detailed reports and highlights emission hotspots for businesses and event managers to see their own environmental impact with ease.

Are Emissions Measurements Required by Law?

In the UK, certain businesses are legally required to report their greenhouse gas emissions under the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) framework, which came into force in April 2019.

SECR applies to:

Quoted companies of any size
Large unquoted companies and LLPs (those meeting two or more of: ≥250 employees, ≥£36 million annual turnover, or ≥£18 million balance sheet total.

Source: Carbon Trust

These organisations must disclose their annual Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in their directors’ report (for companies) or energy and carbon report (for LLPs). They must also report on energy use and describe energy efficiency measures they’ve taken.

Scope 3 emissions are not mandatory under SECR, but companies are encouraged to report them if the data is available and meaningful.

An infographic explaining that many companies are legally required to disclose scope 1 and 2 emissions.

What about events?

There is no standalone legal requirement for event organisers, whether running a conference, festival, or private function, to report emissions.

However, if the event is delivered by a company that falls under SECR, relevant emissions (such as fleet transport or venue energy) may need to be included in that company’s reporting.

Additionally, public sector contracts, grant applications, and corporate client expectations increasingly demand carbon data, even when the law doesn’t.

So while legal obligations are limited to larger businesses, measuring emissions is quickly becoming a commercial norm.

This is especially important in the events sector, where sustainability in events is now a key factor in winning bids, attracting sponsors, and meeting attendee expectations.

At Scope, our carbon accounting software helps both regulated businesses and independent event professionals get ahead of the curve, turning compliance into opportunity and data into action for a future of carbon-neutral events.

Why Measure Scope 3 Emissions: Especially for Events

While Scope 1 and 2 cover what happens under your roof or on your meter, GHG Protocol claim that Scope 3 often account for 90% of an organisation’s total emissions, and in the events sector, that figure can be even higher.

Think about it:

A delegate flying to your conference? That’s Scope 3.
Catering sourced from a local supplier? Scope 3.
A festival-goer’s train journey or hotel stay? Also Scope 3.

These emissions sit outside your direct control, but not outside your influence. By measuring them, you uncover your biggest opportunities for impact:

Choosing low-carbon transport options
Working with sustainable suppliers
Reducing waste
Rethinking event formats

Sustainability in events doesn't have to be difficult, and at Scope, we don’t treat Scope 3 as an afterthought.

We’ve built our platform to make it just as visible, manageable, and actionable as Scope 1 and 2, so you can move beyond compliance and lead with purpose towards carbon-neutral events.

Accessible Carbon Accounting Software for Businesses and Events

In the UK, large companies are legally required to report Scope 1 and 2 emissions. But making an impact means looking further, especially at Scope 3, where the biggest reduction opportunities often lie.

At Scope, we focus on helping organisations understand their full carbon impact: from day-to-day operations to supply chains, events, and beyond.

Our carbon accounting software enables businesses, SMEs, and event teams to build accurate greenhouse gas inventories across all three scopes, without needing prior expertise.

You’ll see where your emissions come from, track progress over time, and identify practical ways to cut them.

As one of the most accessible carbon tracking platforms available, our primary goal is to make carbon reduction easy and available to all.

Every organisation has a role to play in the transition to a net-zero economy, and we're here to make that journey measurable, manageable, and meaningful.

Whether you’re a small team with limited resources, preparing for regulatory compliance, or planning your first sustainable event, Scope offers a straightforward, efficient way to start.

FAQ

Q: What’s the difference between Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions?

Scope 1 covers direct emissions from your own operations, Scope 2 covers emissions from purchased energy, and Scope 3 includes all other indirect emissions from your value chain, from suppliers to waste.

Q: Do you record and/or report scope 1, 2, 3 emissions?

You legally must record and report Scope 1 and 2 emissions. While it's not mandatory to track Scope 3 emissions, they can represent 90% of an organisation’s total emissions and are one of the biggest factors in reducing impact.

Q: How to calculate scope 1, 2, 3 emissions?

The easiest way to calculate scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions is with a carbon accounting software like Scope Carbon Tracking. This will allow you to track, analyse, and reduce carbon emissions with ease.

Q: Is Scope 3 reporting mandatory in the UK?

Scope 3 reporting is not mandatory in the UK, despite being the biggest contributor to emissions. UK rules only require large companies to report Scope 1 and 2 emissions under the SECR framework, with reporting Scope 3 emissions being voluntary.

Start Your Net Zero Journey Today

We’d love to hear about your sustainability goals.

Are you already tracking Scope 1 and 2? Keen to explore Scope 3?

We’re not here to preach or dictate. We’re here to partner with event planners, SMEs, universities, businesses and professional services to build a future where climate action is easily accessible to all.

Together, we can make the difference that matters.

Get in touch to learn more or request a demo, because Scope is for everyone.