Scope 3 Emissions in Shipping: Reporting & Reduction

Scope 3 emissions in shipping: How to measure, report, and reduce them

Scope 3 emissions are the indirect emissions that happen across a company’s value chain, and every parcel or pallet you send with a carrier adds to them. If you’re an Irish business that ships goods, you may already be getting emissions questions from customers, or want to set reduction targets of your own.

This guide covers the Scope 3 categories, what reporting involves, how to measure shipping emissions, and how lower-emission fuels can help you reduce them.

What are Scope 3 emissions?

Scope 3 emissions are the indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that occur across a company’s value chain, both upstream and downstream. They are defined under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol), the most widely recognised accounting standard for emissions.

For most businesses, Scope 3 is the largest part of their footprint. The Carbon Trust notes that, for most organisations, the majority of emissions sit outside their own operations. For businesses that ship goods, Scope 3 can account for as much as 80 to 90% of the total footprint.1 CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) also found that companies’ reported supply chain emissions were, on average, 26 times greater than their operational emissions.

Everyday examples of Scope 3 emissions include:

• Raw materials and products you buy from suppliers

• Business flights and hotel stays

• Staff commuting to work

• Goods transported for you by a carrier

Where shipping fits in the 15 Scope 3 categories

The GHG Protocol divides these indirect emissions into 15 Scope 3 categories, eight upstream and seven downstream.

Shipping usually falls under Category 4 or Category 9, depending on who arranges and pays for the transport. If you buy the transport service, whether for inbound supplies or outbound orders to customers, it sits in Category 4. If your customer arranges and pays for delivery of the goods they bought from you, it sits in Category 9.

Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions explained

The GHG Protocol groups emissions into three scopes, based on how directly your business controls them. Here’s how each one looks for a business that ships goods.

One company’s Scope 1 is often another company’s Scope 3. The fuel a carrier burns in its aircraft and vehicles is part of the carrier’s Scope 1, while the share used to move your shipments counts towards your Scope 3.

Why Scope 3 emissions matter across the supply chain

Large companies are looking closely at their Scope 3 supply chain emissions, because that is where most of their footprint sits. To meet their targets, they need data and action from the businesses they buy from, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

That is how Scope 3 emissions expectations travel down the supply chain. A multinational sets a reduction target, then sends questionnaires to its suppliers asking for emissions data, reduction plans, or both. If you supply larger businesses, these requests may already be landing in your inbox.

There are good reasons to get ahead of them:

• Customer and tender requirements: Buyers increasingly ask for emissions data in supplier reviews and tenders, and some are already delisting suppliers who can’t provide verifiable figures.

• Investor expectations: Emissions questions now come from lenders and investors, not just customers.

• Cost and efficiency savings: The Carbon Trust points out that most cost reduction opportunities, as well as emissions, sit outside a company’s own operations. Fewer, fuller, and lighter shipments often cost less too.

• Reputational risk: Customers notice when a supplier can’t answer basic questions about its footprint.

   

Once you know why the data matters, the next question is how to report it.

Scope 3 emission reporting: What Irish businesses need to know

Scope 3 emission reporting is mandatory for some large companies, while most smaller businesses report voluntarily or because their customers ask. Here’s how the current rules and frameworks fit together.

Is Scope 3 reporting mandatory?

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), a European Union (EU) law, requires companies in scope to report on sustainability, including climate. Its climate standard, part of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), includes Scope 3 emissions.

The EU’s Omnibus simplification package has narrowed who the CSRD applies to. It now covers companies with more than 1,000 employees and net turnover above €450 million.2 Timelines and the detailed standards are still being updated, so check the latest guidance before you plan your reporting.

Smaller businesses are also protected from excessive data requests. If you have up to 1,000 employees and a customer in scope asks for data, you can decline to provide more than the EU’s voluntary sustainability reporting standard for smaller businesses covers. That said, sharing clear, reliable data is often what keeps you on a customer’s preferred supplier list.

Voluntary frameworks

Many businesses use one or more of these frameworks, even when reporting isn’t required:

• GHG Protocol: Sets out how to calculate Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.

• Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi): Helps companies set emissions reduction targets in line with climate science, and expects Scope 3 targets when Scope 3 makes up 40% or more of total emissions.

• CDP: Runs an independent environmental disclosure system that many large buyers use to collect supplier data.

What a good Scope 3 report includes for transport

For shipping emissions, a clear report should state:

• The method used: Spend-based, distance-based, or fuel-based, and which category (4 or 9) each shipment falls under.

• Data sources: Whether figures come from your carrier, your own shipping records, or estimates.

• Emissions factors: Which factors you applied and where they came from.

• The reporting period: The dates the figures cover, so results can be compared year on year.

How to measure Scope 3 emissions from shipping

There are three common ways to calculate Scope 3 emissions from shipping, and they vary widely in accuracy. The right one depends on the data you can get.

The GHG Protocol recommends the fuel-based and distance-based methods for transport, with spend-based best kept for screening. In practice, the simplest way to improve accuracy is to use emissions data from your carrier where it’s available. It’s based on your actual shipments, so it’s more precise than a spend-based estimate.

Two standards shape how logistics emissions are calculated:

• ISO 14083: An international standard from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for quantifying and reporting GHG emissions from transport chains.

• GLEC Framework: The Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) Framework, a guide for shippers, carriers, and logistics providers on reporting emissions from logistics operations.

When choosing a carrier, ask whether its emissions reporting follows these standards, so you can drop its data straight into your own Scope 3 calculations.

Why Scope 3 shipping emissions are hard to measure

Measuring shipping emissions can be tricky, even for businesses with good records. Common challenges include:

• Patchy carrier data: Not every carrier provides emissions data, and some only offer estimates.

• Multiple modes per shipment: A single order may travel by road, air, and sea, with each leg calculated differently.

• Inconsistent emissions factors: Different tools and databases use different factors, so results don’t always line up.

Using one main carrier with standards-based reporting removes much of this guesswork. Once you have a reliable baseline, you can start bringing the numbers down.

How to reduce Scope 3 shipping emissions

Cutting the emissions from your international shipping doesn't have to mean shipping less. A few practical changes can make a measurable difference.

Consolidate shipments and reduce part-empty loads

Combining several small orders into fewer, larger shipments means less transport for the same volume of goods. Where you can, plan regular dispatch days and agree order minimums with customers, so vehicles and containers travel fuller.

Choose the right transport mode for the urgency of each shipment

Air freight shipping is ideal for urgent, time-critical goods, but it typically produces more emissions per kilogram shipped than road or sea. Matching the mode to the deadline, and saving air for shipments that really need speed, helps cut emissions without letting customers down.

Optimise packaging size and weight

Smaller, lighter packaging means more parcels fit in each vehicle or aircraft, and less weight is moved per order. Right-sizing boxes and cutting excess packing filler can also lower your shipping costs. For more on materials, read the DHL Express guide to sustainable packaging in Ireland.

Switch to lower-emission fuels through your carrier

Most transport emissions come from burning fuel, so the fuel itself is a powerful lever. Some carriers now let you replace fossil fuel with lower-emission alternatives for your shipments, without changing how or when you ship.

Cutting shipping emissions with DHL Express GoGreen Plus

DHL Express GoGreen Plus is a service that helps businesses reduce the emissions of their shipments by replacing fossil fuel with lower-emission alternatives. It works alongside your usual DHL Express service, with shipments delivered to the same standards.

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for air freight

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is a biofuel made from renewable sources such as used cooking oil, vegetable oils, animal fats, and other waste products. It’s designed as a substitute for conventional jet fuel and can reduce lifecycle GHG emissions by up to 80% compared with conventional jet fuel.

Businesses in Ireland are already using it. Pharmaceutical company Alexion made Ireland’s first 100% switch to SAF for international air deliveries of its medicines through GoGreen Plus. Looking ahead, DHL Group is targeting more than 30% SAF blending across its Express and Global Forwarding businesses by 2030.

You can add SAF to your shipments in two ways:

• Per shipment via MyDHL+: Select GoGreen Plus when you book, for a standard carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) reduction of around 30%.

• On a contract basis: Decide how much you’d like to reduce your CO2e emissions, and DHL Express arranges the SAF to match.

HVO for road transport

Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) is a synthetic, renewable diesel substitute made from used vegetable oils and food production waste such as animal fats. It’s a ‘drop-in’ fuel, which means it can be blended with diesel and used in conventional engines without modification. Depending on how it’s made, HVO can reduce lifecycle carbon dioxide emissions by up to 90%.

GoGreen Plus with HVO is available for account customers shipping with DHL Express Economy Select by road across Europe. On the contract model, it can reduce the Scope 3 emissions of those shipments by around 70%.

Insetting vs offsetting

Offsetting compensates for emissions by funding projects outside your business, such as tree planting or habitat restoration. Carbon insetting reduces emissions within your own value chain instead. With GoGreen Plus, that means investing in lower-emission fuel that replaces fossil fuel in the network carrying your shipments.

To explore the difference in more depth, read the expert interview on offsetting vs insetting.

Counting GoGreen Plus reductions in your Scope 3 reporting

GoGreen Plus uses a book and claim approach. The lower-emission fuel is ‘booked’ into the DHL Express network in one location, and the emissions benefit is ‘claimed’ for your shipments, even if your parcel doesn’t travel on that exact aircraft or truck.

You’ll receive a verified CO2e reduction certificate showing the emissions reduction value, which you can use to reduce your own Scope 3 footprint. An independent, third-party auditor verifies the fuel blending and allocation process each year, so your figures stand up to scrutiny from customers, tenders, and reporting frameworks. GoGreen Plus customers also receive an annual carbon emissions report, which makes data collection for your own Scope 3 reporting simpler.

For service details and booking, visit GoGreen Plus services and GoGreen Plus for business accounts.

Start reducing your shipping emissions

Shipping is one of the most measurable and reducible parts of your Scope 3 emissions. With reliable carrier data, a clear method, and lower-emission fuels, you can give customers the figures they ask for and show real progress against your targets.

Ready to take the next step? Add GoGreen Plus to your next shipment through MyDHL+, or apply for a DHL Express business account to set up GoGreen Plus on a contract basis.