Scope 2 emissions
Indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heat or cooling consumed by a reporting organisation.
Scope 2 captures the emissions that occur at the power plant or heat station supplying an organisation, attributed to the consumer. Since the 2015 GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance, companies report two figures:
- Location-based: consumption multiplied by the average grid carbon intensity of the region where the electricity is used.
- Market-based: consumption multiplied by the emission factor of contractual instruments, such as guarantees of origin, RECs or a PPA, with a residual-mix factor for uncovered load.
A company using 10 GWh a year on a grid at 400 g/kWh has a location-based Scope 2 of 4,000 t CO2e; buying unbundled certificates can push its market-based figure near zero even though physical flows are unchanged. This gap has prompted a move towards hourly matching (24/7 carbon-free energy), under discussion in the GHG Protocol revision in the mid-2020s. Residual-mix factors in Europe are often 20–50% higher than the average grid factor because certified renewable output has been removed.
Related terms
All terms →- Scope 1 emissions
Direct greenhouse gas emissions from sources owned or controlled by a reporting organisation, such as boilers, furnaces, vehicles and process emissions.
- Scope 3 emissions
All other indirect emissions in an organisation’s value chain, upstream and downstream, not covered by Scope 1 or Scope 2.
- Carbon intensity of electricity
The mass of CO2 (or CO2e) emitted per unit of electricity generated or consumed, usually expressed in grams per kilowatt-hour (gCO2/kWh).
- Guarantee of origin / REC
A tradable certificate proving that 1 MWh of electricity was generated from a specific source, used to substantiate renewable or low-carbon claims.
- PPA (Power Purchase Agreement)
A long-term contract under which a buyer agrees to purchase electricity from a specific generator at a set price or price formula.