As calls to reduce carbon emissions grow ever louder, its important that businesses and organisations alike understand what scope emissions are.

As calls to reduce carbon emissions grow ever louder, its important that businesses and organisations alike understand what scope emissions are and the part that they play in their day-to-day operations. You may already be familiar with scope emissions or just starting to think about ways your organisations can reduce its carbon footprint. Nevertheless, our guide will help you refresh your understanding of scope emissions and how they fit into your day-to-day operations. Read on to find out more.

What are Scope Emissions?

Scope Emissions are categories used to explain various greenhouse gas emissions that stem from businesses and organisations. They form the basis for mandatory GHG reporting in the UK [Deloitte]. There are 3 scope emissions to be aware of:

Scope 1 emissions are produced from sources that are owned or controlled directly by an organisation. For example, emissions from fuel burned in owned or controlled assets such as company vehicles.

Scope 2 emissions are made indirectly and come from where the energy it purchases and uses is produced. For example, emissions formed because of producing electricity for office buildings.

Scope 3 emissions are not produced by the company or organisation itself and are also not the result of activities from assets owned or controlled by them. For example, from buying products from its suppliers, and from its products when customers use them.

We now know what scope emissions are and able to distinguish between the 3 different types. Below are two things that you should take into consideration when choosing a sustainable courier service:

Checking sustainability credentials – Sustainability credentials enable you to identify which businesses adopt, practice, and communicate their sustainable principles as well as back up these principles with real actions and results. As the UK’s same day courier experts, we understand the concerns that surround reducing the impact of your business operations on the environment. That’s why we’re proud to be a certified carbon neutral company.

Environmentally friendly operations – A sustainable courier ensures that their operations are as environmentally friendly as they can be. For some suppliers this involves adopting electric vehicles within their fleet, whilst for others this may involve carbon offsetting. According to the RAC there are now over 239,000 zero-emission battery electric vehicles on UK roads [RAC].

While electric vehicles have risen in popularity over the last few years, the traditional push bike is still a popular choice of courier transportation. At CitySprint, not only do we have London’s largest courier push bike fleet and a growing fleet of cargo bikes, in 2023 alone, we travelled around 740,000 green miles across 172 green vehicles.

While only the largest organisations are required to disclose their Scope 1 & 2 emissions within their annual reports, Scope 3 emissions are still worth paying attention to particularly where your courier suppliers are concerned. The world we operate in is our world too and we share it with the communities and businesses we work alongside.

That’s why at CitySprint we have been reducing our environmental footprint for years and are proud to be recognised as a carbon neutral company. 

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