Scope 3 Emissions Estimator
for Logistics

Scope 3 emissions estimation for Logistics

Logistics companies occupy an unusual position in Scope 3 accounting. A haulier that operates its own fleet reports fuel combustion as Scope 1, making its direct emissions proportionally large compared to most service industries. But the Scope 3 profile remains significant and is often underestimated. Category 3 (fuel and energy related activities not included in Scope 1 or 2) captures the upstream well-to-tank emissions from diesel, petrol, LNG, or electricity used by the fleet. For diesel, well-to-tank emissions add approximately 20% to the tailpipe (Scope 1) emission factor. Category 1 (purchased goods and services) includes maintenance parts, tyres, packaging materials, and office procurement. Category 2 (capital goods) covers vehicle purchases, warehouse construction, and material handling equipment, all of which carry embodied carbon from manufacturing. For freight forwarders that do not own vehicles but subcontract to carriers, Category 4 (upstream transportation purchased as a service) becomes the dominant Scope 3 category and may represent the majority of the entity's total emissions.

The freight forwarding model creates a distinctive reporting challenge. A forwarder that arranges transport through subcontracted road hauliers, shipping lines, and airlines does not combust any fuel directly. All transport emissions sit in Scope 3 Category 4. The Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) Framework, now adopted as ISO 14083 (Quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions arising from transport chain operations), provides the standard methodology for calculating these emissions. ISO 14083 defines transport chain categories (road, rail, sea, air, inland waterway) and specifies emission factors for each mode based on vehicle type, load factor, and fuel type. For logistics companies reporting under CSRD, aligning Scope 3 Category 4 calculations with ISO 14083 provides a defensible methodology that assurance providers recognise. Category 8 (upstream leased assets) is relevant for logistics companies that lease warehouse space, cross-dock facilities, or vehicle fleets under operating lease arrangements. The energy consumption of leased warehouses is a Scope 3 emission unless the logistics company procures the energy directly.

Assurance providers examining logistics Scope 3 disclosures frequently find that freight forwarders report only their office-based Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions and either omit or drastically understate Category 4 subcontracted transport. A forwarder handling 500,000 shipments per year generates Category 4 emissions in the tens of thousands of tonnes CO2e, which dwarfs its office emissions of perhaps 500 to 1,000 tonnes. Another finding is inconsistent use of emission factors for the same transport mode. The emission factor for a fully loaded 40-tonne articulated truck (approximately 0.025 kg CO2e per tonne-km) differs substantially from a partly loaded van (approximately 0.2 kg CO2e per tonne-km), and applying an average road transport factor without differentiating by vehicle type and load factor introduces errors of 50% or more. Warehouse energy data is sometimes missing for leased facilities where the landlord pays the energy bills and does not provide consumption data to the tenant.

For logistics entities using this estimator, classify your operations first. If you operate your own fleet, your fuel combustion is Scope 1, and your key Scope 3 categories are Category 3 (well-to-tank), Category 1 (purchased goods), and Category 2 (capital goods). If you subcontract transport, Category 4 is your primary Scope 3 category. For Category 4, collect shipment data (origin, destination, weight, transport mode) and calculate using ISO 14083 / GLEC Framework emission factors. Request carrier-specific emission data through GLEC-accredited carriers or Smart Freight Centre's tools. For well-to-tank emissions (Category 3), apply the appropriate upstream emission factor for your fuel type (DEFRA publishes WTT factors alongside combustion factors). For capital goods, estimate using the vehicle manufacturer's lifecycle assessment data or generic manufacturing emission factors per tonne of vehicle weight. For leased warehouses, obtain energy consumption data from the landlord or estimate using CIBSE or similar benchmarks for warehouse energy intensity per square metre.