Scope 2 Emissions

ESG

Indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, heat, or steam.

Sources

1. GHG Protocol — A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (revised edition), WRI & WBCSD ghgprotocol.org accessed 23 September 2026

The standard states: “Scope 2 accounts for GHG emissions from the generation of purchased electricity consumed by the company. Purchased electricity is defined as electricity that is purchased or otherwise brought into the organizational boundary of the company.” The emissions physically happen at the power station, and are reported by the buyer — the one category where a company reports someone else’s stack.

Quoted from the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, published by the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Later GHG Protocol guidance refines scope 2 (location- and market-based methods) and scope 3 (fifteen categories); those documents are not quoted here.

Related terms

• Carbon Footprint
• Circular Economy
• CSDDD
• Environmental Social Governance
• Fair Trade Certification
• GOTS Certification

From the AJG lexicon archive (July 2026).