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Definition

Avoided emissions

Avoided emissions are estimated greenhouse gas emissions prevented when a solution replaces a credible higher-emitting reference scenario, and they are reported separately from a company’s Scope 1, 2 and 3 inventory.

What are avoided emissions?

Avoided emissions compare the greenhouse gas impact of a lower-emitting product, service or action with a credible reference scenario, meaning what would probably happen without it. They estimate a wider climate benefit, not a negative line in your company’s emissions inventory.

Why do avoided emissions matter to you?

A customer or investor may ask how much a product helps another user reduce emissions. GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard section 9.5 and Box 9.4 require project-based calculation and separate reporting from Scope 1, 2 and 3. Deducting the estimate would understate your gross inventory.

How are avoided emissions calculated?

Use: reference-scenario emissions minus solution-scenario emissions = avoided emissions. Apply the same function, quantity, boundary and time period to both cases. Record why the reference scenario is credible, every data source and assumption, the share of your product range assessed, and who may claim the result. Before publishing the claim, apply the WBCSD guidance's eligibility gates, which test whether the solution and comparison qualify for an avoided-emissions claim, and record the result of each test.

What mistakes should you avoid?

  • Netting avoided emissions against Scope 1, 2 or 3 totals.
  • Choosing an obsolete or unlikely higher-emitting comparison.
  • Comparing products with different functions, lifetimes or boundaries.
  • Claiming the full result when value-chain partners may claim it too, or reporting only favourable products.

Are avoided emissions the same as an inventory reduction?

No. An inventory reduction is a measured fall inside your reporting boundary against a base year. Avoided emissions compare a solution with a hypothetical alternative outside that inventory trend. Report both figures separately.

What should you send when someone asks for avoided emissions?

Send the calculation, reference and solution descriptions, and the functional unit, meaning the service and quantity both options deliver. Also send the boundary, time period, data sources, assumptions, share of the product range assessed, and a statement saying who may claim the result. Label the result as an avoided-emissions estimate and keep your gross Scope 1, 2 and 3 totals unchanged.

Example

Hypothetical Japanese plastics-moulding example: Suppose a plastics moulder in Japan assesses 100,000 reusable transit trays sold in 2026. Its documented product study identifies the current tray design, which the customer would otherwise buy, as the reference scenario. Both designs carry the same payload for a five-year service life and use the same cradle-to-grave boundary. The study estimates 2.4 kg CO2e per tray for the reference design and 1.7 kg CO2e per tray for the redesigned tray.

(2.4 - 1.7) kg CO2e per tray x 100,000 trays = 70,000 kg CO2e, or 70 metric tonnes of estimated avoided emissions. The moulder reports 70 tonnes separately and does not subtract it from its Scope 1, 2 or 3 inventory. All figures in this example are hypothetical.

Where it comes up

GHG Protocol project-based calculation and separate reporting of avoided emissionsCorporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard, section 9.5 and Box 9.4Official sourceWBCSD avoided-emissions reference-scenario methodology and eligibility gatesGuidance on Avoided Emissions v2.0, expanded methodology and eligibility gates, published 24 July 2025Official source

Related terms

Decarbonization

Decarbonization is the planned reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from a company’s operations and value chain through measurable changes in how it uses energy, fuel, materials and suppliers.

Scope 3 Emissions

Scope 3 emissions are the indirect greenhouse gas emissions from goods, services, transport, product use, investments, and other upstream and downstream activities outside your company's Scope 1 and Scope 2 boundary.

Carbon Accounting

Carbon accounting is the process of defining a company’s greenhouse gas inventory, collecting activity data, applying emission factors, and reporting Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions on a consistent basis.

Product carbon footprint (PCF)

A product carbon footprint (PCF) is the greenhouse gas emissions assigned to one product across a stated life-cycle boundary and expressed per declared or functional unit.

Sources

  • GHG Protocol

    Section 9.5 and Box 9.4 project accounting, separate reporting, baseline, boundary, time-period, completeness and ownership requirements

    2026-08-20

  • World Business Council for Sustainable Development

    Avoided-emissions definition, reference-scenario method, eligibility gates, disclosure template and third-party review

    2026-08-20

Last verified 2026-08-20

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Avoided emissions Definition | Keslio