What is Scope 3 Category 1: Purchased goods and services?
Category 1 covers emissions from extracting raw materials through producing goods and services acquired in the reporting year. Purchases assigned to upstream Categories 2 through 8 are excluded. Equipment belongs in Category 2; third-party transport from your direct supplier belongs in Category 4.
Why does Scope 3 Category 1 matter to you?
CDP 2026 Question 7.8 asks for gross global Scope 3 emissions and explanations of exclusions. For Australian entities required to report under the phased rules, AASB S2 paragraph B32 requires consideration of all 15 categories and disclosure of those included.
How is Scope 3 Category 1 calculated?
Use supplier-specific cradle-to-gate data when it matches your purchase and period. A hybrid method fills gaps with estimates. Average-data multiplies kilograms, units, or service hours by a matching factor. If physical data is unavailable, multiply spend by an environmentally extended input-output (EEIO) factor, meaning an industry emissions factor per unit of currency, and record the currency and price year built into the factor.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Including an inbound freight invoice here when it belongs in Category 4.
- Adding a supplier-specific result and a spend estimate for the same invoice.
- Using a supplier's whole-company emissions without allocating them to the product or service you bought.
Is Category 1 the same as your suppliers' total emissions?
No. You need cradle-to-gate emissions allocated to your purchases, not each supplier's total. Ask for the product boundary, period, factor unit, allocation method, and the share calculated from data specific to that supplier's product or service.
What should you send when a customer asks for Category 1 data?
Send the period, purchase categories, method by line, result in metric tonnes CO2e, factor files, supplier documents, assumptions, and exclusions. Keep the ledger or bill of materials so each result traces to an invoice, kilogram, unit, or service hour.