What is Scope 3 Category 15: Investments?
Category 15 covers investment emissions outside your Scope 1 and Scope 2 inventory. GHG Protocol's minimum boundary includes equity investments made with company capital, debt tied to a named project, and project finance. It is one of the 15 Scope 3 categories.
Why does Scope 3 Category 15 matter to you?
A reviewer or CDP questionnaire may ask for the year, investment type, company or project emissions, financing share, method and exclusions. The wrong boundary can omit or double-count emissions.
How is Scope 3 Category 15 calculated?
For equity, multiply reporting-year Scope 1 and Scope 2 by your equity share. For project finance or debt tied to a named project, multiply project emissions by your share of total costs. Include investee Scope 3 when significant.
What does a Category 15 calculation look like?
Suppose a South African steel fabricator uses its own capital to buy 12% of a recycler reporting 1,800 tCO2e across Scope 1 and Scope 2 in 2026.
Calculation: 1,800 tCO2e x 12% = 216 tCO2e. No emission factor is needed.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Counting company emissions here when your chosen boundary already puts them in Scope 1 or Scope 2.
- Treating client capital or debt without known use of proceeds as automatically required.
- Using 100% of investee emissions instead of the proportional share.
- Omitting investee Scope 3 without testing and recording its significance.
Is Category 15 the same as financed emissions?
Financed emissions are borrower or investee emissions allocated to a financial institution. They sit in Category 15, while PCAF adds asset-class allocation and disclosure rules.
What records should you keep for Category 15?
Keep the investee inventory, period, scope totals, ownership share or project-cost data, consolidation decision, calculation and exclusions. CDP 2026 question 12.1.1 asks financial institutions for reporting-year and base-year financed emissions.