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Definition

Scope 3 Category 4: Upstream transportation and distribution Definition

Scope 3 Category 4 covers emissions from third-party transport and storage of purchased goods, plus transport services your company buys for inbound freight, site transfers, and paid outbound delivery.

What is Scope 3 Category 4: Upstream transportation and distribution?

Category 4 records allocated emissions from third-party carriers and warehouses. It covers purchased goods moving from your direct (tier 1) supplier to your operations, plus transport you buy for inbound freight, site transfers and outbound delivery. Third-party storage of purchased goods is also included. See how it fits within Scope 3 emissions.

Why does Scope 3 Category 4 matter to you?

CDP 2026 Question 7.8 asks for gross global Scope 3 emissions and explanations for exclusions. A customer may request your Category 4 total, method and source records. Missing paid outbound freight understates it; counting owned trucks overstates it.

How is Scope 3 Category 4 calculated?

Use the fuel-based method when a carrier gives you litres, electricity or refrigerant data. Multiply by matching factors and allocate shared vehicles to your goods, normally by mass for road, air or rail and by volume for sea. Without fuel data, multiply tonnes by kilometres, then apply a tonne-kilometre factor. Spend is a fallback. Allocate warehouse energy and refrigerants by volume, occupancy or storage time.

What mistakes should you avoid?

  • Putting freight before your tier 1 supplier here when it belongs in Category 1.
  • Including fuel deliveries here instead of Category 3, or owned-fleet fuel instead of Scope 1.
  • Assigning all shared-truck fuel or warehouse energy to your company without documented allocation.

When does outbound delivery belong in Category 4?

Include outbound delivery when your company buys the service, even for sold products. If another party buys transport after your operations, assess it under Category 9.

What should you ask a carrier or warehouse operator for?

Ask for the period, shipment legs, mode, kilometres, mass or volume, fuel or electricity, refrigerant leakage, load share, storage days, allocation method and source records.

Example

Suppose an automotive tier-2 parts supplier in Poland buys an inbound road-freight service. The carrier records 1,600 litres of diesel for a shared truckload carrying 30 tonnes, including 18 tonnes of the supplier's parts. Mass allocation gives 1,600 litres x 18 / 30 = 960 litres allocated to the supplier.

Keslio factor key vehicle_fuel_diesel_litre_desnz_2026 is 2.58354 kg CO2e/litre for diesel, geography United Kingdom, publication year 2026, from UK DESNZ and DEFRA's UK Government GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting 2026. The calculation is 960 litres x 2.58354 kg CO2e/litre = 2,480.1984 kg CO2e, then 2,480.1984 / 1,000 = 2.4801984 metric tonnes CO2e.

The supplier records that the UK factor is a proxy for Polish transport and replaces it with reliable carrier-specific or Poland-representative data when available. This result covers allocated diesel combustion only; electricity or refrigerant emissions need separate calculations where relevant.

Where it comes up

GHG Protocol Category 4 boundary for purchased freight, paid outbound logistics, site transfers and third-party storageCorporate Value Chain Scope 3 Standard, Table 5.7; Technical Guidance, Category 4CDP 2026 Question 7.8 gross global Scope 3 emissions and exclusionsCDP full corporate questionnaire, 7.8; SME questionnaire, 20.7AASB S2 disclosure of included Scope 3 categories, including upstream transportation and distributionAASB S2 paragraph 29(a)(vi)(1), paragraph B32 and Appendix A

Related terms

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.

Scope 3 Category 1: Purchased goods and services

Scope 3 Category 1 covers emissions from extracting raw materials through producing the goods and services your company buys in the reporting year, except purchases assigned to upstream Categories 2 through 8.

Emission factor

An emission factor converts a measured activity, such as kilowatt-hours of electricity or litres of fuel, into greenhouse gas emissions by stating the emissions released per unit of that activity.

Scope 1 Emissions

Scope 1 emissions are greenhouse gases released directly from sources your company owns or controls, including fuel-burning equipment and vehicles, industrial processes, and refrigerant or other gas leaks.

Sources

  • GHG Protocol

    Category 4 boundary, freight and storage activities, fuel-based, distance-based, spend-based and distribution methods, allocation, and formulas 4.1 to 4.9

    2026-08-19

  • CDP

    2026 Questions 7.8 and 20.7 on gross global Scope 3 emissions and exclusions

    2026-08-19

  • Australian Accounting Standards Board

    Paragraph 29(a)(vi)(1), paragraph B32 and Appendix A on included Scope 3 categories

    2026-08-19

Last verified 2026-08-19

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Scope 3 Category 4: Upstream transportation and distribution Definition | Keslio