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Definitie

Scope 3 Category 15: Investments

Scope 3 Category 15 covers an investor's proportional share of Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions from equity investments made with company capital, debt tied to a named project, and project finance outside its own inventory.

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.

What mistakes should you avoid?

  • Counting company emissions here when your chosen boundary already puts them in Scope 1 or Scope 2.
  • For any company, include equity investments made with company capital and debt with known use of proceeds. For financial institutions, debt without known use of proceeds and investments made with client capital are optional, so state whether you include them.
  • 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.

Where it comes up

GHG Protocol Category 15 required investment types, minimum boundary and proportional allocationGHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard, Tables 5.9-5.10, pp. 52-54; Scope 3 Calculation Guidance, Table 15.1 and formulas 15.1 and 15.3, pp. 138-148Official sourceCDP 2026 reporting-year and base-year financed emissionsCDP 2026 full corporate questionnaire, question 12.1.1

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.

Financed emissions

Financed emissions are the share of a borrower's or investee's gross GHG emissions allocated to a bank, fund or asset owner through the loans and investments it holds.

PCAF Standard

The PCAF Standard assigns financial activities to methods for measuring and disclosing emissions associated with loans, investments, capital-markets facilitation, and insurance underwriting.

GHG inventory

A GHG inventory is a dated record that fixes an organisation's boundary, lists its emissions sources and calculations, separates Scope 1 and Scope 2 totals and, when required, Scope 3 totals, and documents methods, exclusions and supporting files.

Sources

  • GHG Protocol

    Category 15 definition, required and optional investment types, minimum boundary and exclusions

    2026-08-20

  • GHG Protocol

    Investment-specific and project-specific formulas, inputs and treatment of significant investee Scope 3 emissions

    2026-08-20

  • CDP

    CDP 2026 question 12.1.1 on reporting-year and base-year financed emissions

    2026-08-20

Sources checked 2026-08-20

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Scope 3 Category 15: Investments Definition | Keslio