auma calculated the scope 3 carbon footprint of a food company: the emissions that come neither from its stacks nor its meters, but which its activity drives across the whole value chain — and which customers and regulation now ask for.
Project overview
| Client | Food company (confidential) |
| Market | Industry · Corporate |
| Practice area | Climate change |
| Location | Barcelona area (Spain) |
| Services | Scope 3 carbon footprint calculation |
| Year | 2023 |
The challenge
For most product companies, scope 3 holds the bulk of the footprint. It is also the hardest to calculate:
- Third-party data: it depends on suppliers, hauliers and distributors with very uneven maturity and information.
- Many categories: purchasing, transport, packaging, waste, travel, and product use and end of life.
- Risk of an empty number: a calculation built only on generic factors yields a figure but supports no reduction.
The auma solution
The calculation was designed so each category says something actionable:
- Definition of the scope 3 categories relevant to the business, ruling out the irrelevant ones on stated grounds.
- Primary data collected where there is decision-making leverage, recognised factors where there is not.
- Analysis of each category's relative weight to identify where the company can genuinely influence outcomes.
The result
- A documented scope 3 inventory with traceable methodology and sources by category.
- A clear view of which purchasing and logistics decisions actually move the footprint.
- A basis ready for customer requirements and sustainability reporting.
Scope 3 is uncomfortable because it measures what you do not fully control. But that is exactly where a product company's footprint mostly sits.
Frequently asked questions
What are scope 3 emissions?
Indirect value chain emissions that come neither from an organisation's own sources (scope 1) nor from the energy it buys (scope 2): purchased goods and services, transport, packaging, waste, travel, and product use and end of life.
Why is scope 3 said to be the largest?
Because in product, retail and service companies most of the impact is generated upstream and downstream of their own activity. In many sectors it far exceeds scopes 1 and 2 combined.
How do you get reliable supplier data?
By combining primary data from strategic suppliers with recognised emission factors for the rest, and improving quality year on year. In corporate transactions this information forms part of environmental and ESG due diligence.
Are your customers already asking for scope 3 data?
We calculate your value chain footprint with data you can actually decide on.
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