Corporate Emissions

Boundary

Defining an organisational boundary is a vital component in corporate GHG accounting, as this determines which elements will be included as part of the carbon footprint (in scope), and how emissions from each operation are consolidated and reported.

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard details three consolidation approach options for defining an organisational boundary, which encourages a consistent approach across the scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3 inventories. The selection of a consolidation approach affects which activities in the company’s value chain are categorised as direct emissions (scope 1) and indirect emissions (scope 2 & 3). Table 1 illustrates the three options for defining organisational boundaries.

Equity Share

Under the equity share approach, a company accounts GHG emissions from operations according to its share of equity in the operation. The equity share reflects economic interest, which is the extent of rights a company has to the risks and rewards flowing from an operation.

Financial control

Under the financial control approach, a company accounts for 100 percent of the GHG emissions over which it has financial control. It does not account for GHG emissions from operations in which it owns an interest but does not have financial control.

Operational control 

Under the operational control approach, a company accounts for 100 percent of the GHG emissions over which it has operational control. It does not account for the GHG emissions from operations in which it owns an interest but does not have operational control.

Scopes

To define TS’ corporate carbon footprint boundary, an operational control consolidation approach has been applied, as this will allow carbon emissions directly attributed to the agency's corporate activities to be tracked and incorporated into Scopes 1 and 2 and identified Scope 3 activities.

Charting performance in relation to emissions requires a clear definition and approach. Reporting requirements associated with the Public Bodies Climate Change Duties have utilised the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, a standard adopted worldwide to measure and manage emissions.

The GHG Protocol divides emissions into direct and indirect, which are captured under three scopes, each of which correlate to the owner of the emissions and the level of control related to changing those emission levels. Direct emission sources are controlled by the organisation and fall under Scope 1 emissions, and indirect emissions are captured under Scopes 2 and 3. Figure 5, provides an overview of emission types and scopes.

Figure 5 - GHG Protocol: Diagram of scopes

The requirements for what should or should not be reported fall to the decision of the reporting body. While Scopes 1 and 2 and identified Scope 3 provide a solid basis for reporting requirements, it can lead to confusion around indirect emissions which are out with an organisation’s direct operational control. With this in mind, as part of this CMP, we will seek to engage and work with our service providers, partners, supply chain and stakeholders to aid in their actions to address their emissions. These emissions will not form part of our own carbon footprint and will be captured under the procurement and wider influence sections of the Public Bodies Climate Change Duties reporting.

Ensuring clarity of emissions which will be captured is essential, however we must not ignore the emissions which will be not classed as part of our corporate footprint. To consider our wider influence properly, we will not class any emissions as being “out of scope”, instead, we will be seeking to influence and support our service providers, partners, supply chain and stakeholders in addressing their emissions.

Therefore, we have added an additional Scope to our boundary which aims to manage those indirect emissions, which are not identified as part of our corporate carbon footprint - our Scope of Influence or Scope ‘i’, which is defined below and will be expanded upon further in this document:

• Scope 1 - direct emissions from owned or controlled sources;
• Scope 2 - indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating, and cooling consumed;
• Scope 3 - all other indirect emissions that occur in a company's value chain identified as part of our corporate functions;
• Scope ‘i’ (Scope of influence) – indirect Scope 3 emissions associated with service providers, partners, supply chain and stakeholders, which do not form part of our corporate functions, we do not control and are not quantified as part of our carbon footprint; however, have capacity to influence their processes and actions.

The boundary of our carbon footprint is shown in Table 2 and sets out the emission sources (Scope 1, 2 & 3) which are directly under our operational control and are attributed to the agency's corporate activities, and provides an example of indirect (Scope 3) sources which fall under our Scope ‘i’. Boundary definitions are determined by a combination of the extent of our estate, transport activities and other areas under our corporate operational control. Operations and services carried out on behalf of TS or Scottish Ministers will remain outside our direct carbon footprint but will be considered as part of a wider roadmap in areas which will fall under our influence. Our boundary has changed slightly from CMP3, as Victoria Quay has been removed from our footprint, as emission associated with that building, will be solely reported by the Scottish Government.

Scope one

Gas Consumption: Buchanan House and Traffic Control Centre.

Scope two

Electricity consumption: Buchanan House, Traffic Control Centre and Roadside Electrical Assets.

Scope three

Business and commute travel, employee home working, water consumption, waste generated through corporate activities.

Scope i (example sources)

Transport Contracts: ScotRail, HIAL, CalMac Ferries Ltd (CFL) and Caledonian Mairtime Assets (CMAL).

Trunk Road Operating Company Contracts: Operations, Construction and Maintenance Infrastructure projects.

Fugitive emissions (leaks and other irregular releases of gases or vapour from a pressurized containment).