What Are Scope 2 Emissions?

Scope 2 emissions are the indirect greenhouse gas emissions that come from the electricity, steam, heat, or cooling your organization purchases. In other words, they don’t come directly from your own boilers, vehicles, or factories (that’s Scope 1), but from the power plants and utilities that generate the energy you use every day.

Think about the lights in your office, the servers powering your data center, or the HVAC system keeping your warehouses running. Even though your company doesn’t operate the power station, the emissions created to deliver that energy are attributed to you as Scope 2.

Scope 2 vs. Scope 1 and Scope 3

To put Scope 2 in context:

• Scope 1: Direct emissions from owned or controlled sources (e.g. company vehicles, on-site fuel combustion).
• Scope 2: Indirect emissions from purchased energy (e.g. electricity, heating, cooling).
• Scope 3: All other indirect emissions across the value chain (e.g. supplier emissions, product use, business travel).

📊 Most organizations find Scope 2 makes up a significant portion of their total footprint, often second only to Scope 3. That’s why it’s a major focus for SBTi targets, CDP reporting, and renewable energy strategies.

Learn more about scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.