Scope 3 in detail (15 categories)

The 15 Scope 3 categories and what the breakdown is for.

Published on 10/08/2026

The GHG Protocol splits Scope 3 into 15 standardised categories, eight upstream and seven downstream. CadranZero takes them one by one to break down your value chain and see precisely where the footprint comes from.

Upstream (purchases and operations)

  1. Purchased goods and services: materials and components purchased (metals, sapphire, leather, dials). In watchmaking, this is almost always item number one.
  2. Capital goods: machines, tooling, amortised buildings.
  3. Fuel- and energy-related activities: upstream emissions of energy (extraction, transport) not counted in Scope 1 and 2.
  4. Upstream transportation and distribution: freight of materials and components to your workshops.
  5. Waste generated in operations: treatment of production waste.
  6. Business travel: business trips.
  7. Employee commuting: staff journeys.
  8. Upstream leased assets: premises or equipment you lease.

Downstream (products sold)

  1. Downstream transportation and distribution: delivery to your customer houses.
  2. Processing of sold products: processing steps at the customer's.
  3. Use of sold products: negligible for a mechanical watch, real for a product consuming energy.
  4. End-of-life treatment of sold products: recycling or treatment at the end of use.
  5. Downstream leased assets.
  6. Franchises.
  7. Investments: financed emissions (relevant mostly for a financial player).

How to prioritise

You do not have to break everything down from the outset. The right method:

  • focus the effort on the categories that are material for you (in watchmaking: 3.1 purchases, 3.4 upstream transport, 3.5 waste);
  • an emission can stay in Scope 3 global (not broken down), then be specified later in the right subcategory;
  • categories with no data stay displayed at zero, to show they have been examined and then judged not significant, which strengthens the inventory's credibility.

On the dashboard

The Scope 3 breakdown shows the 15 categories in order, with a donut (shares), radial bars, a histogram (amounts) and a 100% composition bar. Each subcategory has its colour; hover any chart to read its full name.

← All articles