3Degrees: Procurement's Role in Scope 3 Decarbonisation

For procurement leaders under mounting pressure to deliver on ambitious sustainability targets, Scope 3 emissions remain the most persistent and complex challenge.

Sitting outside direct operational control, they depend on layers of suppliers and sub-suppliers and demand levels of transparency that many organisations still struggle to obtain. Yet Scope 3 emissions account for the majority of most companies’ carbon footprints, often dwarfing Scope 1 and 2 many times over.

A new whitepaper by 3Degrees, developed in collaboration with Google and Meta, offers procurement teams a pragmatic route forward.

Unlocking Clean Electricity in the Value Chain sets out a structured method for reducing electricity-related emissions across the supply chain through the direct procurement and retirement of clean energy attribute certificates (EACs). The guide recognises the constraints procurement professionals face and reframes Scope 3 decarbonisation not as a data perfection exercise, but as an opportunity to take action now using reasonable estimates and transparent assumptions.

For procurement teams tasked with navigating supplier capability gaps, shifting production geographies and limited visibility into upstream electricity use, this guidance could prove transformative.

Why Scope 3 electricity matters for procurement

The whitepaper presents a stark reality: electricity consumption embedded within value chains can represent 10-50% of total Scope 3 emissions for some organisations.

However, suppliers do not always have the expertise, resources or contractual leverage to source clean electricity at scale. Supply bases are also fluid: a procurement team may have mapped emissions for one tier of suppliers only to see sourcing shift within months.

Current GHG Protocol guidance does not yet provide clear rules for accounting for direct procurement of clean electricity attributes to reduce Scope 3 emissions. This lack of clarity has slowed investment and made it difficult for procurement teams to justify allocating funds toward supplier-related clean electricity procurement.

The guide from 3Degrees seeks to close this gap. Importantly, it frames direct procurement not as a replacement for supplier engagement, but as an approach designed to complement it, helping organisations unlock decarbonisation where vendors lack the means or influence to act.

A new mindset for Scope 3

Vrushali Gaud, Global Director of Strategy and Operations for Net Zero, Water, and Circularity at Google, captures the spirit of this whitepaper.

She says: "We’re excited to share the results of our collaboration with 3Degrees and Meta, exploring a new approach for companies to address value chain emissions through direct procurement of clean electricity attributes.

"While standards continue to evolve, we as practitioners are learning by doing – testing practical pathways that can help companies take meaningful action today.

"We see this as an important piece of a broader decarbonisation strategy that, alongside supplier engagement, brings speed and innovation to managing Scope 3 emissions. We believe this guide will offer useful insights for companies navigating this evolving space."

For procurement leaders, the message is that perfect supplier data will not arrive quickly enough to meet 2030 emissions targets. Organisations must move forward using procurement-led interventions and clear disclosures.

A five-step method

At the heart of the whitepaper is a five-step methodology designed to be both rigorous and usable in real-world procurement settings.

1. Define the scope

Procurement teams should identify which Scope 3 categories and supplier groups to focus on. Rather than attempting to cover the entire value chain, the guide encourages prioritisation based on emissions significance, influence level and feasibility.

In practice, this means mapping hotspots such as office technology hardware, energy-intensive raw materials or high-volume purchased services and selecting those where direct procurement can deliver measurable impact.

2. Determine electricity volume and geography

This step is particularly relevant to procurement, as it integrates existing supplier data, activity-based calculations or spend-based emission factors to estimate the share of emissions attributable to electricity.

If electricity volumes or locations are unknown, procurement teams can apply a hierarchy of proxies, such as supplier production hubs, known assembly locations or sector-wide data from representative life cycle assessments.

This approach acknowledges the fluidity of supplier networks and allows procurement organisations to continue progressing even when detailed site-level electricity data cannot be sourced consistently.

3. Procure clean electricity attributes

Once electricity volumes and locations have been established, organisations can procure EACs to match those volumes.

The guide offers two routes:

• Option A: Follow the existing Scope 2 market boundary, procuring clean attributes from the same market region as consumption.

• Option B: Procure from anywhere within the wider IEA region, provided the purchase demonstrates meaningful impact, such as sourcing from grids with above-average emissions intensities or supporting new renewable generation.

For procurement teams, Option B offers essential flexibility in markets where suppliers cannot access credible renewable supply.

4. Incorporate procurement into the GHG inventory

The clean electricity attributes are applied to the relevant Scope 3 emissions using the same assumptions used in the company’s core inventory. The guide provides formulas and step-by-step illustrations to ensure accurate attribution and transparent reporting.

5. Communicate transparently

Organisations must disclose that this method is not yet covered by GHG Protocol standards, outline assumptions and share limitations. Procurement teams play a pivotal role here by ensuring supplier communications and internal reporting are aligned.

Impact on procurement strategy

For procurement leaders, Scope 3 decarbonisation is now a core strategic responsibility, as opposed to a side project. Many suppliers, especially smaller ones, lack the capital or expertise to procure renewable electricity on their own. Direct procurement of clean electricity attributes by the buying organisation offers a practical way to overcome those constraints while maintaining commercial relationships.

The methodology also reflects how fast supply chains change. Production shifts between countries and suppliers far more quickly than detailed emissions data can be refreshed. By allowing procurement teams to use reasonable proxies for where electricity is consumed, then aggregate demand at market or regional level, the guide enables ongoing reductions even when site-level data is incomplete.

Crucially, direct procurement is framed as a complement to supplier engagement, not a replacement. Supplier capability building, low-carbon contract clauses and sustainability-linked incentives remain essential. Direct procurement steps in where suppliers cannot yet act at pace or scale, allowing procurement teams to move from simply reporting Scope 3 emissions to actively reshaping how electricity in the value chain is generated.

A turning point for Scope 3 action

The whitepaper concludes by emphasising the need for continued experimentation and transparency, encouraging organisations to pilot the methodology and contribute insights to evolving standards.

For procurement professionals, this represents both a challenge and an opportunity. As custodians of supplier relationships, contract structures and category strategies, procurement teams are uniquely positioned to operationalise this approach. They can translate emissions data into procurement-led interventions and unlock renewable electricity procurement at scale.

Ultimately, the path to clean electricity in the value chain will not be perfectly mapped, but procurement organisations have the tools to start today. Through responsible direct procurement, transparent reporting and continued collaboration with suppliers, procurement teams can play a decisive role in accelerating global decarbonisation.