5 min. read
Last updated May 12, 2025
Key takeaways
Scope 1 emissions are direct and controllable, making them a powerful starting point for decarbonization.
Reducing scope 1 emissions can improve energy efficiency and lower operating costs.
Reporting on scope 1 emissions is now required under new climate regulations, and companies that act now will gain an edge.
Why scope 1 emissions matter now
When we talk about corporate decarbonization, scope 2 and scope 3 emissions tend to take up the headlines, with a focus on renewable energy certificates (RECs) or challenges like complex supply chains. But scope 1 emissions, those produced directly from sources a company owns or controls, don’t get as much air time. This is a missed opportunity.
With scope 1, companies can take immediate, tangible action to cut carbon, drive operational efficiencies, and get ahead of growing regulatory pressure.
What are scope 1 emissions?
Scope 1 emissions are the direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from sources that a company owns or controls. They mostly come from activities where fuels are combusted on-site within an organization’s operations. For industries that combust high amounts of fuels within their operations (e.g., oil and gas, chemicals, manufacturing), scope 1 can represent a significant share of the company’s emissions. For industries that outsource most of their production, scope 1 can be a smaller share of the overall footprint.
Scope 1 emissions typically fall into four categories:
Stationary combustion: Emissions from burning fuels on-site for heating, manufacturing, or electricity generation. This includes boilers, furnaces, and turbines at company facilities.
Mobile combustion: Emissions from company-owned or operated vehicles and equipment, such as cars, aircraft, delivery fleets, ships, or construction machinery.
Fugitive emissions: Unintentional leaks or releases of gases, often from refrigeration and air conditioning systems. These can have an outsized impact because many refrigerants have global warming potentials (GWPs) hundreds or even thousands of times greater than carbon dioxide.
Self-produced energy: Emissions from electricity, heat, or steam generated on-site, such as through natural gas-fired generators or cogeneration plants, even when the energy is used internally.
Identifying and categorizing scope 1 emissions correctly are the first steps toward uncovering potential operational improvements and carbon reduction approaches.
Why scope 1 emissions are a strategic priority
While scope 3 is often talked about as the largest source of emissions for corporations, that isn’t the case for all industries. For heavy sectors like oil and gas, chemicals, and manufacturing, scope 1 emissions aren't just significant - they are the bedrock of the emissions story. Other industries depend on these sectors' outputs to operate their own businesses, meaning that decarbonizing heavy industries’ scope 1 emissions can also drive reductions across other organizations’ scope 3 emissions.
Since scope 1 emissions are typically within a company’s direct operational control, they present a great starting point for decarbonization. Unlike scope 3 emissions, which require influencing suppliers, customers, or partners, companies can take immediate action on scope 1 sources. Even for industries with relatively small scope 1 footprints, reductions can often happen more quickly through internal decisions, such as equipment upgrades, process improvements, or fuel switching.
Regulatory momentum is also making scope 1 management increasingly urgent. New policies like the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), California’s Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (SB 253), and global ISSB-aligned frameworks are requiring companies to measure and publicly disclose their scope 1 emissions. Even within voluntary frameworks, reporting on scope 1 emissions is getting tighter. Within the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi)’s new draft Net Zero Standard, scope 1 emissions must now have a separate target from scope 2 emissions, and the boundary must cover 100% of scope 1 emissions whereas previously the boundary was 95% of emissions. These market shifts highlight the importance of reducing scope 1 emissions.
Operationally, reducing scope 1 emissions offers business value. Many scope 1 reduction strategies, such as upgrading to more efficient equipment or reducing fuel waste can lower energy bills, improve asset performance, and reduce maintenance costs. For companies focused on both sustainability and profitability, targeting scope 1 emissions delivers a strong return on investment.
How to calculate scope 1 emissions
To reduce scope 1 emissions, companies need to know exactly what and how much they are emitting. Calculating scope 1 emissions starts with gathering the right data at the facility level and understanding the activities that generate emissions.
What to measure
Scope 1 emissions come from activities such as fuel combustion in boilers or vehicle fleets, refrigerant leaks from cooling systems, and on-site energy generation. Ideally, companies should collect activity data, like gallons of diesel used, cubic meters of natural gas consumed, or kilograms of refrigerant leaked and replaced. In cases where direct measurement isn’t possible, companies often rely on estimations, using financial spend data or industry intensity metrics as a proxy for fuel consumption.
Where to find the data
Facility-level data is the backbone of comprehensive and comparable scope 1 accounting. Much of the required data can be sourced from utility bills, fuel receipts, maintenance logs for HVAC and refrigeration systems, and reports from on-site equipment operators. Increasingly, companies are deploying sensors to capture real-time data on fuel consumption, refrigerant leaks, and on-site energy generation, improving both accuracy and responsiveness.
How to calculate emissions
Emissions are calculated by applying the emissions factors (i.e., the amount of greenhouse gases emitted per the quantity of fuel or refrigerant) to the collected activity data. Many companies use carbon accounting software to automate calculations, track emissions over time, and ensure consistency with recognized standards like the GHG Protocol. Expert support is often critical, especially for sectors with complex operations. Carbon accounting experts help ensure the data is complete, auditable, and aligned with evolving regulatory requirements.
Accurate scope 1 data builds a strong foundation for compliance as well as for setting credible reduction targets and tracking long-term performance.
How to reduce scope 1 emissions
With scope 1 emissions data in hand, companies can begin identifying and implementing reduction strategies. Because these emissions are within the organization’s operational control, companies often have multiple levers they can pull.
Operational strategies
Fuel switching: Replacing fossil fuels like natural gas or diesel with lower-carbon alternatives, like green hydrogen or renewable electricity, can significantly reduce direct emissions from stationary and mobile combustion. Depending on the switch, this could result in higher scope 2 emissions, but these can be more readily addressed through market-based instruments, thus lowering the overall footprint.
Equipment upgrades: Modernizing boilers, generators, fleets, and other combustion-based equipment can improve energy efficiency and cut emissions. Newer technologies often perform better and emit less.
Process innovation: In emissions-intensive industries like cement and steel production, rethinking industrial processes can yield dramatic reductions. Low-carbon production methods are increasingly becoming commercially viable.
Leak detection and repair: Methane leaks from oil and gas operations and refrigerant leaks from cooling systems are major contributors to scope 1 emissions. Deploying monitoring technologies and maintaining rapid-response repair programs can fix leaks before they lead to large amounts of emissions.
Strategic procurement
Vendor selection: Companies can prioritize suppliers that offer lower-emissions alternatives for fuels, materials, and services.
Fleet electrification: Procuring electric vehicles for delivery, service, and logistics fleets reduces both emissions and long-term fuel and maintenance costs.
Equipment design: Working with suppliers to source modular, emissions-efficient machinery can reduce on-site fuel use and improve flexibility over time.
Driving innovation through R&D
Low-carbon products: Research and development teams can design products and processes that inherently require less energy, or lower-carbon energy, to produce, lowering scope 1 emissions at the source.
Material innovation: Developing new chemistries or alternative materials can avoid high-emission production methods, contributing to broader decarbonization goals.
Closed-loop systems: Designing circular, waste-reducing systems can minimize both raw material use and the on-site emissions associated with production and disposal.
Reducing scope 1 emissions often requires up-front investment, whether it’s upgrading equipment, switching to alternative fuels, or embedding low-carbon principles into procurement and R&D strategies. While the initial costs can be substantial, they deliver long-term value through improved operational efficiency, reduced regulatory risk, lower energy expenses, and enhanced brand value in a marketplace that increasingly rewards climate leadership.
Take action on operational carbon
At Carbon Direct, we partner with companies across industries to navigate the complexities of measuring, managing, and reducing scope 1 emissions. From accurate carbon accounting to tailored decarbonization strategies, we help organizations transform operational emissions into opportunities for innovation, resilience, and long-term growth. Scope 1 emissions are direct, and so is the path to action. Companies that move decisively today will be the ones leading the economy of tomorrow.
Ready to take the next step?
Contact us to learn how we can help you measure, manage, and reduce your scope 1 emissions.
