CAP CAP Supply Chain Carbon Management 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What are 'Scope 3' emissions under the GHG Protocol framework?
- Direct emissions from company-owned and controlled sources
- Indirect emissions from purchased electricity, heat, and steam consumed by the company
- All other indirect emissions occurring in a company's value chain, both upstream and downstream (Correct answer)
- Emissions from company-owned vehicle fleets and business travel only
Correct answer: All other indirect emissions occurring in a company's value chain, both upstream and downstream
Scope 3 emissions encompass all indirect GHG emissions across a company's entire value chain, including those from suppliers, customers, and product end-of-life stages.
Question 2: Which of the following is an upstream Scope 3 category under the GHG Protocol?
- Use of sold products
- End-of-life treatment of sold products
- Purchased goods and services (Correct answer)
- Downstream transportation and distribution to customers
Correct answer: Purchased goods and services
Purchased goods and services (Scope 3 Category 1) is an upstream category representing emissions from producing the goods and services a company procures.
Question 3: What is a 'cradle-to-gate' carbon footprint assessment?
- An assessment covering the full lifecycle from raw material extraction through end-of-life disposal
- An assessment covering emissions from raw material extraction to the factory gate, excluding downstream activities (Correct answer)
- An assessment focused exclusively on the product use phase by end consumers
- An assessment that covers only transportation emissions within the supply chain
Correct answer: An assessment covering emissions from raw material extraction to the factory gate, excluding downstream activities
Cradle-to-gate covers GHG emissions from raw material extraction up to the point a product leaves the manufacturing facility, excluding use and end-of-life stages.
Question 4: What approach do companies primarily use to reduce Scope 3 upstream emissions?
- Requiring all suppliers to purchase carbon offsets on the company's behalf
- Supplier engagement programs, emissions data requests, and setting collaborative reduction targets (Correct answer)
- Replacing all outside suppliers by vertically integrating manufacturing in-house
- Restricting purchases only to suppliers operating in countries with carbon tax legislation
Correct answer: Supplier engagement programs, emissions data requests, and setting collaborative reduction targets
Effective Scope 3 management involves engaging suppliers, collecting emissions data, and collaborating on or requiring emissions reduction commitments.
Question 5: What is the 'spend-based' method for estimating Scope 3 Category 1 emissions?
- Calculating emissions based on the mass or volume of purchased physical goods
- Using industry-average emission intensity factors applied to financial spend data for purchased goods and services (Correct answer)
- Estimating emissions from the dollar amount spent on carbon offset purchases
- A method used exclusively by companies in the financial services sector
Correct answer: Using industry-average emission intensity factors applied to financial spend data for purchased goods and services
The spend-based method uses economic input-output emission factors applied to procurement spend data, making it suitable when supplier-specific activity data is unavailable.
Question 6: What is a 'supplier scorecard' in the context of supply chain carbon management?
- A regulatory document required by the EPA for supplier greenhouse gas reporting
- A tool companies use to evaluate and rank supplier performance on environmental and sustainability criteria (Correct answer)
- A carbon credit certificate issued to suppliers that achieve verified emission reductions
- A financial rating system for green bonds and sustainability-linked loans issued by suppliers
Correct answer: A tool companies use to evaluate and rank supplier performance on environmental and sustainability criteria
Supplier scorecards systematically assess and track supplier sustainability performance, including carbon emissions, enabling prioritized engagement and improvement tracking.
CAP CAP Supply Chain Carbon Management 1
What are 'Scope 3' emissions under the GHG Protocol framework?