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Scope 3, Categories 1 and 2 measured with physical factors, not invoices.
Xain measures Scope 3 for purchases in Categories 1 (purchased goods and services) and 2 (capital goods), from your purchase lines and the technical documentation of what you buy. It uses physical factors instead of invoice amounts, so the footprint depends on the product and not on its price.
Key figures
<10min
of your work in Xain Insight: the purchases spreadsheet from your ERP. Results in 1–2 weeks.
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In a purchased-goods Scope 3 pilot in the food sector, the spend-based method inflated the egg’s footprint nine times compared with the physical calculation. It is a specific case, not a general rule.
How it works
How does Xain measure it?
You share the purchases
The purchase lines from your ERP or a list.
Xain identifies what is bought
It gathers the available technical documentation for each item.
It calculates with physical factors
Material, weight, process (including its energy) and transport.
You receive the result
With the breakdown and traceability of each line.
Scope 3 Categories 1 and 2 are often one of the largest parts of a company’s footprint and one of the hardest to measure: the emissions of what you buy (goods, services and capital goods). The most common method multiplies what you pay by a sector average. It is quick, but it is not good enough to decide.
With Xain Insight, the purchases spreadsheet from the ERP is enough: less than 10 minutes of work. You can download a sample deliverable for Terrania, an illustrative company. Xain Precision then refines the purchase lines with the most impact, from technical sheets or drawings, not every line.
What is wrong with measuring purchases by spend?
With the spend-based method, a more expensive product emits more even if it is identical, and a supplier that invests in decarbonising its process looks dirtier because its price goes up. In a pilot, the spend-based method inflated the egg’s footprint nine times versus the physical calculation. That figure is from one concrete case and is not a general rule, but it shows what is lost when you measure money instead of the product.
What is the result for?
- To meet the data your customers or sustainability reporting frameworks ask for.
- To see which purchases weigh most and where to act.
- To compare suppliers or materials with data that reflect the real product.
If you want to understand the Category 1 method, the guide to calculating Category 1 explains the four possible approaches and when to use each. Xain applies the same physical approach to Category 2 as well.
Frequently asked questions
What companies usually ask before getting started.
How much time does it take from me?
Less than 10 minutes to export the purchases spreadsheet from the ERP. Results arrive in 1 to 2 weeks.
Do I need my suppliers to give me data?
Not to start. Xain calculates from technical documentation and purchase lines. If a supplier provides primary data, it replaces the generic figures.
How is it different from calculating by spend?
Spend-based calculation multiplies the amount by a sector average, so the footprint rises with the price. The physical method starts from the material, weight and process of what you buy.
Does it work for the CSRD?
It provides the Scope 3 Categories 1 and 2 figure with its methodology. If your company must report or your customers ask for it, you need it documented and traceable.
What do Categories 1 and 2 cover?
Category 1 is purchased goods and services in the period. Category 2 is capital goods (equipment, facilities and long-lived assets). Xain measures both with the same physical method.
Keep reading
Calculating Category 1
Guide to calculating Scope 3 Category 1, purchased goods and services: the four GHG Protocol methods, the steps and when each one fits best.
Physical vs spend factors
Differences between spend-based and physical emission factors: how they are calculated, what errors they cause and when each fits for products and Scope 3.
Scope 3 Category 1
Scope 3 Category 1 covers the cradle-to-gate emissions of the goods and services an organisation buys during the reporting period.
ESRS E1
ESRS E1 is the European climate change reporting standard within the CSRD’s ESRS, which includes the disclosure of Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.
Tell us what you want to measure
One product, a catalogue or your purchases. We reply with the next steps.
Contact Xain