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Services play a major role in most companies’ value chains, yet they remain one of the hardest areas to measure and manage when it comes to Scope 3 emissions. Unlike physical goods, services are often accounted for using high-level estimates that rely on spend rather than how work is actually delivered. As expectations around emissions data continue to rise, many organizations are looking for better ways to understand and act on service-related emissions.

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This blog introduces service carbon footprints (SCFs), explaining what they are, how they work, and why they are becoming an important tool for more meaningful Scope 3 reporting and reduction efforts.

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Why Services are a Blind Spot in Scope 3 Accounting

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From IT and software providers to consultants, professional services, facilities support, and outsourced operations, services are deeply embedded in how modern businesses operate. Yet when it comes to Scope 3 emissions accounting, services are often treated as an afterthought.

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One reason is practicality. Unlike physical goods, services do not move through factories, warehouses, or transportation networks in obvious ways. Their emissions are less visible and harder to trace. As a result, companies frequently rely on spend-based estimates to account for service emissions, using financial data as a proxy for environmental impact. But while this approach can be useful for high-level reporting, it comes with limitations. Spend does not reliably reflect how a service is delivered, how resource-intensive it is, or how efficiently it is performed. This lack of granularity makes it difficult to answer basic questions.

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- Which services are driving emissions?

- Where are the biggest opportunities to reduce them?

- Which suppliers are improving over time?  

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As expectations around Scope 3 accuracy, auditability, and supplier engagement continue to rise, these gaps are becoming harder to ignore. To move from estimation to meaningful action, companies need a way to reflect emissions in line with how services are actually delivered.  

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What are Service Carbon Footprints (SCFs)

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A service carbon footprint (SCF) measures the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the delivery of a specific service. Rather than estimating emissions based on how much a company spends with a supplier, an SCF attributes emissions based on the work actually performed to provide that service.

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Service carbon footprints use reference units that reflect how services are delivered, such as hours worked, full-time equivalents (FTEs), or teams supporting a particular engagement. Emissions are then allocated in proportion to those activities, creating a clearer link between service delivery and environmental impact. This approach is especially valuable for service categories where spend does not correlate well with emissions.  

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Pricing for services can vary widely based on geography, brand, contract structure, or market dynamics, even when the underlying work looks similar. By focusing on service activity rather than cost, SCFs help normalize emissions data and make comparisons more meaningful. Just as product carbon footprints (PCFs) bring visibility to emissions from goods, SCFs bring structure and transparency to emissions from services. They allow companies to move beyond aggregated supplier-level estimates and toward service-level insight. With SCFs, data is more intuitive, more actionable, and better suited to supporting supplier engagement and reduction efforts over time.

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How SCFs Work in Practice

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Service carbon footprints are designed to reflect how services are actually delivered, using a simple, step-by-step approach that connects operational activity to emissions in a transparent way.

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1. Define the Service Being Delivered

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The first step in creating a service carbon footprint is clearly defining the service itself. This might be ongoing IT support, consulting hours, facilities management, or another service-based engagement. This step establishes the boundary of what emissions the SCF will cover.

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2. Identify the Activities That Deliver the Service

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Next, suppliers provide basic operational information about how the service is delivered. This can include inputs such as the number of people involved, hours worked, FTEs, or the offices and locations supporting the service. These activities form the foundation for estimating emissions tied to service delivery.

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3. Estimate Emissions at the Service Level

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Using the activity data, emissions are estimated for the service as a whole. This step translates operational inputs into an overall emissions profile associated with delivering that service, using consistent methodologies and quality checks.

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4. Allocate Emissions Using Reference Units

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Once total service emissions are calculated, they are allocated using reference units that match how the service is consumed. Common units include hours, FTEs, or service volumes. This allows emissions to be shared proportionally across clients or engagements based on actual service use.

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5. Track and Improve Over Time

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As suppliers improve their data quality or change how services are delivered, emissions can be recalculated and tracked over time. This makes it easier to reflect real reductions and operational improvements, not just changes in spend.

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How SCFs Enable Real Supplier Engagement

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One of the biggest challenges in Scope 3 management is turning emissions data into meaningful supplier action. When emissions are estimated using spend alone, suppliers often struggle to see how the numbers relate to their actual operations or what they can do to improve them. By tying emissions to service-level activities, SCFs give suppliers visibility into how their work contributes to emissions. Instead of receiving a high-level estimate, suppliers can see emissions associated with specific services, teams, or delivery models. This makes the data more intuitive and easier to engage with.  

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SCFs also enable more constructive conversations. When emissions are framed around how a service is delivered, discussions naturally shift from cost and compliance to collaboration and improvement. Suppliers can identify opportunities to reduce emissions intensity, such as changing staffing models, consolidating locations, improving energy efficiency, or adjusting how work is performed.

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Because SCFs use consistent reference units like hours or FTEs, suppliers can track changes over time and clearly demonstrate progress. Improvements in efficiency or delivery models can be reflected directly in emissions data, even if overall spend stays the same. This creates a clearer incentive to reduce emissions rather than simply shift costs.

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Ultimately, SCFs support a more partnership-driven approach to supplier engagement. They provide a shared, service-level understanding of emissions that help companies and suppliers work together toward credible, measurable reductions, rather than treating Scope 3 reporting as a one-way data request.

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Want to learn how service-level emissions data can support your supplier engagement strategy? Schedule a demo here. Our team is happy to walk through the approach.

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FAQs

What’s the difference between a service carbon footprint (SCF) and spend-based emissions estimates?

Spend-based emissions estimates allocate emissions based on how much a company pays a supplier. While this can be useful for high-level reporting, it assumes that spend correlates directly with emissions, which is often not true for services.

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A service carbon footprint allocates emissions based on how a service is actually delivered, using operational reference units like hours worked or FTEs. This creates a clearer link between service activity and emissions, making the data more accurate and actionable.

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How are SCFs different from product carbon footprints (PCFs)?

Product carbon footprints measure the emissions associated with producing and delivering physical goods. Service carbon footprints measure the emissions associated with delivering services.

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Both approaches follow the same underlying goal, which is to align emissions with reality. Together, PCFs and SCFs provide more complete coverage of Scope 3 emissions across both goods and services.

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What types of services can be measured using SCFs?

SCFs are well suited for services where delivery can be described using operational data. This includes categories such as professional services, IT and software services, consulting, facilities support, and other people- or office-based services.

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Any service where activity can be expressed through reference units like hours, FTEs, or service volumes can typically be assessed using an SCF approach.

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Are Service Carbon Footprints auditable?

Yes. When calculated using consistent methodologies, documented assumptions, and clear data trails, SCFs can support audit-ready Scope 3 reporting.

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How do SCFs help companies actually reduce emissions?

SCFs make emissions visible at the service level, which helps companies and suppliers identify where emissions are coming from and where reductions are possible.

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By linking emissions to how services are delivered, SCFs support targeted actions, track improvements over time, and reflect real reductions rather than changes driven solely by spend or pricing. This turns Scope 3 data from a reporting exercise into a tool for meaningful action.