Sustainability
Scope 3 Emissions
Term from the vending glossary
Indirect greenhouse gas emissions across a company's value chain (upstream and downstream) — in contrast to direct Scope 1 and energy-related Scope 2 emissions. Vending machines and their stocking logistics typically fall under Scope 3, Category 1 (purchased goods/services) for location owners. Under CSRD, Scope 3 must be fully accounted for.
The three-category framework comes from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol: Scope 1 covers direct emissions from your own operations, Scope 2 covers emissions from purchased energy, and Scope 3 covers all remaining emissions across the value chain — purchased goods and services, transportation, use of sold products, and disposal.
With vending machines, nearly everything falls into Scope 3, from both sides: for the operator, it includes the goods and service calls; for the location owner, the entire machine operation is a purchased service. This is why energy consumption and refrigerant questions are now appearing in procurement tenders where price alone was previously the focus.