How to measure emissions from Manufacturing

What counts as Manufacturing

Manufacturing services purchased from third parties - contract manufacturing, HVAC and refrigeration equipment fabrication, or office machinery production - reported as spend where a physical output quantity isn't available. Distinct from buying finished goods outright; this covers paying a manufacturer for a production or fabrication service.

A Category 1 purchased-goods-and-services page for manufacturing-as-a-service rather than for materials or finished products, which have their own pages - materials, metal, plastic, computers and so on. If you buy finished units of a specific product with a good material breakdown available, use the material-specific page instead of this spend-based manufacturing category, since a physical-unit factor is generally more accurate than a spend-based service factor.

What activity data you need

Collect the most specific physical unit available. Unit definitions are in Appendix I — Description of Units.

• £ Spend
• $ Spend

Which emission scope it falls under

Manufacturing activity data typically maps to Scope 3 Category 1 under the GHG Protocol. Confirm organisational boundary and ownership before reporting.

Sub-types available in the platform

All 2 sub-types available in the platform.

• HVAC and refrigeration equipment: Commercial: Average: UK
• Office machinery: Average: UK

Common questions

What's the difference between this and buying finished products?

This page is for paying a manufacturer for a production or fabrication service. Buying a finished product outright, with a known material or unit breakdown, should go on the relevant materials or product page instead.

Should we use this page or a materials page for a fabricated component?

Use a materials page if you know the material type and mass of the component; use this manufacturing page only when the purchase is genuinely a service invoice without a clear physical breakdown.

Does contract manufacturing overseas need different treatment?

No - the activity data entry is the same (spend on the manufacturing service); the platform's factor already reflects the sector-average intensity, so you don't need to adjust for the manufacturing location manually.

How do we code spend that mixes manufacturing service and materials?

Split the invoice where possible, coding the material cost to a materials page and the fabrication or assembly service cost to this manufacturing page.

Is there a physical-unit option, or is this always spend-based?

This page is spend-based only. If a physical output unit is identifiable, use a dedicated product or materials page instead of this catch-all service category.