Scope 1, 2 and 3

We follow the principles set by the GHG protocol and have adopted their standard of measuring and managing greenhouse gas emissions. GHG classifies a company’s emissions into three scopes, which can be used as a tool when striving for carbon neutrality.

Prevex sustainability

Definitions of the scopes

Scope 1

Covers direct greenhouse gas emissions of a company, like the energy the company produces itself.

Scope 2

Includes indirect emissions from energy sources that the company acquires, like purchased electricity. 

Scope 3

Encompasses all emissions a company is responsible for outside of its own walls, so-called value chain emissions.

Differences between the scopes

Generally speaking, scope 1 and 2 are the easiest to calculate, and they are also the ones that are mandatory to reduce for a company committed to STBi. Usually, it is also quite easy for a company to do something about these emissions.

The emissions in scope 3, on the other hand, are harder to calculate as they are related to emissions in the whole value chain. Typically, scope 3 emissions are also harder to reduce.

Scope 3 emissions can be divided into upstream and downstream emissions. Upstream emissions are related to purchased goods and services, business travel and commuting, whereas downstream emissions are related to products that leave the company, like transportation, distribution and end-of-life treatment of products.

Prevex and the scopes

Scope 1

Prevex has almost no emissions in this scope, as the only energy we produce ourselves is related to our solar panels. The very small amount of emissions we have in scope 1 is fuel for our company cars.

Scope 2

At Prevex, scope 2 means all the emissions related to our consumption of electricity and heating. We have worked ambitiously to reduce these emissions by switching to renewable energy sources, and by recovering waste heat. As a result, our overall emissions in scope 1 and 2 have been reduced by 89% compared to 2018.

Scope 3

For Prevex, scope 3 is by far the most important area on our way to carbon neutrality, especially after the emissions in scope 1 and 2 have been reduced considerably. As can be seen in the figure, scope 3 is where we need to put in our efforts now and in the future.

We have made a thorough analysis of where our scope 3 emissions come from, and the result is clear: we need to do something about the raw material we use for producing our water traps, the polypropylene plastic (PP).

As a result, we are on our way to switching to recycled PP. By the end of 2023, the amount of recycled plastics in our products amounted to 55%. In the future, it will be as high as 90%.