Scope 3 Category 11: Use of Sold Products — How to Calculate It

What Is Scope 3 Category 11?

Scope 3 Category 11 — use of sold products — covers the greenhouse gas emissions generated when customers and end-users operate, use, or consume your products during their lifetime. It is one of the 15 Scope 3 categories defined in the GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard.

Category 11 is relevant for companies that sell products that consume energy during use — appliances, vehicles, machinery, electronics, heating systems, and any fuel or feedstock that is burned by the customer. For energy-intensive product manufacturers, Category 11 is typically the single largest source of total corporate emissions — often representing 70–90% of the company's entire footprint.

Which Companies Need to Report Category 11?

Category 11 is material (and therefore required) for:

• Appliance and consumer electronics manufacturers
• Automotive and vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers
• Industrial machinery and equipment manufacturers
• HVAC and heating system manufacturers
• Fuel and gas suppliers (the emissions from their product being burned)
• Power tool and equipment manufacturers
• IT hardware manufacturers (laptops, servers, data centre equipment)

Category 11 is not material for: - Professional services firms - Most food and beverage manufacturers (unless products require cooking) - Raw material suppliers where the material is not consumed during use

The Two Calculation Methods for Category 11

The GHG Protocol specifies two methods for calculating Category 11 emissions:

Method 1 — Direct use-phase emissions Used when products directly combust fuel or use energy during operation.

Formula: Annual energy use per product (kWh or fuel units) × Emission factor × Number of products in use × Average product lifetime (years)

Example — Manufacturer of gas boilers: - Gas boiler fuel consumption: 15,000 kWh/year - UK gas emission factor: 0.183 kgCO2e/kWh - Products in use: 50,000 units - 15,000 × 0.183 × 50,000 = 137,250,000 kgCO2e = 137,250 tCO2e per year of Category 11

Method 2 — Indirect use-phase emissions Used when products use electricity (and therefore indirect emissions vary by customer grid). Use average customer grid emission factor.

Example — Manufacturer of commercial refrigerators: - Annual electricity consumption per unit: 800 kWh - EU average grid: 0.295 kgCO2e/kWh - Units in use: 10,000 - 800 × 0.295 × 10,000 = 2,360,000 kgCO2e = 2,360 tCO2e per year

What Data Do You Need to Calculate Category 11?

For many SME component suppliers, actual product-in-use data is not available. In this case, the GHG Protocol permits the use of industry average data or proxy estimates — clearly labelled as estimates with stated assumptions.

Why Enterprise Buyers Are Asking for Category 11 Data

Enterprise OEM buyers with CSRD obligations must report Category 11 as part of their own Scope 3 inventory — but they need data from component suppliers to do so. A car manufacturer, for example, cannot calculate the lifetime fuel use emissions of its vehicles without data from engine, fuel system, and powertrain suppliers on energy efficiency specifications.

If you supply components to an automotive, appliance, machinery, or electronics OEM and have received a carbon questionnaire, Category 11 product use-phase data is likely what they are asking for — even if the questionnaire does not use that exact terminology.

Category 11 and Your Corporate Carbon Passport

Your DeCarbonOPS Carbon Passport covers Scope 3 Categories 3, 5, 6, and 7 (upstream fuel, waste, business travel, commuting). Category 11 requires product-specific calculation outside the corporate footprint tool. However, your Carbon Passport satisfies the corporate-level Scope 1, 2, and 3 data request — and Category 11 data can be provided as a supplementary product specification sheet alongside it.