Reducing carbon emissions is a priority for many furniture companies.
But to make real progress, tackling scope 3 emissions is essential.
Why?
Because scope 3 represents the vast majority of the industry's carbon footprint.
We analyzed the emission data of 10 leading furniture brands. The results were striking: scope 3 emissions accounted for 85% to 98% of their total emissions.
In this article, we’ll break down what scope 3 emissions are, how to measure them, and the key strategies to reduce them.
Before going further, let’s define what scope 3 emissions are.
Scope 3 emissions refer to all indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that occur in a company’s value chain, excluding those classified as Scope 1 (direct emissions from owned or controlled sources) and Scope 2 (indirect emissions from purchased energy).
These emissions result from activities not owned or directly controlled by the reporting company.
Scope 3 emissions are categorized into 15 distinct areas according to the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, including:
Now that we’ve seen a general definition of scope 3 emissions, let’s take a closer look at what scope 3 emissions can look like for a furniture company.
Below, we’ve listed the 15 areas provided by the GHG Protocol for scope 3 emissions.
For these examples, we’ve considered a furniture company that outsources its production.
And here’s an example of what this breakdown can look like for a furniture company, in this case the British furniture company DFS:
Among all the categories associated with scope 3 emissions, the “Purchased goods and services” usually stands out.
We checked the sustainability reports of five furniture companies, which share their scope 3 breakdowns. This category of emissions represented between 68% and 84% of scope 3 emissions and between 63% and 81% of their total emissions.
Now that we’ve reviewed what scope 3 emissions are, let’s focus on why you should measure them as a furniture brand.
Measuring scope 3 emissions is a critical step in a decarbonization journey.
But it can also be a legal requirement in some countries. If your company has made some voluntary carbon reduction commitments, you might also have to report on your scope 3 emissions.
If your company has a decarbonization plan, measuring your scope 3 emissions is a must.
Not only because it will help you understand their contribution. But also because it will provide practical ways to reduce them.
Among other benefits, it will help:
Because of these benefits and the overall weight of scope 3 emissions, a few countries have chosen to make their measurement a legal obligation. Let’s take a closer look.
For companies that fall under the scope of the CSRD, scope 3 reporting is a legal obligation.
While the final details of the directive’s scope and deadlines are still unclear, we know that large European companies should start preparing for this requirement as soon as they can.
This kind of regulation is being discussed in other countries as well.
Measuring scope 3 emissions is also a requirement if your company has made voluntary reduction or disclosure commitments.
Let’s take a look at two of these commitments and their impact on scope 3 emissions measurement.
Are you ready to start measuring your scope 3 emissions?
Let’s take a look at what the measurement process will look like.
Once your company has decided to measure its scope 3 emissions, you will need to choose which GHG Protocol calculation methods to rely on.
The GHG Protocol lists multiple options. Typically, the most precise and reliable methods are also the most time- and cost-intensive.
To make reporting more manageable, the GHG Protocol allows companies to use different methods depending on the category of emissions and their significance in the company’s footprint.
Now let’s take a look at the measurement process in greater detail.
The GHG Protocol recommends first identifying which Scope 3 categories (out of the 15 areas we listed earlier) contribute the most to your company’s footprint.
To guide your decision, they provide the following criteria:
To evaluate the size of an activity, they recommend using a method that’s good enough for an estimate and that won’t require too much effort on your side.
Based on each category’s importance for your company, you can then select the most appropriate GHG Protocol calculation method for each category:
Once you’ve selected a calculation method for each category, you can start collecting the data required to perform your calculations.
The data you’ll collect will depend on the methods you picked at the previous step.
You can then convert activity data into emissions using emission factors.
Once you’ve measured your scope 3 emissions precisely, you can take care of the next step: reducing them.
Let’s see a few examples of how furniture companies have successfully reduced their scope 3 emissions.
Let’s be clear: reduction methods will vary significantly between companies, depending on their operational structure.
That said, there are a few reduction strategies that are pretty common among all furniture companies.
As we saw earlier, in the furniture industry, most scope 3 emissions come from the “Purchased goods and services” category.
As a result, a lot of furniture companies start their reduction journeys with an assessment of their suppliers’ footprint.
Once they’ve identified their worst partners, they can push them to optimize their operations by minimizing waste and, most often, by switching their energy sources. This approach is particularly relevant for companies working with suppliers in regions with a high-carbon energy mix.
This extract from Norwegian company Kid’s annual sustainability report illustrates perfectly this strategy:
The majority of the Group's CO2e emissions stem primarily from our suppliers' production of goods. These emissions are directly associated with the energy intensity and the type of energy sources used in their manufacturing processes. We are working with our suppliers to understand how we may collaborate to become more energy efficient and move towards more sustainable energy sources.
A lot of elements that determine a product’s environmental impact are decided right from its design phase:
So it only makes sense to use eco-design methods to minimize your products’ impact.
The Wales-based office furniture company Orangebox has used this strategy to reduce the carbon footprint of their chairs. In the end, using a combination of recycled materials, optimized manufacturing processes and a design that takes into account the disassembly of the product, they were able to reach a carbon footprint of 34.9 kgCO2e per chair for their Recur model.
Transportation is also usually an important factor in the carbon footprint of furniture companies.
To limit the impact of this phase, you can switch to low-carbon transport (e.g., rail, EV fleets, optimized packaging to reduce volume) or try finding suppliers closer to your clients.
For example, the American furniture company Room & Board has started experimenting with an all-electric delivery service for their clients in the Chicago area in 2023. This kind of initiative will have a direct impact on their emissions in the “Downstream transportation and distribution” category.
You can also offer repair, refurbishing, resale, or leasing options to extend product life and reduce new production.
For example, the Dutch office furniture company Royal Ahrend has created a “Circular Hub”, a facility that refurbishes used products and products returned by their clients.
This initiative reduces emissions from product end-of-life while enabling the company to sell lower-carbon products.
In the same vein, the company has also created a furniture-as-a-service program that lets you rent furniture instead of buying it.
We hope these examples will provide inspiration for your own reduction roadmap.
If you want to measure your Scope 3 emissions accurately using science-based methods, feel free to reach out.
