{
  "slug": "supply-chain-emissions-intensity",
  "title": "Supply Chain Emissions Intensity Calculator",
  "heading": "Supply Chain (Scope 3 Purchased Goods) Emissions Intensity Calculator",
  "category": "other",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/supply-chain-emissions-intensity",
  "summary": "Emissions per dollar of spend by supplier category, spend-based method.",
  "description": "For most companies, purchased goods and services (GHG Protocol Scope 3 Category 1) is the single largest emissions category, often exceeding Scope 1, 2, and all other Scope 3 categories combined. Since supplier-specific emissions data is rarely available, most companies start with the spend-based method: multiply category spend by an industry-average emissions factor per dollar (EPA's Supply Chain Greenhouse Gas Emission Factors, or similar databases), which gives a directionally useful estimate even without primary supplier data. This calculator applies that method across your top spend categories and shows which categories drive the most emissions per dollar, which is typically where companies focus supplier engagement or category-switching efforts first — a dollar spent on raw metals or chemicals commonly carries far higher embedded emissions than the same dollar spent on professional services.",
  "formula": "Category emissions = category spend ($) × emissions factor (kg CO2e/$). Total intensity = total emissions ÷ total spend.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=supply-chain-emissions-intensity",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "materialsSpend",
      "label": "Raw materials/metals spend",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 3000000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "materialsFactor",
      "label": "Materials emission factor",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0.65,
      "unit": "kg CO2e/$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "logisticsSpend",
      "label": "Logistics/transport spend",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 800000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "logisticsFactor",
      "label": "Logistics emission factor",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0.45,
      "unit": "kg CO2e/$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "servicesSpend",
      "label": "Professional services spend",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1500000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "servicesFactor",
      "label": "Services emission factor",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0.12,
      "unit": "kg CO2e/$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "totalTons",
      "label": "Total estimated supply chain emissions",
      "format": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "materialsTons",
      "label": "From raw materials",
      "format": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "logisticsTons",
      "label": "From logistics",
      "format": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "intensity",
      "label": "Overall intensity (kg CO2e per $)",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Raw materials/metals spend: 3000000 $",
      "Materials emission factor: 0.65 kg CO2e/$",
      "Logistics/transport spend: 800000 $",
      "Logistics emission factor: 0.45 kg CO2e/$",
      "Professional services spend: 1500000 $",
      "Services emission factor: 0.12 kg CO2e/$"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Total estimated supply chain emissions: 2,490",
      "From raw materials: 1,950",
      "From logistics: 360",
      "Overall intensity (kg CO2e per $): 0.47"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter raw materials/metals spend ($).",
      "Enter materials emission factor (kg CO2e/$).",
      "Enter logistics/transport spend ($).",
      "Enter logistics emission factor (kg CO2e/$).",
      "Enter professional services spend ($).",
      "Enter services emission factor (kg CO2e/$).",
      "Read your total estimated supply chain emissions on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "materialsSpend": 1800000,
        "materialsFactor": 0.39,
        "logisticsSpend": 500000,
        "logisticsFactor": 0.27,
        "servicesSpend": 900000,
        "servicesFactor": 0.072
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "materialsSpend": 3000000,
        "materialsFactor": 0.65,
        "logisticsSpend": 800000,
        "logisticsFactor": 0.45,
        "servicesSpend": 1500000,
        "servicesFactor": 0.12
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "materialsSpend": 4800000,
        "materialsFactor": 1.04,
        "logisticsSpend": 1300000,
        "logisticsFactor": 0.7200000000000001,
        "servicesSpend": 2400000,
        "servicesFactor": 0.192
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Estimates assume standard, average conditions — local rules, pricing, and materials vary.",
    "Results are rounded for readability; add a buffer before ordering, booking, or committing.",
    "Double-check anything with a real cost attached against a local quote."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the spend-based method?",
      "a": "It's directionally useful but coarse — it assumes every dollar in a category has the same emissions intensity regardless of the specific supplier's efficiency or energy mix, which is rarely true. It's the recommended starting method under GHG Protocol when supplier-specific data isn't available, and most companies transition individual high-spend categories to supplier-specific (activity-based) data over time as they mature their program."
    },
    {
      "q": "Why is materials spend usually the biggest emissions driver?",
      "a": "Raw material extraction and primary processing (steel, aluminum, chemicals, cement) are extremely energy- and process-emissions-intensive per dollar of value added, compared to services or finished-goods assembly where labor and margin make up more of the price. This is consistently the pattern EPA's and DEFRA's spend-based emission factor databases show across sectors."
    },
    {
      "q": "What should I do once I've identified my highest-intensity spend category?",
      "a": "Engage your largest suppliers in that category for primary emissions data (which usually lowers the estimate versus the generic spend-based factor, since real suppliers vary widely) and consider supplier scorecards or contract language requiring emissions disclosure and reduction targets as a starting point for category-level engagement."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/esg-carbon-intensity-revenue",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/embodied-carbon-materials",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/ghg-scope3-travel"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Supply Chain Emissions Intensity Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/supply-chain-emissions-intensity)"
}