Upstream Transportation and Distribution (Scope 3 Category 4)
Category 4 of Scope 3 covers emissions from the transportation and distribution of purchased products between a company’s tier 1 suppliers and its own operations, paid for by the reporting company or a third party.
What is Upstream Transportation and Distribution (Scope 3 Category 4)?
This category addresses the logistics emissions incurred in moving goods from suppliers to the reporting company’s facilities. It includes road freight, rail, shipping, and air freight for inbound materials, as well as warehousing and distribution not owned or controlled by the reporting company.
The key distinction from Category 9 (Downstream Transportation) is direction: Category 4 covers inbound logistics to the company, while Category 9 covers outbound logistics to customers. If the reporting company pays for the transportation, it falls in Category 4. If the customer or a third party pays, it may fall elsewhere.
Calculation methods range from distance-based (using tonne-kilometres and mode-specific emission factors) to spend-based (applying transport sector emission factors to logistics costs). Companies with detailed shipping manifests can achieve high accuracy, while those relying on spend data get reasonable estimates.
Practical Examples
A UK manufacturer tracks the road freight emissions of raw materials delivered from European suppliers using tonne-kilometre data and DEFRA HGV emission factors.
A retailer estimates inbound logistics emissions by applying spend-based factors to its total freight and warehousing costs from third-party logistics providers.
A food and beverage company maps its supply chain routes, finding that air-freighted ingredients account for 70% of Category 4 emissions despite representing only 5% of volume.
How Climatise Helps
Climatise calculates Category 4 emissions using either distance-based or spend-based methods depending on your available data. The platform integrates with logistics providers and procurement systems to automate inbound transport emission calculations.
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