If a client or main contractor has asked for your "Scope 1 and 2 emissions", you're not alone, and it's less complicated than it sounds. Here's what the two terms mean, in plain English, and what information you actually need to answer.
The short version
- Scope 1 is the greenhouse gas your business releases directly, mostly from fuel you burn yourself: diesel in your lorries, petrol in your vans, LPG in equipment on site.
- Scope 2 is the greenhouse gas released on your behalf when the electricity you buy is generated at a power station.
These categories come from the GHG Protocol, the most widely used standard for measuring a company's emissions.
Scope 1: what you burn
If fuel is burned in something your company owns or controls, the emissions are your Scope 1. For most small businesses that means:
- diesel or petrol for company vehicles;
- diesel for generators or machinery;
- LPG used on site.
The information you need is simple: how many litres of each fuel you bought during the period. Fuel receipts, fuel-card statements or supplier invoices all work. The GHG Protocol prefers measuring fuel over estimating from kilometres driven, because it's more accurate.
Scope 2: the electricity you buy
You don't burn anything when you switch on the lights, but a power station does. Scope 2 counts the emissions from generating the electricity you use.
The information you need: the kWh on your electricity bills for the period. In Singapore, the emissions are worked out with the national grid emission factor published by the Energy Market Authority, which is 0.402 kg of CO2 per kWh for 2024.
A quick worked example
Take an illustrative small company that, over a year, bought:
- 1,000 litres of diesel for its vans, and
- 20,000 kWh of electricity.
| Scope | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Scope 1 (diesel) | 1,000 litres × 2.687 kg CO2e per litre | about 2,687 kg CO2e |
| Scope 2 (electricity) | 20,000 kWh × 0.402 kg CO2 per kWh | about 8,040 kg CO2 |
In this example electricity is the bigger share, which is common for offices and workshops. For a business with many vehicles, fuel usually dominates. A proper report shows the two separately, with the factors and sources used, so whoever receives it can check the working.
What about Scope 3?
Scope 3 is everything else in the value chain: suppliers, materials, business travel and more. Here's the useful part: when a larger company asks you for your Scope 1 and 2 figures, it's usually because your emissions are part of their Scope 3. So your Scope 1 and 2 numbers are normally exactly what they need.
What to gather
- Fuel receipts or statements for the period, in litres, for each type of fuel.
- Electricity bills for the same period, showing kWh.
- Basic company details, and which months or year the figures cover.
That's it. If you'd rather not do the calculation yourself, Uncle ESG turns those bills into a GHG Protocol-aligned Scope 1 & 2 report, checked by a person. You can see exactly how we calculate on our methodology page, or get started here.
Sources
- GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, World Resources Institute and WBCSD.
- Singapore Energy Statistics 2025, Chapter 2 (Grid Emission Factor), Energy Market Authority.
- GHG Emissions Measurement and Reporting Guidelines, Appendix to Part II (v3), National Environment Agency, the basis for our per-litre fuel factors. Full working on How we calculate.