Climate & Environment
Use of Sold Products
Definition
Use of sold products is Scope 3 category 11 of the GHG Protocol's value chain standard: the emissions from the use of goods and services sold by the reporting company — fuel burned, electricity consumed by appliances and vehicles over their lifetimes, refrigerants leaked. For fossil fuel producers it represents the overwhelming majority of their value chain footprint (combustion of sold oil and gas), and for vehicle and equipment makers the largest share — making it the category through which product portfolios drive climate impact.
References
Source imported for editorial provenance.
This reference provides supporting context for how “Use of Sold Products” is defined and used.
Overview
How it is used
The category structures Scope 3 inventories, fossil fuel company "Scope 3 responsibility" debates, product decarbonisation strategy and avoided-emissions claims.
Why it matters
For the companies whose products emit when used, category 11 is the footprint — everything else is the frame.