Scope 3 is where most companies' emissions sit and where reductions are hardest, because they depend on suppliers and customers. That makes it tempting to close the gap with carbon credits. The accounting rules are clear that this does not work the way it sounds, and the rules that do allow credits are narrower than many proposals suggest.
Carbon credits cannot reduce your reported Scope 3 emissions: they are reported separately from the inventory, and SBTi does not count them towards targets. What lowers Scope 3 are reductions inside your value chain. This article sets out what each framework allows as of September 2026, how insetting differs from offsetting, and how to report credits next to your Scope 3 numbers.
The short rule: credits sit beside the inventory, not inside it
A greenhouse gas inventory measures the emissions that physically happen in your operations and value chain. A carbon credit represents a reduction or removal somewhere else. Subtracting one from the other mixes two different things, which is why every major framework keeps them apart:
Framework | Can credits reduce Scope 3? | What it allows |
|---|---|---|
GHG Protocol | No | report credits separately from the inventory |
SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0 | No | credits as action beyond the value chain; removals required from 2035 for larger companies |
VCMI Scope 3 Action Code | No, but | credits may close part of a temporary scope 3 gap as a claim, under strict conditions |
CSRD / ESRS E1 | No | disclose credits and removals separately from gross emissions |
For background on the three scopes, see scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions explained.
What the GHG Protocol says
The GHG Protocol has always kept offsets out of the inventory: a company reports its gross emissions, and any credits it buys are reported separately. That holds for Scope 3 as well.
Two 2026 developments sharpen the picture:
Market-based instruments. In an update on 29 July 2026, the GHG Protocol stated that market-based approaches, such as book-and-claim certificates for sustainable aviation fuel, are not included in or allowed under the current Scope 3 Standard. A revised standard is expected in late 2028; until then, such instruments are disclosed next to the inventory (how to report SAF certificates in Scope 3).
Land and removals. The Land Sector and Removals Standard, released in January 2026 and effective from 2027, sets out how companies with land-based value chains report emissions and removals in their own value chain, separately from emissions.
What SBTi says
Under SBTi’s Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0, progress on scope 1, 2 and 3 targets is measured on the physical inventory. Carbon credits do not count towards any of these targets. They are recognised as action beyond the value chain, and Category A companies have to support eligible carbon removals from 2035, covering 1% of ongoing scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and rising to 100% at the net-zero year (SBTi carbon removal requirements).
That last point is the only place where Scope 3 numbers drive a credit volume under SBTi: your scope 3 emissions are part of the base for the removal requirement. How credits relate to science-based targets in detail is covered in aligning carbon credits with science-based targets.
What VCMI allows: the Scope 3 Action Code
The VCMI’s Scope 3 Action Code of Practice (April 2025) is the main framework that lets credits play a role specific to Scope 3. It is designed for companies that are making progress on validated scope 1 and 2 targets but are behind on scope 3. Under its conditions:
the company calculates its scope 3 emissions gap: the difference between its actual scope 3 emissions and where its science-aligned target trajectory says they should be,
it retires high-quality credits at least equal to that gap,
the gap may not exceed 25% of the company’s total scope 3 trajectory,
the gap must be closed through real reductions by 2040, and the company discloses what it is doing about the barriers.
This is a claim about taking responsibility for a shortfall, not a reduction of the inventory. Credits remain reported separately.
Insetting: reductions inside your value chain
Insetting means financing emission reductions or removals within your own value chain: helping a supplier switch to renewable heat, funding regenerative practices on the farms you source from, paying a premium for low-carbon materials. Because these reductions happen in your value chain, they can lower your Scope 3 emissions, provided they are traceable to your purchases and measured robustly.
New infrastructure is appearing for that. Verra launched its Scope 3 Standard Program on 15 September 2026, which certifies value-chain projects and issues Scope 3 Units linked to the affected products. How insetting compares with offsetting, and when each fits, is covered in carbon insetting vs offsetting.
Tip from Bernard de Wit, Founder of Regreener: “When a proposal promises to 'offset your Scope 3', ask which line of your inventory it will change. If the answer is none, it is a contribution beyond your value chain, which can be valuable. If the answer is a specific supplier category, ask for the traceability evidence. Mixing the two is how good intentions end up as a reporting error.”
How to report credits next to Scope 3
Report gross Scope 3 by category, unchanged by any credit purchase.
Report value-chain reductions as reductions in the categories they affect, with the evidence behind them.
Report credits separately: volume, project type, standard, vintage, and whether they are avoidance or removal, with retirement evidence (carbon credits in CSRD reporting).
Label the claim correctly: a contribution beyond the value chain, a VCMI Scope 3 Action claim, or a step towards SBTi’s removal requirement.
Keep consumer wording clean: from 27 September 2026 EU rules ban offset-based neutrality claims on products (EmpCo carbon neutral claim ban).
“Scope 3 is a supplier problem, and credits do not solve supplier problems. What they can do is put a price on the emissions you have not yet cut and fund real climate action while you work on the value chain. Companies that are clear about that distinction get much less pushback from auditors.”
Bernard de Wit, Founder of Regreener
Working out what to do with your Scope 3 gap?
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