Scope 3 Emissions
Since 2019, the MIT Office of Sustainability (MITOS) has been building a preliminary picture of the Institute’s Scope 3, or indirect, GHG emissions.
MIT's Fast Forward Plan for Climate Action in 2021 committed the Institute to account and report on MIT's Scope 3 emissions including MIT-sponsored travel, purchased goods and services, capital goods (furniture, fixtures, tools, etc.) and waste using the best practice GHG Protocol. In 2025, MIT is publishing an online Scope 3 dashboard that provides estimated emissions accounting across relevant Scope 3 categories, and will be accessible to the MIT community with touchstone access.
What are Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions?
Scope 1 Direct GHG emissions that occur from sources that are controlled or owned by MIT, such as fuel combustion in boilers, furnaces, and vehicles
Scope 2 Indirect GHG emissions associated with the purchase of electricity, steam, heat, or cooling
Scope 3 Other indirect GHG emissions that result from activities or assets not owned or controlled by MIT, but that MIT still impacts through its value chain, such as employee travel and commuting or supply chain emissions from purchased goods or services
MIT has committed to net-zero Scope 1, 2, and select Scope 3 emissions by 2026.
How is MIT assessing and addressing its Scope 3 emissions?
MIT has established an institutional goal to formalize Scope 3 accounting in MIT’s Fast Forward: MIT’s Climate Action Plan for the Decade, and to begin mitigating such emissions, starting with air travel. Because of this leadership-level support, MIT was able to expand Scope 3 collection efforts with additional institutional resources and staff.
Reducing emissions from business travel
MIT’s Scope 3 Business Travel Dashboard (Kerberos login required) is a climate action planning tool that can enable users to understand the scale of MIT's travel-related Scope 3 footprint and identify opportunities for reduction. This dashboard is the first in a series of anticipated Scope 3 visualizations that allow users to understand the scale of MIT's Scope 3 footprint and opportunities for reduction.
Other Scope 3 reduction opportunities at MIT
- Business travel data is informing development of a pilot program for offsetting travel emissions
- The School of Architecture + Planning is integrating Scope 3 data into a school-wide Climate Action Plan
- Designing out waste by generating cleaner streams of food waste and recycling for feeding circular economies
- Promoting re-use of office and lab materials [link to 1.3.4 Reuse] through a free reuse exchange tool called MIT Rheaply (open to MIT community members with a Kerberos login).
- Establishing sustainable purchasing programs with vendors and MIT purchasers to reduce lifecycle GHG impacts
MIT Business Travel - Scope 3 Emissions
The MIT Business Travel - Scope 3 Emissions dashboard is the first in a series of anticipated Scope 3 visualizations that allow users to understand the scale of MIT's Scope 3 footprint and opportunities for reduction.
