Choose the Scope 3 tool that fits your data

Scope 3 tools fall into four categories that answer different questions. Here is how they compare, what to evaluate them on, and where DitchCarbon fits.

What are the main categories of Scope 3 tool?

Carbon accounting suites

General purpose platforms that track Scope 1, 2 and 3 across a business. Examples include Persefoni, Watershed and Normative.

Supplier and counterparty data platforms

Tools that collect, clean and benchmark data on the organisations you buy from or invest in, at scale. Suited to businesses with large supplier bases or large portfolios.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) software

Product level tools that analyse emissions across the life cycle of materials, products and packaging. Usually used by manufacturers and consumer goods companies.

ESG reporting suites

Broader sustainability platforms with emissions reporting as one module among several, alongside HR, governance and diversity metrics.

How do Scope 3 tools compare?

Scored on the four criteria below. Last checked July 2026.

Our own verification documents, including the UL Solutions report, are on the trust centre (https://ditchcarbon.com/resources/trust-centre). Verification status for the other vendors comes from our benchmark, Who's really verified? A reality check on carbon software assurance, which lists every platform we checked, verified or not, with the verifier for each.

How should you evaluate a Scope 3 tool?

Coverage

Does it hold data on the organisations you actually buy from or invest in, including private companies, or does it fall back to industry averages?

Auditability

Can your auditor follow a number back to its source? Ask whether the calculation methodology itself has been verified by a third party, and against which standard.

Fit with the tools you already run

Does the data reach your ERP, P2P and BI systems, or does someone export it to a spreadsheet every quarter?

Workflow, not just reporting

Can buyers and analysts use the data in day to day decisions, or does it only surface once a year?

How does DitchCarbon fit?

DitchCarbon provides verified emissions data for over 2 million organisations, so procurement, sustainability and finance teams can measure and act on supply chain and portfolio emissions from one source. That puts us in the second category above, not the first: we are a specialist Scope 3 carbon accounting tool rather than a full-inventory platform.

The calculator is verified to ISO 14064-3, limited assurance, by UL Solutions, renewed annually. We are the only specialist Scope 3 tool with third-party assurance of its calculation methodology. The reports are on our trust centre (https://ditchcarbon.com/resources/trust-centre).

Teams come to us to

• Move off generic spend-based factors onto organisation-specific data
• Collect and benchmark disclosures without running a survey round
• Track SBTi-aligned targets at counterparty, category and portfolio level
• Put emissions data into sourcing decisions and portfolio reviews, not just the annual report

Where we are narrow on purpose

We do one part of the problem: the data on other organisations, and what you do with it next. If you need a full Scope 1, 2 and 3 inventory platform, one of the suites above is a better starting point, and several of our customers run both.

Frequently asked questions

Get answers to the questions procurement and sustainability teams ask most often.

What is the best Scope 3 software?

There is no single best tool, because the categories above answer different questions. If your Scope 3 sits mostly in purchased goods and services, start with coverage on the organisations you buy from. If you need a full corporate inventory, start with an accounting suite. The table above scores both.

How much does Scope 3 software cost?

Pricing usually depends on how many organisations you need covered, which systems you integrate, and which modules you take. DitchCarbon prices on the size of your organisation, and the pricing page sets out the bands. Contact vendors directly for specific pricing.

What is the difference between spend-based and activity-based data?

Spend-based data multiplies financial spend by an emission factor, which gives fast coverage across everything you buy. Activity-based data uses what an organisation actually reported, such as fuel use or emissions intensity, which is more accurate but only exists where the organisation has published it. Most Scope 3 inventories need both: activity data where it exists, spend where it does not, and the method recorded on every line so an auditor can see which was used.

How long does it take to get a first Scope 3 baseline?

With DitchCarbon, numbers you can defend within 2 weeks. The baseline comes from data you already hold, your supplier or vendor list and your spend, so it does not wait on survey responses. Integrations into ERP and P2P systems, and forecasting modules, come after that and depend on how quickly your systems team can provide access.

Is DitchCarbon data auditable by a third party?

Yes. Every figure carries its source and change history, so a third-party auditor can follow a number back to where it came from. The calculator itself is verified to ISO 14064-3, limited assurance, by UL Solutions. DitchCarbon data has been used in emissions reports that were subsequently assured by ten different third-party assurance providers, including Big Four firms.

See where DitchCarbon fits your evaluation

Bring your own supplier or portfolio list and we will show you the coverage on it before you commit to anything. Request a walkthrough or view pricing.