Industry voice: Scope 3: it's not me, it's you.

Computacenter tackles Scope 3 through an IT Director’s open letter to the category that's been playing hard to get since 2011 - with some practical tips for building a healthier long-term relationship.

Dear Scope 3,

I’ve tried, I really have.

I read about you. I watched webinars. I even started attending group therapy. But I still don’t know what you want from me.

You’re vague, you’re distant, and somehow you touch everything. My servers. My suppliers. My bloody coffee pods.

And yet you never explain yourself. One minute you’re about upstream freight. The next, you’re asking about my cloud provider’s emissions intensity.

I can’t keep up. You’re exhausting.

At first, I thought I could ignore you. I thought if I focused on Scope 1 and 2 and kept my power clean and my buildings efficient, maybe you’d leave me alone. But procurement keeps asking about you. So do customers. And now I'm being asked to go public about us?

You keep saying this isn’t a phase. That you’re here for the long haul. But you’re saying the same thing to everyone! And yet somehow, I’m the one left trying to explain you? It’s absurd.

How can I count on you when your story changes depending on who’s telling it? Even your location changes the story. You’re one thing in Denmark, another in Dubai. Are you even trying to be consistent?

And as usual, I’m the one being told I’m not doing enough.

The thing is…I can't walk away. Beneath the admin and the acronyms, you really matter to me. I think if we could just define this properly – get aligned, build some trust, maybe? You could be good for me. For us. For everyone.

I want to keep trying. But I really need you to meet me halfway. Please.

Yours (whether I like it or not),

A tired IT Director

>>>>

Dear tired IT Director,

Another "I don't understand you" letter? Sweetheart, I’m literally described in the GHG Protocol.

And before I get into it, that wasn't "group therapy" – that was the Climate Change Committee and you're actually the chair.

You’re not confused, you’re reticent, and that’s fair; it's relatively new ground and it feels uncomfortable. Since you’re not going to Google it, I’ll do what I can to keep it simple. Here's how to start to understand me:

1. Learn my love languages (they’re all categories).

Print out the 15 Scope 3 categories (on recycled paper). Circle what’s relevant. Cross out what’s not. Yes, with a pen. Like a grown-up.

Why? Because not every Scope 3 category applies to you, and the sooner you know what isn't relevant, the sooner you can focus on what is.

2. Follow the money. Spoiler: it leads to me!

Look at your top 10 suppliers – where you spend is where you can really get to know me.

Why? Because almost invariably emissions follow cashflow, and your biggest invoices carry the biggest footprints.

3. Say my name in public (especially to procurement).

Email them: “Do we ask suppliers for emissions data?”

Why? Because if no one’s asking, no one’s answering – and that makes Scope 3 so much more difficult to quantify and address.

4. Walk through one day in my life.

Pick a product. Trace its journey. If you can’t explain where it starts, lives, and goes when it dies, you do not know me.

Why? Because Scope 3 is actually just supply chains, energy use, and waste. You can control more of this than you think, but you need to understand it first.

5. Ask my friends about me.

Some IT providers can actually include me in their service. Ask yours.

Why? Because you can’t do this alone, and suppliers that understand their emissions – especially those who can give you real Scope 3 data – are best-placed to help you understand and reduce yours.

I’m really not that mysterious - there's actually a whole industry being built around me.

And babes…while everyone counts me, you're the only one who really tries to understand me – and that means something.

Yours (whether you like it or not),

Scope 3

(Described in full. Since 2011.)

Find out more about Computacenter’s sustainability commitments here.

This article is sponsored by Computacenter.