Cloud and IT Scope 3 Estimator
Estimate the Scope 3 emissions of your cloud, software and IT spend, and compare cloud with provider reports.
Before you start: what to have readyShow
- A year of spend on cloud, software, IT services and telecom, from your accounts.
- Your providers’ carbon reports, if you have them, to compare the cloud line.
Each one fills in the fields below for a typical workload of that kind. You can change any of them.
What you paid in a year, in US dollars, before tax.
- Spend counted
- $950,000.00
- Of which cloud and hosting
- 53.4 t CO₂e
- Carbon per $1,000
- 85 kg
Spend-based: an industry average per dollar, Scope 3 Category 1, purchased goods and services.
By what you buy
| Spend | Industry (NAICS) | kg per $ | A year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud and hosting$600,000.00 | 518210, Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services | 0.089 | 53.4 t CO₂e |
| Software and SaaS$250,000.00 | 511210, Software Publishers | 0.075 | 18.8 t CO₂e |
| IT consulting and integration$100,000.00 | 541512, Computer Systems Design Services | 0.090 | 9.0 t CO₂e |
Against what your cloud providers report
The clouds report your share of their emissions from what you actually used. That figure is better than a spend-based one for the cloud line, and frameworks prefer supplier-specific data where it exists.
Bring the reports together with the Cloud Carbon Report Analyzer, and see how each provider counts.
What this model assumes
Show
- Factors: Supply Chain GHG Emission Factors for US Industries and Commodities, v1.4.0, Cornerstone Sustainability Data Initiative (successor to the US EPA series), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0. kg CO₂e per 2024 US dollar at purchaser price, with margins, 2023 emissions, IPCC AR6.
- Spend-based figures follow price, not use: a discount lowers them and a price rise raises them, with no change in emissions. Use them to size Scope 3 and find where supplier data matters most.
- Spend in other currencies: convert to US dollars at the year’s average rate first. The factors describe US industries.
- Cloud is NAICS 518210, data processing and hosting: there is no separate code for public cloud.
Want this done on your real bill?
Cloud Cost Audit: We go through your real AWS or Google Cloud bill and hand you a ranked list of what to cut first. From $1,500, fixed. Nothing paid upfront.
Questions
What is spend-based Scope 3?
An estimate of your suppliers’ emissions from what you paid them: spend times an industry average of emissions per dollar. The GHG Protocol accepts it for Scope 3 Category 1, purchased goods and services, when suppliers do not give you their own figures. It is quick and covers everything, but it moves with price, not with use.
Which factors does it use?
The Supply Chain Greenhouse Gas Emission Factors for US Industries and Commodities, version 1.4.0, published in October 2025 by the Cornerstone Sustainability Data Initiative, which took the series over from the US EPA. They are in kg CO2e per 2024 US dollar at purchaser price, under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Should I use this or my cloud provider’s carbon report?
For the cloud line, the provider’s report: it is based on what you used, not what you paid. Use spend-based for software, IT services and telecom, where suppliers rarely report, and to see which suppliers matter most before you ask them for data.
Who needs this?
Companies preparing for disclosure rules that include Scope 3, such as California’s SB 253 and the EU’s CSRD, and anyone answering a customer’s supplier questionnaire. Check with your sustainability team which method your reporting framework expects.
My spend is not in US dollars or not from 2024. What do I do?
Convert to US dollars at the year’s average exchange rate. For spend from later years, enter how much your suppliers’ prices have risen since 2024, and the spend is brought back to 2024 dollars before the factor applies.
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An estimate starts the report. Finitizer keeps the numbers behind it.
Finitizer joins your cloud bills and the providers’ carbon reports by month and service, so the cloud line of your Scope 3 comes from use, not spend, and is ready when the auditor asks.
See how Finitizer works