What CSRD/Scope 3 emissions are and why your customer is asking for them

If you've received a questionnaire about CO2 emissions or a request for "Scope 3 data" from a customer in the past few months, you're not alone. This isn't a random bureaucratic quirk -- it's a direct consequence of the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD, 2022/2464), and it's already shifting from a theoretical requirement to a concrete question in your inbox.

What CSRD is, and why it affects you even if it doesn't apply to you directly

CSRD directly obligates only large companies (phased in from the 2024 financial year, with scope gradually widening) -- most small and mid-sized carriers or freight forwarders are unlikely to fall into that group themselves. But that's exactly the point: a large company in CSRD's scope must report on emissions across its entire value chain, not just its own office electricity. That's called Scope 3 -- indirect emissions arising from purchased goods and services, including transport and logistics (a distinct category, "purchased transportation and distribution," under the GHG Protocol standard).

So when a large company needs to gather its Scope 3 numbers, it turns to its OWN suppliers and carriers -- on a contractual basis, not a direct legal obligation. CSRD formally "doesn't apply" to you, but your large customer can still make providing this data a condition for continuing to work together -- market pressure moves faster than formal regulation.

Why this is already reality, not a future scenario

Unlike eFTI (where the window to choose is still open until 2027), the signal here is already present now: large buyers of logistics services increasingly build emissions-data reporting into their supplier evaluation criteria, or ask for it directly before signing or renewing a contract. A carrier that can't provide at least a reasonable, defensible number risks looking like a less reliable partner -- regardless of whether CSRD applies to them directly.

What actually needs to be calculated

Calculating fuel-consumption emissions isn't mathematically hard -- what's hard is systematically collecting it from every fuel receipt and invoice, then converting it using publicly recognized coefficients:

Litres consumed per period, per vehicle. You already have this -- in fuel receipts or card statements, usually scattered across dozens of PDF files.
The emissions factor for the fuel type. How many kg CO2e are released burning one litre of diesel, petrol, or LPG -- these figures are publicly published (e.g. the UK's DESNZ annual GHG conversion factor set, widely used in practice as a traceable source), NOT guessed.
Conversion into energy (MWh). VSME/CSRD reporting formats often require both units -- CO2e AND the amount of energy consumed.

How Demurrit's fuel module handles this

The fuel module automatically sums your consumed litres -- from BOTH data sources you might be using, if you use both (individual receipts AND a consolidated monthly fuel-card invoice) -- and generates a PDF report with per-vehicle CO2e (kg) and MWh detail plus a fleet total for the period you choose. The add-on costs €49/month on top of any plan with the fuel module (unlimited reports), or €199 for a one-off report, if you only need the data occasionally when a specific customer asks for it.

One thing we do deliberately differently from most quick calculators: when a vehicle's fuel type hasn't been set by you, the report never silently defaults to diesel -- the row is clearly flagged as "assumed," with a warning to verify it before official use. Same principle if a fuel card in an invoice isn't assigned to any vehicle: its litres stay in the total, but are clearly flagged as unassigned rather than disappearing from the calculation.

What to know before submitting this officially

This report is a calculation basis, not an audited final document. It's built on publicly published coefficients and covers Scope 1 combustion emissions (excluding the supply-chain Well-to-Tank component). Before using it for official CSRD/VSME submission to your customer, we recommend having your accounting or compliance advisor confirm that the methodology and scope used match your specific case's requirements -- the same way you would with any other financial or legal report you hand to a third party.