How calculated emissions are assigned to GHG scopes and subscopes

Every emission figure Root calculates ends up in exactly one subscope. Which one depends on:

For most chapters the rule is simple: if you own or operate the asset, part of the emissions land in Scope 1 or 2 and the rest in Scope 3; if you don't, everything moves to Scope 3.

Every facility in Root has a facility type, and that type determines whether the facility counts as "owned" for scope purposes. Only these three types are treated as owned/operated:

The other nine types are all treated as not owned/operated, and always push their emissions into Scope 3:

This covers electricity, heat, water, refrigerants, residual waste, consumables, and goods & services (capital goods vs. services) reported against a facility. The deciding variable is the facility's type, plus, for goods & services, whether the item is flagged as a capital good or a service.

This row applies identically to all three owned/operated facility types (Office+Production, Production, Office or Retail).

For every utility type (electricity, heat, water, refrigerants, residual waste, consumables, goods & services — capital good or service alike), the facility type alone decides the Scope 3 category:

For goods & services items specifically, the table above is only the system default. Root applies the first matching rule in this order:

The deciding variables are whether the shipment is inbound or outbound, and whether the transport is owned (your own fleet) or not owned (a third-party carrier).

The deciding variables are the travel type (business trip vs. daily commute) and whether the vehicle is owned (a company car) or not owned (personal car, taxi, flight, public transit, etc.).

For an owned vehicle, the vehicle/fuel type doesn't change which subscopes are available — it changes how the emissions split across them. A combustion vehicle's emissions fall almost entirely under Scope 1.2 (tailpipe combustion). An electric vehicle's emissions instead fall mostly under Scope 2.1, because that's where its electricity draw is accounted for; only a small residual (e.g. maintenance) shows up elsewhere. That's why a single "owned" entry can show non-zero values in Scope 1.2, 2.1, and 3.3 at once — the split depends on the vehicle/fuel type of the underlying emission-factor dataset, not on anything you set directly when classifying the entry.

Packaging used for the products you purchase is always assigned to Scope 3.1, regardless of facility type or order type — packaging is treated as part of the purchased good.

Packaging used for shipping (both purchase and sales orders) is always assigned to Scope 3.1, regardless of order type or facility type.

Raw materials and components are always assigned to Scope 3.1. There is no ownership or facility-type variable here — every entry in this chapter lands in the same subscope.

Emissions from the use of sold products — both electricity consumption and consumables used during the product's life — are always assigned to Scope 3.11.

Emissions from end-of-life treatment of sold products (and their consumables) are always assigned to Scope 3.12.

Some emission sources aren't calculated automatically and are instead entered directly by you — this typically covers upstream and downstream leased assets, franchises, and investments (Scope 3.8, 3.13, 3.14, and 3.15). For these entries, you choose the GHG category yourself when you create the entry; chapter, activity, and ownership are free-text fields you fill in for your own reference, and don't affect the scope calculation.

For owned electricity, heat, and refrigerants, the split between Scope 1/2 and Scope 3 shown above is a default; the exact proportions come from the underlying emission-factor dataset. See: