72% of Welsh Public Sector Emissions Come From Supply Chains. Why Scope 3 Matters
Welsh public sector emissions were around 3.54 MtCO2e in 2024, and almost three quarters of that sits in supply chains — which means it sits with suppliers.
Zero to Green Editorial
If you sell to the Welsh public sector, this is the statistic that will eventually reach you through a tender document.
The 60-word answer
Reported Welsh public sector emissions totalled approximately 3.54 MtCO₂e in 2024. Around 72% came from supply chains, 15% from buildings, 12% from transport, roughly 1% from waste and under 1% from medical gases. A public body cannot cut the largest part of its footprint without changing what it buys and who it buys from.
What the evidence says
- Reported: approximately 3.54 MtCO₂e total Welsh public sector emissions in 2024.
- Reported: supply chain 72%, buildings 15%, transport 12%, waste around 1%, medical gases under 1%.
- Zero to Green interpretation: the reporting boundary, not the buildings estate, is what makes this number large, and it is the correct boundary.
What “supply chain” means here
These are Scope 3 emissions: released by other organisations but caused by the reporting body’s purchasing. Construction materials, medical consumables, IT hardware, professional services, food, transport of goods. They are estimated, often from spend-based factors, which makes them less precise than a metered gas bill and no less real.
What it does not mean
It does not mean buildings and fleet no longer matter, they remain the emissions a body directly controls and can cut fastest. It also does not mean 72% is uniquely Welsh; most service-delivery organisations that measure Scope 3 properly find the same shape. What is notable is that Wales measures and publishes it.
Why this matters to suppliers
A buyer whose footprint is three-quarters supply chain has one effective lever: procurement. In practice that means carbon questions in tenders, requests for emissions data at contract level, and preference for suppliers who can evidence a credible plan. For central government contracts above the PPN threshold this is already formalised, see our guide to the Carbon Reduction Plan requirement under PPN 006.
What can be done
- Suppliers: baseline Scope 1 and 2 properly, then the Scope 3 categories you can actually evidence. A partial, honest inventory beats a complete, invented one.
- Suppliers: publish a reduction commitment with a named owner and a date, so a buyer can verify it exists. You can publish one here.
- Buyers: ask for data you will actually use. Requesting a full Scope 3 inventory from a ten-person firm produces a spreadsheet, not a reduction.
- Both: focus on the few spend categories that dominate. Supply chain footprints are highly concentrated.
Sources and methodology
- Welsh public sector net zero reporting, Welsh Government.
Percentages are as reported and are shares of reported emissions, which depend on the reporting boundary and estimation method used by contributing bodies.
Last reviewed: 31 August 2026.
Context: Climate change in Wales and Welsh emissions by sector. Practical next step: how to build a Carbon Reduction Plan.