As Brazil enters 2025 with more ambitious decarbonization targets and climate regulations under discussion in Congress, one topic is gaining prominence in boardrooms and executive offices: the need to measure, report, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions across all corporate operations.
The topic isn’t new. But regulatory, financial, and market pressure has never been greater. And at the center of this discussion are the three emission scopes defined by the GHG Protocol, the international standard guiding corporate inventories worldwide and, in Brazil, adapted and translated by the Brazilian GHG Protocol Program.
The report interviewed experts, reviewed updated data, and analyzed movements from key sectors such as agribusiness, retail, and heavy industry. The picture that emerges is clear: measuring emissions is no longer a voluntary initiative—it has become a strategic requirement for competitiveness and access to capital.
Scope 1: the operational impact that can no longer be ignored
Scope 1 emissions are those released directly from activities under the company’s control. In Brazil, they are concentrated mainly in the combustion of fossil fuels such as diesel, gasoline, and natural gas, and in fugitive emissions from refrigeration systems, especially in supermarkets, food industries, and distribution centers.
According to consolidated data from the Brazilian GHG Protocol Program, the adoption of corporate inventories has grown by more than 40% since 2021. “What we are seeing is a shift in posture. Companies understand that measuring Scope 1 is not just an environmental issue, but a way to understand their own energy efficiency,” says a researcher from FGV who follows methodological developments.
In 2024 and 2025, the expansion of fleets powered by natural gas, biodiesel, and electricity is beginning to change inventories. Large logistics and transportation groups pressured by corporate contracts have been forced to revise routes, fuels, and maintenance practices to reduce consumption and direct emissions.
Scope 2: the strategic weight of electricity
In Brazil, where the electricity matrix remains predominantly renewable, Scope 2 is often seen as less relevant. But that is changing.
The 2025 National Energy Balance shows that despite the significant participation of hydropower, hydrological variations, emergency thermal plants, and industrial expansion can affect emissions associated with purchased electricity.
Companies opting for certified renewable energy contracts (such as I-RECs) have achieved reputational gains while increasing transparency for international investors. “By switching to 100% renewable energy, a company not only eliminates its Scope 2 emissions; it stabilizes costs, reduces regulatory risks, and improves ESG indicators,” says a consultant interviewed for the article.
For high-consumption sectors such as steelmaking, mining, agribusiness, and data centers, this transition is becoming practically mandatory to maintain global competitiveness.
Scope 3: the most complex frontier of decarbonization
If Scopes 1 and 2 already require organization and data control, Scope 3 expands the challenge across the entire value chain. It includes emissions that occur before, during, and after a company’s operations—from suppliers of inputs to final product disposal.
It is also the scope investors care about most. In many sectors, it represents between 70% and 90% of total emissions.
The Sectoral Guides by the Brazilian GHG Protocol Program published between 2024 and 2025 have made calculations easier for sectors such as retail, agribusiness, and construction, offering methodologies accessible even to small suppliers.
“It’s impossible to talk about energy transition in Brazil without considering the entire chain. For a major supermarket chain, for example, the biggest impact isn’t inside its stores but throughout the agricultural chain, refrigerated logistics, and post-consumption waste,” says a researcher from EPE.
The data gap is still a challenge, especially among small suppliers. But leading companies are already showing progress: supply contracts are being renegotiated with requirements for inventories, annual reductions, and goals aligned with corporate climate commitments.
Cases that illustrate the shift
The report identified notable movements across different sectors:
Agribusiness
A cooperative in the Midwest mapped its entire grain logistics route and found that outsourced trucks accounted for more than 60% of total emissions. Based on this assessment, it redesigned contracts and required more efficient fleets, reducing Scope 1 emissions by 18% and part of Scope 3 in just two years.
Food retail
Supermarket chains face major Scope 1 challenges due to refrigerant gases—highly polluting substances. A large national chain announced in 2024 the gradual replacement of traditional systems with transcritical CO₂ technologies, reducing more than 30,000 tons of CO₂e per year.
Heavy industry
A metallurgy company that switched to certified renewable energy contracts virtually eliminated its Scope 2 emissions and secured favorable conditions in a green credit line for industrial expansion. The company also launched a supplier engagement program to measure and reduce Scope 3 emissions.
Regulators follow the transformation
Although Brazil has not yet implemented a nationwide regulated carbon market, the topic is advancing in Congress and in technical committees of the Executive Branch. At the same time, states such as São Paulo, Pará, and Rio de Janeiro are developing their own mandatory inventory initiatives, especially for sectors with high climate impact.
For the experts interviewed, the trend is clear: “Emissions inventories will cease to be a competitive differentiator and will become a basic requirement for operating. The movement has already begun.”
Why measuring emissions has become a business imperative
Global and domestic investors cite three main reasons:
- Access to capital
Funds and banks already condition financing on consistent ESG metrics. Without a reliable inventory, companies are excluded from green credit lines or pay more. - International competitiveness
The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) requires Brazilian exporters to know their carbon footprint, including Scope 3. - Governance and reputation
ESG reports without robust metrics face increasing scrutiny. Transparency has become a fundamental criterion.
What to expect in the coming years
With consolidated methodologies such as the GHG Protocol and increasingly robust Brazilian datasets, the country is entering a new phase: integrating inventories as a strategic—not just environmental—tool.
The challenge now is not just measuring, but integrating data into economic planning, the energy matrix, and investment decisions.
Experts say that for Brazil, urgency is also an opportunity. With a renewable energy matrix, bioeconomy potential, and rapid clean energy expansion, companies that understand and report their emissions gain real competitive advantage in a global market moving toward decarbonization.
