Do cloud services fall under Scope 2 or Scope 3, and how do AWS’s renewable energy purchases influence our emissions calculations?

If your company uses cloud services like AWS, the electricity used to power the data centers is not Scope 2 for you, because you’re not purchasing the electricity directly. Instead, it falls under Scope 3, specifically in Category 1: Purchased goods and services.

That means you should include the emissions from AWS operations in your Scope 3 inventory — not Scope 2 — based on the services you consume (e.g., computing, storage, etc.).

Regarding AWS’s renewable energy claims: AWS does purchase renewable electricity and EACs to reduce its own Scope 2 emissions. However, unless AWS provides specific emissions factors for your usage (which they typically do via sustainability reports or dashboards), you cannot assume your own market-based emissions are zero. You also don’t need to buy your own EACs for AWS consumption, since you’re not directly responsible for that electricity.