Since 2010, more than 50,000 companies worldwide have reported Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse-gas emissions – a landmark in corporate climate accountability. The next frontier is Scope 3: the full value-chain impact. Originating from the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and defined in the 2001 Greenhouse Gas Protocol, these frameworks have reshaped corporate behaviour and driven measurable progress.
Measurable Impact: 29% CO₂-e Reduction
In Australia, emissions have fallen from 609 → 433 Mt CO₂-e, (29 per cent) a 34 per cent per-capita reduction, driven by the phase-out of coal, renewable growth, power-purchase agreements, efficiency gains and improved land use (DCCEEW 2024 National Inventory Report)
Packaging is in Scope
Scope 3 expands accountability from what businesses control to what they influence. As mandatory reporting rolls out globally, more than 4000 companies face their biggest data challenge yet. Consistent policy has proven that what gets measured gets managed – and what’s managed improves. Policy works, and Scope 3 is the next wave of change.
What it means for packaging
Scope 3 covers everything beyond a company’s gates from materials and transport to product use and end-of-life. These value-chain emissions represent 90 per cent of total corporate carbon footprints.
For packaging, this includes:
- Purchased goods and materials – embodied carbon in paper, board, plastic, glass or aluminium
- Transportation and logistics – emissions across supply chains
- Use and reuse – packaging performance during product use
- End-of-life – collection, recycling, incineration, or landfill outcomes
- Upstream inputs – feedstocks, resins, coatings, inks and adhesives
These touchpoints define the true climate footprint of packaging and highlight the strategic levers available to brand owners seeking to meet EPR targets, reduce costs and align with regulation and consumer expectations.
Data robustness becomes the differentiator
Emissions reporting succeeds because it’s a universal language – harmonised definitions that enable transparency and comparison. But the coming challenge lies in data robustness and the ability to collect, validate, and repeat data with confidence and consistency. The value lies not just in compliance, but in what the data reveals – hotspots, inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement at scale.
Technology makes it possible
At Phantm, we’re building technology to help companies capture and repurpose packaging data for internal and external reporting. Brand owners, manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and retailers each hold pieces of the emissions puzzle. By digitising and connecting this data, businesses create a living asset that saves time, mitigates risk and informs smarter decisions.
Packaging data may be imperfect but it’s not unusable. Starting with the products or suppliers that matter most builds momentum toward a more complete, connected dataset.
From measurement to motivation
Mandatory Scope 3 disclosure will drive supplier engagement, procurement reform, and innovation in material design, logistics, reuse and recovery. It will distinguish those truly transforming their value chains. Aligning Scope 3 reporting with packaging reform makes sense. One informs the other, and together they can drive innovation, investment and impact.
Achieving that impact depends on data – high-quality, structured and proprietary. When tracked and improved over time, packaging data can be repurposed across reporting, insights and reduction strategies. Phantm’s AI-enabled systems make this process faster, smarter and more valuable for businesses.
Australia’s next phase of climate reporting won’t just quantify emissions; it will catalyse collaboration and unlock investment, empowering the packaging sector to design systems that work for people and planet. When measurement meets motivation, markets move – and that’s where real change happens.
