Managing Scope 2 Emissions with Sustainability Solutions

Article by Constellation

As businesses work to reduce their carbon footprint and meet sustainability goals, addressing Scope 2 emissions has become a critical part of their environmental strategy. By implementing a variety of simple and strategic solutions, businesses can effectively reduce Scope 2 emissions and meet their sustainability goals.

Understanding Scope 2 Emissions                 

Scope 2 emissions, also known as indirect greenhouse gas emissions, come from purchased energy used to power company operations. Although they physically occur at the facility where the energy is generated, they are included in an organization’s GHG inventory because they stem from the organization’s energy use.

When accounting for Scope 2 emissions from purchased electricity, businesses have two primary approaches:

• Location-Based Method: Assesses average emissions factors for regional utility grids supplying a company’s facilities. This method provides insights into the general carbon intensity of electricity where a company operates.
• Market-Based Method: Evaluates emissions from electricity that companies have purposefully chosen. It tracks the emissions through contracts, which includes agreements for the sale and purchase of energy, either bundled with attributes about the energy generation or as separate, unbundled attributes.

While understanding the difference between location- and market-based methods is essential, businesses should also consider how each method would impact their operations. To effectively reduce emissions, it’s important to evaluate strategies based on the timeline of their goals. Businesses can use a combination of solutions based on simple or strategic implementation.

Solutions for Reducing Scope 2 Emissions

Reducing Scope 2 emissions is essential for demonstrating a commitment to environmental sustainability. This can be achieved by purchasing carbon-free power generation and associated emission-free energy certificates (EFECs), implementing energy efficiency measures, installing non-emitting on-site generation, and purchasing renewable energy and renewable energy certificates (RECs).

When choosing a solution, businesses should consider several factors, including timing, budget and sustainability goals. There are a variety of solutions that provide quick, measurable results for emissions reduction, such as Emission-Free Energy Certificates (EFECs) and Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). Additionally, businesses can choose long-term solutions that may involve direct actions and commitments, such as supporting the development of offsite renewable energy projects or purchasing Hourly Carbon-Free Energy Matching (hourly CFE).

Simple Sustainability Solutions

Customers can purchase carbon-free or renewable electricity to cost-effectively support the production of electric power from generation sources that do not directly emit greenhouse gases (GHGs). Both options are easy to implement, can significantly reduce reported emissions, and help companies meet their sustainability goals.

• Emission-Free Energy Certificates represent the emission-free attributes of a generation source that does not emit greenhouse gases, such as solar, wind, nuclear and hydropower.¹ When buying carbon-free electricity from Constellation, customers’ electricity usage is matched with EFECs from those energy sources, allowing businesses to attribute usage to carbon-free electricity. EFECs can also help businesses:

• Meet goals for lowering emissions associated with electricity consumption.^{2, 3}
• Demonstrate support for emission-free generation sources.

• Renewable Energy Certificates Renewable Energy Certificates represent the environmental benefits of renewable energy. Sourced from renewable generating facilities within the continental U.S., each REC serves as proof that energy has been generated from a renewable resource and can be retired on behalf of a company in support of an environmental commitment.
• Project-Specific RECs offer location-specific benefits by sourcing RECs from specific offsite renewable projects. Available in both competitive and regulated energy markets, businesses that purchase project RECs support renewable energy projects that can lower their Scope 2 emissions.²

Strategic Sustainability Solutions

Businesses looking for strategic solutions can choose between solutions that provide substantial benefits and significantly reduce carbon emissions.

• Constellation Offsite Renewables integrates renewable energy purchases from existing or new build renewable generation assets into a load-following energy supply agreement. Constellation provides customers with energy and project RECs from the renewable project.
• Hourly Carbon-Free Energy Matching allows businesses to match their energy usage with carbon-free energy on an hourly basis and from the same local grid.

Purchasing hourly CFE through Constellation can also help businesses:

• Track progress on-demand through Constellation’s Hourly CFE Dashboard, available in Constellation’s digital platform.
• Retire hourly time-stamped RECs and/or EFECs in the PJM GATS registry at year-end.
• Incorporate prior offsite carbon-free purchases into your overall CFE strategy.
• Secure CFE flexibility with price stability through short- and long-term agreements

Charting a Path Towards Sustainability

Leveraging any of these simple or strategic solutions can help your business find the optimal strategy that aligns with your needs. Connect with Constellation’s energy experts today to create a customized energy strategy and get on the path towards a more sustainable future.

Contact Us Today

¹ This product is primarily sourced from nuclear facilities located within the PJM service territory. Constellation reserves the right to supply EFECs from any generating facility that does not directly emit greenhouse gases, including hydropower, solar, or wind.

² Please review GHG Protocol reporting requirements to confirm the eligibility of any market-based instrument.

³ Based on current World Resources Institute (WRI) guidance. Scope 2 reporting claims of this product may be affected by future changes.

© 2025 Constellation. The offerings described herein, if applicable, are those of either Constellation Navigator, LLC, Constellation NewEnergy, Inc. or Constellation NewEnergy-Gas Division, LLC, affiliates of each other. Brand names and product names are trademarks or service marks of their respective holders. All rights reserved.