Glossary›Emissions accounting and measurement›Freight and logistics emissions (Categories 4 and 9)
Glossary term
Cluster D · D41
Tier 2
Freight and logistics emissions (Categories 4 and 9)
Definition
Categories 4 and 9 both cover the transport and storage of goods, and they are separated by one question: who paid for it. Freight the reporting company pays for is Category 4, upstream transportation and distribution, whether it moves inbound or outbound. Freight a customer or distributor pays for is Category 9, downstream.
· Appendix B, Scope 3 measured per the GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard · first disclosed in the second reporting period
On this page
In practice
The “who pays” rule is the whole of it and it is routinely got wrong, because people assume the split follows the direction of travel. It does not. Outbound delivery to your customer, paid for by you, is Category 4, not Category 9, because you purchased the service. Only transport you did not pay for falls into Category 9.
For an exporter or importer the test resolves to the Incoterm on the contract.
Term
Who arranges and pays
Your category
Sell EXW
The buyer
Category 9
Sell DDP
You
Category 4
The same physical container moves either way. The consequence is that a change in commercial terms shifts emissions between two categories with no change in the world, which is why the basis of preparation has to state the rule being applied.
Category 9 has a second, harder problem: you frequently do not know. Once title passes at your loading dock you may have no visibility of how far the goods travel or by what mode. This is the most common legitimate use of an estimation method in the freight block.
The measurement hierarchy runs: carrier-provided emissions data, then a tonne-kilometre calculation from weight, distance and mode, then a spend-based factor on the freight invoice. Tonne-kilometre is the practical target for Category 4, because a freight forwarder’s manifest usually already carries weight and origin-destination.
What the assurer does with it
The assurer tests the split before they test the number. They ask for the written allocation rule, then sample sales and purchase contracts to confirm the Incoterm or delivery term actually supports the category each shipment was put in. Getting the rule right matters more than the tonnage, because a misallocation moves emissions between two disclosed lines.
For Category 4 they reconcile freight spend used in the calculation to the freight and cartage expense accounts in the general ledger, and they test a sample of manifests for weight and distance.
They accept carrier-reported emissions where the carrier’s methodology is stated. They reject distances measured as straight lines where road distances were available, a tonne-kilometre calculation with no evidence of how weights were derived, and inbound freight sitting in Category 4 when the supplier’s price was delivered-inclusive, in which case it is already inside Category 1. For Category 9 they expect an estimation method, disclosed, with a stated basis, not silence.
Commonly confused with
Category 1 for inbound freight bundled into a delivered price, and the company’s own fleet. Goods moved in vehicles you own or control are Scope 1, not Category 4 or 9, and never both.
Timing and relief
The standard Scope 3 position applies. Scope 3, and therefore this category, may be omitted from an entity’s first annual reporting period under AASB S2 Appendix C paragraph C4(b), and under paragraph C5 the entity may keep relying on that relief when presenting the relieved year as comparative information in later periods. Group 1 first discloses Scope 3 for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026, Group 2 from 1 July 2027 and Group 3 from 1 July 2028.
Sources
1
2
Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard, full text
GHG Protocol
3
Review status
Review required
Last reviewed
15 September 2026
Editorial pass, unsigned
Reviewer required
Carbon accounting specialist
Next scheduled review
1 July 2027
Part of
Cluster D, Emissions accounting and measurement
49 terms from the head term carbon accounting down to individual Scope 3 categories and the mechanics of factors, boundaries and data quality. The largest cluster in the glossary.
Related terms
Where delivered-inclusive inbound freight already sits
Where movements in your own fleet belong instead
The disclosure the Category 9 estimate needs alongside it
Related questions
How do we work out which Scope 3 categories are material for us?
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You screen all fifteen GHG Protocol categories, estimate each roughly off accounts payable spend, and document why you included or excluded each one. The screen is the deliverable as much as the answer, because the practitioner will test the reasoning behind an exclusion at least as hard as the numbers behind an inclusion. Expect the answer to be concentrated in a handful of categories.
Can we estimate Scope 3 and still pass assurance?
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Yes. Estimates are expected in Scope 3 and are not a problem for assurance in themselves, because what fails is an undocumented estimate. The practitioner tests whether the method is appropriate and disclosed, the inputs are traceable, the application is consistent, and the estimation uncertainty is described honestly.
What is the difference between spend-based and activity-based, and which does the auditor prefer?
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Activity-based uses physical quantities such as litres or kilowatt hours, while spend-based applies a factor to dollars spent. Activity-based is more accurate and easier to evidence. An assurance practitioner has no preference in principle: they test whether the method you chose is appropriate, disclosed, and applied consistently.
Other terms in this cluster
Freight and logistics emissions (Categories 4 and 9)