Employee Emissions Are On the Rise — And That Changes Everything

Let’s talk about what’s coming next in ESG — even if it’s not in the official frameworks yet.

Scope 4 is gaining traction, and it’s something every forward-looking ESG team should have on their radar. Unlike Scope 1–3, which focus on operational and supply chain emissions, Scope 4 is all about people — specifically, the emissions generated by employees during their time with an organisation.

Daily commutes. Work-from-home energy use. Business travel. Even the impact of lunch choices and digital habits. When you zoom out and consider that there are over 3.3 billion employees globally, Scope 4 starts to feel less like a niche idea and more like a climate opportunity we can’t afford to ignore.

It’s not just about carbon, though. It’s about culture — and the role internal communicators play in shaping it.

Companies like Ant Group are already pushing global institutions to formally recognise Scope 4. Others are moving fast: one FTSE 100 company created a footprint-tracking app for 170,000+ employees — complete with nudges, learning prompts, and rewards for behaviour change.

And it works. Because sustainability goals don’t succeed on metrics alone — they need mindset shifts.

That’s where internal communications comes in.

We’re uniquely placed to influence how people think, act, and feel about their impact — and to connect those individual choices to something bigger. If Scope 4 is going to become a recognised part of ESG, we’ll be the ones helping make it real.

So what now?

1. Raise awareness: Help teams understand why their habits matter
2. Provide tools: Make it easy (and rewarding) to act
3. Build narratives: Show people how they fit into the bigger picture
4. Partner up: Bring ESG and comms together early

This is our second chance — post-COVID — to lead from the inside. Let’s not waste it.

📩 Want help building a Scope 4-ready culture?

Let’s talk: hello@communique.global