SCOPE Act of 2026

Plain-English Summary

This bill would require the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to study and create guidance on how businesses and organizations should measure and report a specific type of greenhouse gas emissions known as "Scope 3 emissions." Scope 3 emissions are indirect emissions that occur throughout a company's broader supply chain and product use — for example, the pollution created by a company's suppliers, the fuel burned by customers using a company's products, or emissions from shipping and transportation that a business relies on but doesn't directly control. These are generally considered the hardest type of emissions to track.

Under the bill, the EPA would first conduct a study examining how Scope 3 emissions can be accurately calculated, and then publish official guidance explaining the best methods for doing so. This would give businesses, industries, and other organizations a standardized, government-approved approach to measuring and disclosing this category of emissions, rather than relying on a patchwork of different private or voluntary standards.

This bill would most directly affect businesses and corporations that produce significant greenhouse gas emissions across their supply chains, as well as investors, regulators, and the public who may rely on emissions data to make decisions. Currently, there is no single federal standard for how these emissions should be counted or reported, so the guidance could bring more consistency and clarity. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which is the next step before any further legislative action.