Writing the pallet paragraph in an ESG report
A good pallet disclosure states the activity (tons or pallets by fate), the method (factors, versions, weight basis), keeps the scope 3 inventory figure separate from any avoided-emissions estimate, and avoids unmeasurable claims like 'trees saved'. The Pallet Fate Report drafts one from your inputs.
What to include
- Activity data: pallets or tons, by fate, for the year.
- Method: weight basis and source; EPA Hub year for the inventory; WARM version for avoided emissions.
- Boundary: which sites, and whether pooled pallets are excluded from waste.
- Separation: avoided emissions 'reported separately from scope 1, 2 and 3', as the GHG Protocol's Scope 3 Standard asks (Box 5.6).
Phrases to avoid
- 'Carbon neutral pallets' or 'net zero packaging' based on avoided emissions.
- 'Trees saved'. WARM's forest carbon credit is not a count of trees.
- '100% recycled' when part of the stream was burned for energy.
Example
'In 2026 our three DCs sent 98 short tons of wood pallets to reuse and repair and 25 to grinding, and returned 14,000 pooled pallets to their owners. Landfilled pallets fell to zero. Scope 3 category 5 emissions from pallets were 0 MTCO2e (EPA GHG Hub 2025, Table 9; reuse and grinding have no Hub factor). Separately, we estimate the change avoided 73 MTCO2E compared with landfilling (EPA WARM v16, dimensional lumber), most of it forest carbon storage.'
Sources
- Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard GHG Protocol (WRI/WBCSD). Accessed October 27, 2026. Box 5.6 and section 9.5 on avoided emissions; section 5.5 category descriptions.
- GHG Emission Factors Hub 2025, Table 9 (Scope 3 Category 5 and Category 12) U.S. EPA Center for Corporate Climate Leadership. Accessed October 27, 2026. The 2025 Hub is the latest listed on the Hub page on the access date.
- Documentation for Greenhouse Gas Emission and Energy Factors Used in WARM, Version 16: Construction Materials Chapters, ch. 12 Wood Products (EPA-530-R-23-020) U.S. EPA. Accessed October 27, 2026. Exhibits 12-3 (p. 12-3), 12-9, 12-13, 12-15 and 12-16 (p. 12-10).