Introduction
With the release of Business Central 2025 Wave 1, Microsoft has introduced public preview features. These features support tracking Scope 3 emissions through the Sustainability Value Chain. This functionality helps companies. They want to use supplier and operational data. It enables them to calculate embedded emissions across their processes.
What Is the Sustainability Value Chain?
In Business Central, a value chain refers to vendors and partners from whom you collect inbound carbon data (CO₂e). Once collected, this data can be used to calculate:
- Scope 3 emissions
- Emissions for inventory movements
- Embedded emissions from production, transfers, and sales
This enables accurate CO₂e calculations at the item level throughout various supply chain stages.
Scope 3 Emissions and Data Flow
Scope 3 emissions typically refer to indirect emissions that occur outside of your direct operations. The sustainability value chain lets you track:
- Emissions per item from vendors
- Inventory movements affecting total embedded emissions
- Carbon values that carry through to finished goods and customer delivery
How Data Is Stored and Tracked
The system uses the Sustainability Value Entries page to manage changes in CO₂e values. This page tracks all emission-related entries for inventory items, including:
- Purchases
- Transfers
- Assembly and production outputs
- Sales
Note: Only CO₂e (carbon equivalent) is supported.
The average method is used for per-unit CO₂e calculation.
Calculation Method: Average CO₂e Per Unit
Each item’s CO₂e per unit is calculated using the average across purchases and inbound data. This method is applied throughout the item’s lifecycle for consistency and traceability.
Feature Areas and Learning Resources
| Feature Area | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Value Chain Setup | Enables sustainability features and required setup steps |
| Default Emission Values | Allows defining standard CO₂e values for items and vendors |
| Purchase Integration | Tracks emissions when receiving goods from vendors |
| Transfer Orders | Tracks emission impact of moving goods between locations |
| Assembly Orders | Tracks emissions generated by light manufacturing and item combinations |
| Production Orders | Tracks emissions in full production processes |
| Sales Transactions | Carries forward emissions to customer-facing documents and shipments |
Notes for Preview Users
- This feature set is currently in public preview and may change in future releases.
- Only CO₂e tracking is supported; other emissions types are not yet included.
- Emission tracking is done at the item level, not per transaction line.
Summary
The Sustainability Value Chain in Business Central introduces structured tracking for Scope 3 emissions across procurement, production, and distribution. It uses average CO₂e calculations and ties into existing inventory workflows via the Sustainability Value Entries page. This helps companies develop a more complete view of their product-related emissions.
Dynamics Decoded 
Leave a comment