{"id":7498,"date":"2024-09-17T13:09:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-17T18:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mhisolutionsmag.com\/?p=7498"},"modified":"2024-09-17T09:15:08","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T14:15:08","slug":"unpacking-scope-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mhisolutionsmag.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/17\/unpacking-scope-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Unpacking Scope 3"},"content":{"rendered":"
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There\u2019s widespread agreement that transitioning to a carbon-neutral economy by 2050 can\u2019t be achieved unless companies get serious about reducing greenhouse gases generated throughout their value chain, yet the challenges of measuring Scope 3 emissions have left many enterprises struggling out of the gate. New tools and supplier engagement strategies promise to simplify this complex task.<\/h4>\n
BY DAVID H. COBURN<\/span><\/div>\n
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\"unpacking
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W<\/span>hen a group of chief sustainability officers from major consumer brands got together a few years ago, there was cause to celebrate: Goals they set to reduce their value-chain emissions had been approved by their bosses and the world\u2019s leading arbiter of climate targets, the Science-Based Target initiative (SBTi).<\/p>\n

But the CSOs were concerned about meeting the targets, which complied with SBTi\u2019s new net-zero standard requiring a full accounting of Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, defined as all indirect emissions from sources throughout a company\u2019s value chain. What were they going to do next?<\/p>\n

“There was a lot of handwringing and lack of clarity on how suppliers could be influenced to take climate action,” said Matt Banks, associate director for Guidehouse, the sustainability specialist that was advising the group. “They didn\u2019t know (what to do next) and it was not in their job description.”<\/p>\n

Indeed, Scope 3 has become a huge roadblock on the road to decarbonization, with 53% of companies surveyed by SBTi earlier this year identifying the difficulty of measuring value-chain emissions and developing plans to mitigate them as the biggest reason they haven\u2019t set science-based climate targets.<\/p>\n

A separate survey by MIT and the Council for Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) found nearly half of companies with net-zero goals said they didn\u2019t plan to start measuring or reducing Scope 3 emissions for at least five years. Only 24% had Scope 3 emissions-reduction initiatives in place.<\/p>\n

Those are troubling numbers because value-chain emissions account for 70% of all GHG emissions. The average company\u2019s Scope 3 emissions are more than 11 times its Scope 1 and 2 emissions\u2014direct emissions from operations and indirect emissions from purchased electricity, steam, heating and cooling.<\/p>\n

The good news is that new tools, strategies and solutions are emerging to jumpstart companies\u2019 Scope 3 efforts by helping them overcome commonly cited barriers, including confusion around measurement methods and standards, lack of access to accurate supplier data and insufficient C-suite leadership.<\/p>\n

Help can\u2019t come soon enough as pressure from regulators, investors, customers and other stakeholders continues to mount and create a new sense of urgency for companies that aren\u2019t already working on plans to measure, report and reduce value-chain emissions:<\/p>\n