The “No-Excuse” Opportunities to Tackle Scope 3 Emissions in Manufacturing and Value Chains
In the race to industry net-zero transformation, attention is finally being focused on Scope 3 emissions. The Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) has been urging companies to establish reduction targets for their Scope 3 emissions – those embedded in the value chain. Organizations such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) from the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation are rolling out refined Scope 3 accounting standards, harmonizing calculation methods and encouraging their disclosure. Regulatory bodies, such as the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), are now underscoring the importance of addressing Scope 3 emissions, mandating companies to disclose them.
However, companies face complexities in addressing Scope 3 emissions and struggle to reduce them at the right pace and scale.
Critical questions arise:
How can companies influence emissions beyond their reach? Who bears the cost and benefits of low-carbon products and processes? How can progress be measured accurately? These highlight the need for a comprehensive approach to tackling Scope 3 emissions.
To mitigate Scope 3 emissions, a profound redesign of sustainable products and business models is crucial, along with a shift in the dynamics of value chain relationships. This involves extending emissions reduction efforts to the entire product or service life cycle and swiftly adopting new technologies and digital innovations to scale the change across the organization. Central to this is forming beneficial collaborations with suppliers and customers and forging partnership across the industrial ecosystem.
In response to these challenges, the Industry Net Zero Accelerator initiative presents 12 “No Excuse” opportunities for businesses and governments to accelerate their Scope 3 decarbonization journey.
These opportunities are grouped into four action levels.
