Value Chain Carbon

Show climate change leadership… and leave your competitors behind

Pangolin Associates: Value Chain Carbon services.
How much of your emissions reduction opportunities are within your value chain?

For many companies, the majority of emissions and cost reduction opportunities lie outside of operations, within the value chain.

Value chain carbon emissions are also known as scope 3 emissions. Scope 3 incorporates everything from the development of a product or service to supply chain, logistics, sales, distribution, and customer usage.

Value chain carbon reduction is also part of a comprehensive Science Based Targets approach to climate leadership.

Upstream & downstream emissions*

40-50% of your carbon footprint likely resides upstream in the supply chain.

  • The five most disclosed emissions categories are from upstream activities (2016).
  • For some firms, the downstream impact is critical (the use and disposal of a product).
  • Reporting on GHG emissions from product use has quadrupled globally (since 2010).

*For more, see: CDP (2015) “Committing to Climate Action in the Supply Chain”, GreenBiz Group (2016) 
“The State of Green Business Report”, and GSK Responsible Business Supplement 2015.

Understanding, measuring, planning

Our audit team determines the materiality of your organisation’s carbon emissions, and the complexity of data collation and calculation.

We’ll help you identify organisational goals and strategies, and to navigate obstacles and identify opportunities. We’ll take you through the essential steps:

  • Identify which standard is best suited to your purpose,Identify the scope,
  • Determine whether a carbon footprint involves a product, service, or the whole organisation,
  • Calculate your carbon footprint: a comprehensive Greenhouse Gas Assessment,
    Analyse results,
  • Develop a plan to reduce emissions,
  • Monitor and evaluate progress.

The reasons are many

Access to premium markets. Increasingly multinationals select suppliers based on carbon performance in the future. About 66% are willing to pay more for low-emission products or services.Energy efficiency is a $63.6 billion global market. It is the largest segment of a $1.4 trillion advanced clean energy market (see: “How to profit from sustainability….” on Greenbiz).

*The Carbon Trust (2011). “Why cutting carbon in the value chain is essential for forward thinking organisations”.

New brand and marketing opportunities.Organisations demonstrating climate leadership gain opportunities to market low carbon products and services. Customers reward genuine environmental accountability through brand loyalty.

Acting on scope 3, or indirect, value chain emissions opens additional marketing possibilities. Acting on all three scopes means organisations may be eligible for Australia’s Carbon Neutral Certification, Climate Active (formerly the National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS)).

Improved stakeholder relations. A value chain emissions strategy provides a strong message for your stakeholders:

  • Higher, more positive brand exposure,
  • Lower sustainability risk,
  • A focus on B2B and B2C relationships,
  • A demonstration of strong leadership.

Enhanced reputation through public reporting. Providing public disclosure of GHG emissions across all scopes takes all stakeholders into account, whether investors, customers, or society as a whole. A value chain strategy with demonstration of progress is a clear demonstration of environmental stewardship.