Tackling the scope 3 data challenge
CDP estimates that scope 3 emissions account for 75% of an organization’s total carbon footprint on average. For most organizations, scope 3 emissions represent big opportunities to reduce emissions and lower indirect operating costs. Despite the potential upside of calculating scope 3 emissions, our analysis of public 2022 CDP data shows 48% of companies haven’t reported any scope 3 data. The 2022 CDP Supply Chain Report found that measuring and disclosing scope 3 emissions was often challenging due to:
- Limited data transparency and traceability across the value chain
- Low quality and/or granularity of data
- Lack of automated and scalable tools for data extraction
- Limited influence over most Scope 3 categories
- An ever-changing regulatory environment
The companies that are calculating their scope 3 emissions often rely on sending spreadsheets and surveys to suppliers and manually transferring data. Both of these approaches are slow and prone to error. Because of these challenges, companies often resort to less accurate spend-based calculations for scope 3 emissions. While spend-based data is more easily accessible, it means that the only way companies can reduce emissions is to reduce their spend—a tactic that’s counter to growth. By engaging with suppliers to collect primary data, companies can leverage more precise calculation methods, such as hybrid and supplier-specific methods, and make real progress against decarbonization goals.
Bridge the data gap between you and your suppliers
Today, we’re excited to announce Scope 3 Data Exchange for supplier engagement. Our new module streamlines supplier data collection with:
- Auditable data requests to any supplier, whether or not they are a Persefoni user
- Customizable request forms to collect information on supplier emissions, allocation method and percentage, supplier revenue, and climate targets
- A centralized hub to track and manage all supplier requests
Scope 3 Data Exchange gives our customers a more complete picture of their carbon footprints and unlocks new opportunities for growth—everything from data-informed decarbonization efforts to mitigating risks in their supply chain.
Move beyond estimated calculations
Using actual data from suppliers facilitates better emissions reporting and more accurate climate target tracking, but directly engaging with suppliers, especially at scale, has historically been difficult and time-consuming. Persefoni’s Scope 3 Data Exchange streamlines this process so you can:
Improve data quality for scope 3 emissions calculations
Directly engaging with suppliers in a single platform, whether or not they are Persefoni users, enables you to collect the most granular emissions data available from each supplier.
Improve efficiency and lower your operating costs
Streamlining supplier engagement reduces the resources needed to understand where emissions are generated in your value chain and enables your business to unlock opportunities to partner with innovative suppliers and improve product design.
Set and achieve your climate goals
Achieving net zero targets, especially any science-based target, will require companies to move away from spend-based data and towards collecting actual data from their suppliers. Engaging with your suppliers now allows you to progress towards more precise calculations, identify opportunities to reduce, and collaborate with your suppliers on sustainability goals.
With Persefoni’s Scope 3 Data Exchange, our customers can increase the granularity, quality, and auditability of their supplier-related emissions data to gain more precise measurements of their scope 3 emissions. This is a critical step for companies to measure their complete carbon footprint and make real progress against decarbonization goals.
To learn more about S3DX, visit our product page.
