You know all about the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, or the changes outlined in the US’s plan for decarbonisation of the sector, or whichever new initiative is going to be impacting your supply chain emissions. (For example, the new ISO 14083 accreditation.)You know that there will be even more of them in the future and that your company is already handing you hard-to-hit targets.
What you might not know is what to do next.
Action challenges with Scope 3
As it is, current methods of scope 3 emissions reporting aren’t accurate enough to be useful in this eco-aware world. Even in many of the businesses that are already making emissions reports, the data is very high level. Often it’s just measuring emissions by journey or over a fixed period; there’s no granularity and it’s impossible to understand your actual emissions drivers from it.
Meanwhile, most big businesses either have or will have, emissions reduction targets in place. It’s a necessity as part of your planning for the future and is often a requirement from investors. But those targets rarely get decided by supply chain leaders. Instead, you’re getting handed targets and told to figure it out.
These targets are usually very ambitious and time-locked. Which means you’re under pressure to come up with a good solution fast. So within that timeframe, you need to find a way to both measure your scope 3 emissions accurately, but also act on them swiftly with data-driven proof that you’ve actually made a difference.
Read more: Why we use the GLEC framework for Scope 3 data
On top of that, your supply chain isn't speaking the same language as your emissions reporting. Scope 3 emissions reports are cobbled together from internal data as well as reporting from various LSPs. Data between these sources is rarely compatible and can be impossible to accurately make manual comparisons between them.
Which is a problem because you need to be able to take action and improve your scope 3 emissions, not just report on it. Scope 3 reporting will become public (if it isn’t already), and your customers are going to expect you to make improvements based on what it shows. Real improvements, not just buying up carbon credits and relying on carbon offsetting. Customers today are very sensitive to greenwashing. That means the reputational damage of doing nothing could be severe.
Read more: High-spending consumers choose green
What to do differently
So instead of doing the regulatory minimum and letting your green strategy stop at reporting, you can use data to identify emissions improvements and drive revenue through decarbonisation.
The 7bridges Scope 3 emissions layer enables you to both understand your emissions and find ways of cutting them down quickly. It enables you to automatically calculate and report on your Scope 3 logistics emissions whilst also injecting the data into your wider supply chain.
This gives you the power to take action on reducing your Scope 3 logistics emissions whilst remaining compliant and improving your bottom line. Taking your place in the market as a company that has a proactive, environmentally conscious approach to carbon reduction.
These changes are not only easy to implement, but they are also true reductions. Rather than relying on carbon offsetting and credits, you’ll be able to show that your supply chain is taking real, measurable steps to reduce your carbon emissions. Which means not getting painted as greenwashing. Something many of your competitors won’t be able to claim.
Want to know more? Get in touch and find out how 7bridges can give you the power to take action on Scope 3 emissions now.