Giving Compass' Take:

•  Sundara Bhandaram, writing for GreenBiz, discusses how companies can build more sustainable and low-carbon supply chains for their businesses. 

• Why is low-carbon important? How can donors support companies in this endeavor? 

• Read more on how the business world is pioneering sustainability. 

In understanding emission reduction goals, it’s helpful to use the GHG Protocol framework (PDF), which defines the three main "scopes." Scope 1 covers direct emissions from owned or controlled sources, Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy and Scope 3 covers all other indirect emissions that occur in the company’s value chain.

So how should companies tackle their Scope 3 emissions? Below are some ideas to help companies evolve and build their sustainable supply chain strategy.

  1. Learn from your peers. When it comes to greening supply chains, many tools are available for companies embarking on this journey. The first and most important resource available is industry peers. At GreenBiz 20, many companies shared their commitments around supply chain emissions reductions as well as insights for how those initiatives are proceeding.
  2. Work with sector-specific coalitions. Many groups work exclusively on sector-specific supply chain sustainability, such as the U.S. Roundtable on Sustainable Beef or the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. These groups can serve an important role in providing tools and resources to help companies along their journey.
  3. Collaborate vertically down your supply chain. Beyond collaborating with industry peers, collaboration with other organizations up and down the supply chain is equally important. Groups such as the Dairy Sustainability Alliance (DSA) and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil are multi-stakeholder initiatives that bring together all members of the supply chain and help to create a forum for open dialogue and collaboration.
  4. Integrate sustainability professionals into decision-making. Make sure sustainability professionals are integrated within whichever department manages the supply chain. In order for there to be long-term supply chain emissions reduction, it is critical that the staffers making these decisions are always considering the sustainability implications.

Read the full article about low-carbon supply chains by Sundara Bhandaram at GreenBiz.