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Introduction

This webinar refers to supply chain emissions as a “conundrum”, but why?

Danny Bagge, IBM, deliberately uses the word “conundrum” as it is informed by BRC members and the challenge that Scope 3 emissions present in the goal to reach net zero by 2040. Despite being one of the few initiatives that touches every industry across retail, it is also often outside of retailers’ direct control – and takes the lion’s share of retailers’ carbon emissions.

Acknowledging the key role of Scope 3 emissions, how can you achieve ambitious environmental goals whilst also turning a profit?

In this webinar, IBM discusses the key steps for reducing Scope 3 emissions, highlighting insights from their case study with Pets at Home and their collaboration with the BRC.

 

Why should retailers be focusing on reducing emissions?

Many retailers have already heard horror stories of what will happen should they not take action to reduce emissions. Rather than refocus on what is already clear, IBM places emphasis on the potential benefits and growth opportunities that come with adhering to climate standards. For example:

• Business value – businesses with a focus on sustainability generally experience more business growth and reduce their waste
• Competition – ESG businesses outperform their peers
• Consumer scepticism – in an age of greenwashing, consumers are more particular about where they spend their money, with a key emphasis on supporting truly environment-conscious businesses
• Awareness – sustainable businesses are more likely to have their finger on the pulse around environmental changes, allowing them to maintain agility and prioritise growth

However, while retailers can place emphasis on their own renewable efforts, the lion’s share of the carbon emissions sit in the supply chain. To achieve the goal of net zero by 2040, retailers need actionable steps and tools to achieve Scope 3 targets.

 

Key findings within the case study

Common challenges from retailers

• Lack of strategic direction
• Limited engagement with the supply chain
• Logistical data challenges
• Data aggregation and reporting
• Managing reputational risk

Many of these challenges link to one another – without visibility of Scope 3 emissions, how can an informed strategy be formulated? How can this strategy be implemented without collaboration with and engagement from suppliers?

If these challenges resonate with you and your business, discover strategies to identify and tackle them in the full webinar, or download the full guide to reducing and reporting on Scope 3 emissions in partnership with IBM.

Get your guide

 

The end-to-end capabilities framework

As an output of workshop sessions with the BRC, IBM identified the technical capabilities retailers need to manage their supply chains sustainably and compiled them into a framework, featuring three main categories:

• Insights and automation
• Supply modelling
• Data model and ingestion

This framework aims to move retailers towards more informed data usage, where primary data on the supply chain can be collected and used to formulate business plans and forecasting.

Bea Elliott, IBM, discusses the framework in more detail in the full webinar, explaining how businesses can implement the top-down, bottom-up strategy to gain insightful supply chain data – watch now.

 

Case study: IBM x Pets at Home

In the case study, seven key learning points were a key focus:

• Identifying and communicating the case for change
• Starting small, making changes within
• Identifying high-impact product categories
• Determining when, where and how to dive deep into the data
• Performing the data deep dive
• Defining the baseline and reporting capabilities
• Disclosing and operationalising the findings

Within these learning challenges, Pets at Home identified three key solutions to common challenges in the Scope 3 emissions conundrum:

• Supplier engagement – collaborating and building relationships throughout the supply chain
• Technological enablers – using digital transformation to improve data visibility and product traceability
• Scope 3 sustainability – leveraging data and relationships to create a visible, measurable and sustainable supply chain
• Partnerships – leveraging the expertise of colleagues, peers, third parties, consultants and trade associations to share best practice and identify actionable next steps

Learn about the case study in more detail in our on-demand webinar, or learn more about how partnering with the Climate Action Roadmap can support your business.

 

Conclusion

As well as protecting the planet and its welfare, reducing carbon emissions have significant benefits for a business’s brand profile, efficiency, consumer loyalty and competitive advantage. However, achieving these benefits relies on reducing Scope 3 emissions, which are outside of direct control.

Reducing these emissions requires a combination of strong relationships throughout the supply chain, visible and actionable data insights, in-team collaboration and innovation, and support across the industry.

To learn more about the success Pets at Home has achieved in their work with IBM, watch the full webinar here – and to get started on tackling your own Scope 3 emission conundrum, download the free guide to reduce carbon in your supply chain here.