How do I start decarbonising my supply chain?

Start with a Scope 3 hotspot analysis to identify your highest-emission categories and suppliers. Then engage your top 10–20 suppliers (typically covering 60–80% of supply chain emissions) to request disclosure, set expectations, and explore reduction opportunities. Use spend-based estimates for the long tail of smaller suppliers.

Can I reduce Scope 3 emissions without my suppliers’ cooperation?

To some extent. You can switch to lower-carbon products or materials, change transport modes, reduce procurement volumes, or choose suppliers in regions with lower-carbon energy grids. But deep supply chain decarbonisation requires supplier engagement and collaboration. Most ambitious reduction targets cannot be met without it.

Supply Chain Decarbonisation

Supply chain decarbonisation is the systematic process of reducing greenhouse gas emissions across an organisation’s upstream and downstream value chain, typically the largest component of its total carbon footprint.

What is Supply Chain Decarbonisation?

For most organisations, supply chain emissions (Scope 3) represent 65–95% of their total carbon footprint. Decarbonising the supply chain therefore requires engagement beyond the organisation’s direct operations. This involves measuring supplier emissions, identifying hotspots, setting supply chain targets, collaborating with suppliers on reduction initiatives, and integrating carbon performance into procurement decisions.

Effective supply chain decarbonisation strategies typically follow a staged approach. First, screen and prioritise: identify the highest-emission supplier categories and specific suppliers. Second, engage and educate: request emissions data, provide measurement tools, and share best practices. Third, set expectations: establish carbon performance criteria in procurement policies and supplier codes of conduct. Fourth, collaborate: jointly invest in low-carbon alternatives, share technology, and develop transition roadmaps. Fifth, incentivise: reward low-carbon suppliers with preferred status, longer contracts, or volume commitments.

The CDP Supply Chain Programme, EcoVadis ratings, and industry-specific initiatives (such as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition) provide platforms for structured supply chain engagement.

Practical Examples

A retailer sets a target for 80% of its suppliers by emissions to have science-based targets by 2028, using its procurement leverage to drive supply chain decarbonisation.

A car manufacturer collaborates with its steel supplier to co-invest in electric arc furnace technology, reducing the embodied carbon of purchased steel by 50%.

A food company switches 30% of its road freight from diesel to HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil), reducing upstream transportation emissions while maintaining supply chain performance.

How Climatise Helps

Climatise maps your supply chain emissions by category and supplier, identifies hotspots, and provides supplier engagement tools to collect data and track reduction progress across your value chain.

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