How Software Can Transform & Accelerate Supply Chain Decarbonization

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For many organizations, Scope 3 emissions not only make up the highest amount of their total emissions footprint but are also the most difficult to address. According to Deloitte’s Sustainability Action Report, 86% of companies reported challenges just measuring it, let alone acting on reducing it. Join Dave Rimkus, Associate Director of Supply Chain Renewables at Schneider Electric; Vishnu Nair, Head of Operations for Zeigo Activate; and CleanTechnica’s Jo Borras as they unpack why Scope 3 is so complicated, and what to do about it.

“I wouldn’t say that supply chain decarbonization is ever easy,” Vishnu Nair states. “However, I do think that software can make supply chain decarbonization easier.” Tackling supply chain decarbonization must be a monumental task for most companies. It’s so large that any effort is fundamentally going to be imperfect. But the more effort put into this, and the more efficient the process, the better for everyone.

“With any supply chain program, the end result that you’re looking for is reduced emissions, right, and that end result is directly connected to how well your suppliers engage with your supply chain program, and this is where software plays that pivotal role.” That makes a lot of sense. Communicating well with suppliers and tracking changes at suppliers regarding sustainability are the core of the work a company striving to decarbonize Scope 3 emissions must engage in. “It’s oversimplifying it a little bit, but, ultimately, what you’re looking for is an engaged supplier, which then leads to the reduction that you need. In this regard, software designed the right way can definitely make a difference.”

But what exactly are we talking about when talking about decarbonization through software? “You have to look at the alternative, right? Without software, you’re talking about emails and phone calls and in-person events and all of that stuff. So, software is an alternative to that. And, as an alternative to that, software can make it easier to communicate the objectives to your suppliers, it can provide learning and content to them in a scalable fashion — you’re not limited by in-person events any more. And it can even make it easier to calculate the supplier’s carbon data, receive guidance on what to do, and maybe in our case, our software even helps you connect with the solution providers that can deploy those actions for you. So, even not knowing who to call won’t be a problem with us.”

Dave Rimkus adds “A lot of our clients come to us and say, ‘Hey, I know where my spend is. I know what regions or countries we’re in. I don’t really understand where they’re at in their supply chain journeys. Help me understand their maturity. Are they buying renewables today? Are they taking Scope 1 abatements actions in their own operations, right?’” These are the kinds of questions Schneider Electric through its Zeigo suite can answer for various companies. Rimkus adds that there’s no “one size fits all” here, but that a robust software system can at least make the challenging process much easier. Rimkus and Nair provide some examples. There’s much more in the podcast than I can provide here. For many more details and examples, listen via the embedded player above or via one of the links below.

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