Understanding a Product Carbon Footprint (PCF)
11 min
Level
In this article, we'll explore what a PCF is, its relevance in today's business environment, and the step-by-step process of conducting one.
The media that guides impact managers
ESG / CSR
Industries
Ecology
Greenly solutions
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Choose A Sustainable Supply Chain to Reduce Your Footprint
Level
Scope 3 emissions can represent up to 90% of a company’s total carbon footprint.
Despite that being a huge percentage, the evaluation of scope 3 was only considered optional until recently. However, this made it difficult for any business to effectively and significantly reduce its environmental impact.
To solve this issue Greenly has decided to offer their customers a 100% digital solution, allowing them to evaluate their supply chain in a few clicks while quickly identifying their ways of improvement.
Curious? Discover our “Supplier Engagement” solution now.
Why do you need help from your suppliers to reduce your carbon footprint?
The supply chain, a major CO2 emission station
Supply chain is responsible for a significant share of scope 3 emissions.
According to a 2016 McKinsey study, supply chains of PGC companies can account for up to 90% of corporate emissions and environmental impact.
Conclusion? If you want to reduce your company’s carbon footprint quickly and significantly, you must focus on your suppliers.
👉 As a reminder, scope 3 includes all indirect greenhouse gas emissions (excluding energy): purchasing, transporting goods, waste management, etc.
A quality requirement up to sourcing
If your company is responsible for a large amount of Scope 3 emissions, this situation could rapidly get it into trouble. 💥
Because of emerging regulatory obligations and the emergency embodied by global warming, companies are required to be exemplary, both by their clients and their investors.
Environmental performance (and carbon assessments) are screened. Brands that try to free themselves of their environmental impact or venture to practice greenwashing play a dangerous game.
There are a lot of examples illustrating the attention now given to the companies’ supply chains: in 2020, Total had been caught by Greenpeace for its palm oil-based “agrofuels”.
In the same way, clothing brands belonging to the fast-fashion industry are regularly criticized for their supply chain.
How to involve your suppliers in your low-carbon strategy?
Conduct a carbon assessment for your company
Before seeking the commitment of your suppliers, it is essential to measure the carbon footprint of your own company.
The objective is to detail the environmental impact of its activity and to identify the ways it could be improved.
👀 Let’s face it: it would be ill-received to require efforts from your supply chain if you don’t do your part.
Ask for Greenly’s Supplier Engagement Solution
The Supplier Engagement solution created by Greenly aims at enabling each company to develop a clear vision of its supply chain’s carbon footprint and to engage its suppliers in developing their own low-carbon strategy.
👉 Each company is advised by its dedicated Climate Expert.
Supplier Engagement journey, step by step
1. Listing of suppliers
The company using the Supplier Engagement solution imports the list of its suppliers in .csv format, or adds them one by one.
Once registered, each supplier has its own information sheet.
2. Pooling of databases
If some suppliers have already been evaluated by Greenly, we will recover their information, and their score will automatically appear on their information sheet.
As a reminder, Greenly’s databases are updated regularly via external sources (CDP for example).
3. Supplier Engagement Process
A questionnaire is sent by Greenly to the suppliers the company wants to evaluate, thanks to the Supplier Engagement platform.
The questionnaire includes declarative data to be collected (producing country, purchasing policy, etc.), as well as documents to be provided (carbon assessment - if already done - and turnover).
4. Scoring
Greenly assigns a score to all suppliers which completed the questionnaire - scores ranging from A+ to E.
This score indicates the maturity of the carbon strategy implemented.
The methodology used is being continuously improved (in line with advances in scientific research).
5. Developing a customized dashboard
The idea is to provide the company with a centralized view of its supplier portfolio. The content is customizable: response rate to the questionnaire, scores’ distribution, most emissive suppliers, missing suppliers, etc.
The objective is to clearly visualize all suppliers’ information, updated in real time, and to steer the progress of sustainable purchasing projects.
6. Accessing the sustainable alternatives’ index
In order to optimize its supply chain, the company can access the index of our alternatives.
Each of the listed companies has been rated by Greenly and compared to similar entities in order to facilitate decision-making.
7. Refining Life Cycle Analysis
If the company has made a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of one of its products with Greenly, it can be refined using data retrieved from the responding suppliers.
8. Receive a more accurate carbon assessment, including Scope 3
Like the LCA, the company’s carbon footprint can also be refined with the responses provided by all of its suppliers.
The main advantage lies in the accuracy of the scope 3 data.
9. Integration with the company’s tools
Our solution can be easily integrated to the software and systems used by the company to track suppliers.
One goal: not multiplying the platforms used by employees.
10. Updating and continuous improvement
Throughout the year, the company can track and update information about its suppliers.
In addition, our team of climate experts is available to support the reflection and continuous improvement of our customers' purchasing strategies towards sustainable schemes.
Why should you choose Greenly Supplier Engagement?
👉 Greenly’s Supplier Engagement solution is an all-in-one solution that allows each company to analyze, track, drive and improve its supply chain to reduce CO2 emissions.
In addition to being practical, this tool is also a competitive asset for the company’s long-term strategy.
Clients, investors, employees, legislation, etc. The environmental requirements are now growing - as illustrated by the greenwashing scandals that occurred this year (Deutsche Bank, Adidas and New Balance, for example).
Starting to reduce your scope 3 emissions means really committing to reducing your greenhouse gas emissions, aligning with the expectations and requirements of your stakeholders, but also simply to stand out from the competition.
by
published the 11 October 2022
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