A partnership between the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and Trucost, launched on 3 November 2010, will make it easier for companies to measure and disclose greenhouse gas emissions from their supply chains.
Trucost will identify ‘hot spot' suppliers that contribute most to greenhouse gas emissions in the long and complex supply chains of large organisations. CDP Supply Chain will then ask carbon-intensive suppliers identified in Trucost's ranking to report primary data. Walmart, PepsiCo and IBM are among 56 of the largest organisations worldwide currently using CDP Supply Chain to help engage with suppliers to understand related carbon impacts.
The CDP's latest analysis shows that reporting on these emissions - known as Scope 3 under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol corporate accounting standard - remains the weakest area of disclosure for many companies. For instance, 300 European companies analysed do not always disclose supply chain or products-in-use emissions that present the most material risks.
Members of the CDP Supply Chain programme will now be able to use Trucost's environmental data to focus on carbon-intensive suppliers in processes to measure and report emissions. Richard Mattison, Trucost Chief Operating Officer explained: "We regularly find that just 10% of suppliers are responsible for around 90% of supply chain environmental impacts. Our data enables organisations to pinpoint their ‘hot spots', even when their suppliers do not disclose data. Findings can be used to efficiently manage supply chain carbon risk."
Frances Way, Head of CDP Supply Chain, added: "Carbon management is a vital part of supplier engagement and for a number of years companies have been working with CDP to develop strategies that address carbon emissions in their supply chains. This latest expansion to our offering enables companies to concentrate efforts where they can best minimise business risk and reduce environmental impact."