Time To Tackle Emissions At The Root: 20 Innovative Supply Chain Carbon Management Solutions

Time To Tackle Emissions At The Root: 20 Innovative Supply Chain Carbon Management Solutions

Corporate sustainability leaders are increasingly focusing on supply chain management, recognizing its potential to reduce both environmental impact and vulnerability to climate-related disruptions. 68% of sustainability leaders will prioritize supply chain emissions reduction over the next three years, according to the 2023 Verdantix net zero and climate risk global corporate survey.

The emergence of TCFD-aligned regulations, such as the CSRD, will force firms to get serious regarding the management and disclosure of their Scope 3 emissions – yet, at present, these emissions go unmanaged by the majority of organizations. The CDP’s Global Supply Chain Report found that 60% of firms deem supply chain emissions relevant, but only 36% calculate them. Challenges such as poor supply chain visibility, the overwhelming logistical requirements of data management and low specificity of secondary data are obstructing effective supply chain emissions management. This drives more firms to turn towards software solutions offering dedicated supply chain functionality.

To unpack the diverse and rapidly growing market of solutions in this space, the 2023 Verdantix Smart Innovators: Supply Chain Carbon Management report provides a benchmark of 20 vendors across five core capability areas: supplier engagement, data management, data calculation, data analysis and decarbonization implementation. The results of the benchmark underline the following areas of innovation:

• Supplier engagement tools.
  While supplier data collection tools are no longer a unique offering, providers are now enhancing functionalities to boost supplier participation and transform supplier portals into collaborative platforms for decarbonization. Solutions that facilitate bi-directional information flow and extend resources beyond a user's operational boundaries are gaining traction, especially as firms seek to advance their reduction targets through supply chain decarbonization efforts. Examples include modularized learning resources, supplier orientated management tools and decarbonization initiative distribution mechanisms.
  
  
• AI-enabled automation of data management and analysis.
  Collecting, calculating and analysing the extensive data needed for supply chain carbon management is becoming unfeasible for firms seeking audit-grade emissions data or actionable cost-efficient insights. Advancements in automation and AI are now key differentiators in carbon management offerings, providing users with the ability to automatically identify priority suppliers based on multiple factors, precisely determine the impact of business decisions on future emissions footprints, automatically detect and resolve data errors, and determine cost-effective decarbonization plans.

In total, Verdantix benchmarked 20 vendors: Carbmee, CEMAsys, Cority, Emitwise, ENGIE IMPACT, FigBytes, Greenly, IBM, Makersite, Normative, Optera, Persefoni, Position Green, SAP, Sphera, Sustain.Life, Sweep, Terrascope, UL Solutions and Watershed. To learn more about the innovations these providers offer, see Verdantix Smart Innovators: Supply Chain Carbon Management.