We Mean Business Coalition, a global nonprofit has launched the ‘Supplier Cascade’, designed to overcome barriers to decarbonisation by focusing on one area that an organization can directly control: their relationship with Tier 1 suppliers.
- The programme has been launched in partnership with BSR, CDP, Ceres, EDF and the SME Climate Hub, and in collaboration with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
THE SUPPLIER CASCADE: A practical approach for businesses of any size and from any sector, the Supplier Cascade aims to accelerate the pace at which businesses reduce their Scope 3 emissions.
- The approach creates a cascade of climate action through the supply chain, with each organisation asking their Tier 1 suppliers to make a credible net zero commitment that is aligned with science, publicly report their progress against targets, and cascade the approach to their own Tier 1 suppliers.
- The Supplier Cascade provides an action-oriented ask that helps buyers start the process of engaging suppliers with whom they have a direct purchasing relationship and promotes comparability across supplier reporting.
- Businesses with science-based targets are being invited to become early adopters of the Supplier Cascade, with support provided and key metrics collected to track the impact of the approach.
- The Supplier Cascade is measurable and does not require the visibility of the entire supply chain.
- It does not require deep technical knowledge so is more straightforward for buyers and procurement teams to implement, and it provides flexibility to business in how they want to engage and incentivize their suppliers.
- Importantly, once this approach has been taken to scale it generates climate action far beyond a company’s own supply chain.
WHY: Scope 3 emissions account for more than 70% of a company’s carbon footprint, and the inherent complexities of supply chains makes it hard to accurately track if upstream scope 3 emissions are being reduced.
- For many companies, a significant portion of their Scope 3 emissions are from upstream suppliers. However, data from CDP shows that only 39% of these companies report engaging their suppliers on climate matters and just 0.04% currently require their suppliers to set Science Based Targets (SBTs).
WHAT THEY SAID:
By joining the Supplier Cascade and encouraging their Tier 1 suppliers to do the same, businesses can send a clear message to incentivize action and increase organisational resilience. Businesses can also increasingly draw on the reporting of their suppliers – and suppliers draw on the reporting of their suppliers – to have more specific and available data on climate action in their upstream supply chain.
— Maria Mendiluce
Chief Executive Officer
We Mean Business Coalition
