The Scope 3 Podcast

The Scope 3 Podcast

The fortnightly podcast for business leaders looking to discover solutions, insights and best practice to address their Scope 3 emissions

AstraZeneca, EcoVadis and Solitaire Townsend

Episode 5

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This time, Ollie and Tom are joined by sustainability comms legend Solitaire Townsend to chat through the fallout of the recent SBTi drama in potentially allowing offsets to cover Scope 3 emissions. “Promise instability and promise a wild ride to your board,” the co-founder of Futerra says.

Rob Williams, Director of Sustainable Procurement in the Global Procurement team at AstraZeneca joins Ollie to talk about all things change management, bringing people with you, decarbonising heat, and helping to translate sustainability into procurement.

He also explains what he and his team – and is CPO – have achieved. And it’s a lot. Including the fact that more than 60% of AstraZeneca’s spend is now with suppliers that have got a science based target for emissions reduction.

Apparently, it’s Ollie’s favourite conversation so far on the podcast (but we’re sure he says that every week).

The final guest is Julia Salant who heads up carbon solutions at EcoVadis, a company with a rich history in developing great tools and solutions for different companies for the past 16 years. Julia explains the company’s vision: to bring sustainability data to where procurement decisions are made. Today, some 100,000 suppliers are using EcoVadis, exchanging scorecards with multiple customers to maximise impact.

Key takeaways include:

  • The controversy surrounding the SBTI’s decision to allow offsets for Scope 3 emissions highlights the need for clear governance and consultation processes within sustainability initiatives.

  • Translating sustainability into procurement is essential for driving change and setting clear expectations for suppliers.

  • Engaging procurement professionals and building their capability in sustainability is crucial for driving progress and achieving sustainability goals.

  • The role of procurement professionals is becoming increasingly complex, as they must juggle multiple challenges and translate them into practical actions. Focus on science-based reduction targets and work within the boundaries of the planet.

  • Addressing the challenge of decarbonising heat, a key source of carbon emissions in the supply chain, is crucial.

  • Collaboration and integration among solution providers is key if we are to have meaningful impact.

  • Expect increased regulation, collaboration, and cohesion in sustainability and carbon reporting.

References:

Rob Williams, AstraZeneca

Solitaire Townsend, Futerra

Julia Salant, EcoVadis

Unilever and Manufacture 2030

Episode 4

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Long-time sustainability pioneer Unilever features on the show this week. The consumer goods giant, behind the famous brands we know and love (Hellmans and Ben & Jerry’s among them) has been driving sustainable thinking into every corner of its operations for the last two decades.

In the supply chain, as with most companies, it’s been a slower burn. But in Stella Constantatos, the company’s Supplier Climate Programme Lead, they have a real star. She started working for the business more than 20 years ago when she joined the process engineering team in her home nation of South Africa. And she’s had many different roles since then. But today, she’s charged with tackling Scope 3 and not least in working with Unilever’s procurement organisation to find ways to leverage the firm’s enormous buying power to drive down emissions and benefit suppliers and customers alike.

We are also joined by the brilliant Martin Chilcott, CEO of Manufacture 2030. Martin is in a hurry to speed up the pace of decarbonisation across huge manufacturing supply chains. Today, he and his team are managing 50 global supply chains of some of the biggest and most ambitious companies, including Toyota, Pfizer and Unilever. His philosophy: it’s all about making decarbonisation a real commercial opportunity for supplier companies.

Here’s the links in reference to what Ollie mentions during the news section too:

Stella Constantatos, Unilever

Martin Chilcott, Manufacture 2030

Schneider Electric and Makersite

Episode 3

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There’s plenty to learn and take away by listening to this, our third episode of the Scope 3 Podcast.

Christophe Quiquempoix, VP for global procurement at Schneider Electric, has picked up many plaudits (and one or two awards) for his company’s approach to decarbonising the supply chain. Ollie asks him to explain why and how he’s doing so well.

Christophe’s insights into how his team is structured, how he’s building capability internally and how he plans to go further, by optimising what the business buys (as opposed to simply reducing the supply chain footprint).

Then, we hear from Neil D'Souza, founder and CEO of Makersite, a company that has created product lifecycle intelligence software for good reason. “If you want to solve the climate problem you have to solve the product problem,” he says. With one billion products currently in existence somewhere in the world, sustainability folk have only really assessed around a quarter of a million of them (or 25%).

With two decades of product sustainability thinking and doing under his belt, Neil is frustrated. And he hopes Makersite is the answer, helping product teams deal with highly complex supply chain data – and spend less time on disclosures, and more time on designing and sourcing better, more sustainable products.

Here’s the links in reference to what Ollie mentions during the news section too:

Christophe Quiquempoix, Schneider Electric

Neil D’Souza, Makersite

CBRE and Emitwise

Episode 2

Emitwise

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In this, our second episode of the Scope 3 Podcast, we kick things off by delving into the ramifications of the SBTi’s decision to downgrade hundreds of net zero commitments, and what that means for Scope 3 efforts.

We're then joined by not one, but two guests. First, we have Mat Langley on board. He’s Global Head of Procurement for Sustainability at CBRE, one of the world’s biggest commercial property firms.

And he’s joined by Mauro Cozzi, a tech entrepreneur and CEO and Co-Founder of Emitwise, a solutions provider on a mission to make it easier – and more profitable – for companies to decarbonise.

Not only have both chaps got an interesting story to tell, but we’re treated to a rare insight into what makes a client-supplier relationship succeed (hint: it’s all about the long term).

Mat Langley, CBRE

Mauro Cozzi, Emitwise

Dow, Gartner and Persefoni

Episode 1

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In this very first episode of the show, Ollie and Tom explain why they've decided to launch a podcast on Scope 3.

We're then joined by Suzanne Greene, the Global Procurement Sustainability Lead at Dow Chemical who tells her story, her strategy, and her philosophy for solving the Scope 3 challenge. And she has plenty of nuggets of advice and wisdom to share.

We also kick start our deep dive into some of the solutions, technologies and platforms. This time, we meet the team behind Persefoni, one of the big software companies really leading the charge on supply chain decarbonisation.

Oh, and Ollie rekindles his bromance with Miguel Cossio, Gartner's font of all knowledge on Scope 3 solutions.

Suzanne Greene, Dow

Suzanne Greene, Dow

Kentaro Kawamori, Persefoni

Kentaro Kawamori, Persefoni

Miguel Cossio, Gartner

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