What happened at the London Scope 3 Strategy Days

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This episode was recorded live at the Scope 3 Peer Group Strategy Days in London.

More than 350 peers came together for three days of practical sessions, honest reflection and working groups focused on real delivery. The mood this year was clear: less theory, more action.

What we cover in this episode

1. Leadership in practice

Chris Low (Haleon) on renewable electricity in the value chain, market instruments and sharing practical playbooks.
Willem Mutsaerts from Givaudan on combining CPO and sustainability leadership – and why internal alignment is the hardest part.
A strong message from APAC suppliers: if you want action, talk business value. Make it commercially relevant.

2. The widening maturity gapThere’s world-class progress happening. But it’s concentrated in a handful of companies. We discuss the risk of leaders pulling further ahead while others stall – and whether mentoring, structured programmes or collective initiatives can close that gap.

3. Renewable energy, heat and the “obvious levers”Renewable electricity and heat decarbonisation dominated conversations. Several peers questioned whether we’re overcomplicating things in some categories when the solution is clear: switch the energy source.

The debate around product carbon footprints was lively. In some areas they’re critical. In others, they may be distracting from bigger, faster wins.

4. Procurement as the engineIn a wide-ranging conversation with Lewis Howard from Brae, we explore:

Why procurement shouldn’t be turned into climate scientists
How to translate sustainability into negotiation tactics
Embedding decarbonisation into RFPs and contracts
Why the next five years will be about implementation, not target-setting
The focus: use procurement’s commercial muscle, not just its compliance function.

5. Financial services collaborationThe launch of FISP (Finance Industry Sustainable Procurement initiative) highlights how service-based organisations are tackling ambiguous spend categories together – building shared logic before pushing for action.

6. Tools, AI and market shake-upEarly findings from the annual tools review show:

43% of buyers are actively searching for new tools
Suppliers are still being asked to use spreadsheets far too often
AI is starting to reshape expectations around speed and automation
The market is crowded. The next phase will favour proof over promises.

Key takeawayIn London, the stories that resonated most weren’t about corporate strategy decks. They were about individuals taking risks, reframing the business case, and pushing things forward before everything was perfectly aligned.

Progress isn’t coming from policy alone. It’s coming from people.