NEW YORK: The Supplier Cascade initiative was introduced by the international NGO The We Mean Business Coalition to help companies in a variety of industries, including apparel and textiles, accelerate the rate at which they reduce their Scope 3 emissions.
The new program was created in collaboration with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and several climate-related NGOs, including BSR, CDP, Ceres, and the SME Climate Hub.
The Supplier Cascade is a practical strategy for businesses of any size to overcome barriers to decarbonization by focusing on one area that an organization can directly control – their relationship with Tier 1 suppliers. It is based on existing best practices from business leaders, including pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.
The program establishes a “cascade” of climate action throughout the supply chain by asking each organization’s Tier 1 suppliers to publicly report their progress toward targets and make a credible, science-based net zero commitment. Then, each organization cascades this strategy to its own Tier 1 suppliers.
According to Maria Mendiluce, CEO of the We Mean Business Coalition, “Businesses may send a clear message to incentivize action and build organizational resilience by joining the Supplier Cascade and pushing their Tier 1 suppliers to do the same.
Businesses can increasingly rely on their suppliers’ reporting – and suppliers’ reporting – to have more detailed and readily accessible information on climate action in their upstream supply chain.
Due to the inherent complexity of supply chains, it is difficult to determine if scope 3 emissions—which now make up more than 70% of a company’s carbon footprint—are being decreased.
A sizeable amount of these emissions for many businesses comes from upstream suppliers. However, according to CDP statistics, only 39% of these businesses report talking to their suppliers about climate issues, and just 0.04% presently demand that their suppliers set targets based on scientific research.
These companies with science-based goals are asked to join the Supplier Cascade as early adopters, with support offered and important metrics gathered to monitor the approach’s effectiveness.
“The Supplier Cascade has clear benefits because it is measurable, does not require complete supply chain visibility, is easier for buyers and procurement teams to implement, and gives businesses flexibility in how they want to engage and reward their suppliers,” Mendiluce continued. Importantly, once this strategy has been implemented at scale, it leads to climate action that extends much beyond a company’s supply chain.
