As climate deadlines loom and pressure mounts, food businesses are turning their gaze to an unlikely hero; procurement. With Scope 3 emissions—those indirect emissions from purchased goods and services—often comprising the majority of a company's carbon footprint, procurement emerges as a pivotal player in driving decarbonization. But amidst a sea of sustainability buzzwords, how can procurement teams distinguish genuine strategies from fleeting trends?
Where Emissions Really Come From
To effectively tackle emissions, it's essential to comprehend their sources:
• Scope 1: Direct emissions from owned or controlled sources.
• Scope 2: Indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy.
• Scope 3: All other indirect emissions that occur in a company's value chain, including those from suppliers.
For many food businesses, Scope 3 emissions, particularly from procurement activities, represent the lion's share of their carbon footprint. Addressing these requires a strategic and informed approach.
How Procurement Can Actually Cut Emissions
Procurement isn't just about cost and quality; it's about shaping the sustainability trajectory of a business. Here's how procurement can lead the decarbonization charge:
1. Data-Driven Decision Making
Accurate emissions data is the bedrock of any decarbonization strategy. Klimato’s tool makes it easy for food businesses to track, calculate, and report their carbon footprint—including the often complex Scope 3 emissions linked to supply chains. By turning detailed climate data into clear, actionable insights, Klimato empowers procurement teams to identify high-impact areas, make smarter sourcing decisions, and reduce CO2e emissions across the board.
2. Engaging Suppliers in Sustainability
Building strong, collaborative relationships with suppliers is crucial for cutting supply chain emissions. Leading businesses are moving beyond one-off requests for data—they’re setting clear expectations, offering support, and creating long-term partnerships focused on transparency and impact. One effective strategy is helping suppliers access the resources they need to calculate and share their carbon footprint data more easily. Tools like Klimato’s emission database make this process simpler, giving procurement teams a clear view of the climate impact of different ingredients and products. According to a report by McKinsey, companies that actively engage suppliers in decarbonization efforts—through data sharing, incentives, and capacity building—are far more likely to hit their climate targets than those that take a passive approach.
3. Setting Science-Based Targets
Aligning procurement goals with science-based targets ensures that emission reduction efforts are both ambitious and achievable. Vattenfall, for instance, has committed to reducing its Scope 3 emissions from purchased goods and services by 50% by 2030, showcasing the impact of setting clear, science-backed objectives.
4. Leveraging Technology for Emission Tracking
Modern procurement teams can harness technology to monitor and manage emissions more effectively—and that’s where Klimato comes in. Our app not only calculates the carbon footprint of ingredients, recipes, and menus, but also gives food businesses access to a database of emissions data, helping them engage suppliers with facts rather than guesswork. By making it easy to track hotspots and monitor progress over time, Klimato enables procurement teams to focus their efforts where they’ll have the biggest impact—and back up their sustainability strategies with real numbers.
Navigating the Path Forward
For food businesses aiming to decarbonize their supply chains, procurement offers a strategic avenue:
• Educate and Empower: Invest in training procurement teams on sustainability principles and tools.
• Collaborate with Suppliers: Foster open dialogues about sustainability goals and support suppliers in their decarbonization journeys.
• Integrate Sustainability into Procurement Criteria: Beyond cost and quality, consider environmental impact as a key factor in supplier selection.
• Monitor and Report: Regularly track emissions data, set benchmarks, and report progress to stakeholders.
Sustainability isn’t a side project, it's a purchasing decision. The power to reduce emissions is already in your hands. The question is: what will you choose to buy next?
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