PACT’s Scope 3 Summit 2024: Key Insights on Scope 3 Emissions and the Path to Net Zero

"Perfection is the enemy of progress. The most important step is to start."

This rallying cry from Naama Avni-Kadosh, Director of PACT at the World Business Council on Sustainable Development, set the tone for the PACT Scope 3 Summit 2024. Held during Climate Week in New York, the Summit brought together 120 leaders from across industries, financial institutions, and tech innovators to share strategies and insights on tackling Scope 3 emissions and achieving greater supply value chain transparency.

While companies worldwide grapple with reaching Net-Zero goals, the challenge of collecting, managing and reporting on Scope 3 emissions—the indirect emissions from supply chains and business activities—is often daunting. Yet, as we learned, this challenge is not just a hurdle or a reporting requirement, but a gateway to business opportunities. A recent CO2AI and BCG survey revealed that companies that calculate emissions at the product level are four times more likely to achieve decarbonization benefits. With only 9% of businesses globally reporting comprehensively on all emissions scopes, the potential to take meaningful action is undeniable.

The Summit created a space for ecosystem leaders to share insights on how we can transform this potential into progress. Here are the key takeaways.

Peter Bakker: The Imperative of Action  

Peter Bakker’s opening remarks emphasized the critical need for immediate action on Scope 3 emissions, which constitute over 75% of a company’s carbon footprint. However, these emissions are notoriously difficult to track due to fragmented data across global value chains.  

“Without financial markets valuing sustainability performance, companies are disincentivized from setting ambitious climate targets”, Bakker remarked.

‍Critical to improving carbon performance is having accurate and comparable scope 3 data. He urged collaboration across sectors—corporations, regulators, and financial institutions—to integrate accurate Scope 3 data into corporate performance and accountability.  With a compelling sense of urgency, Bakker reminded attendees that the tools for this journey already exist, and PACT can streamline their use. "Now is the time to act,” he concluded, charging the room with a sense of responsibility and optimism.

Insights from Ecosystem Leaders: Collaboration, Technology, and Innovation

The Summit continued with perspectives from key industry figures, underscoring the importance of partnerships and cutting-edge technology in advancing Scope 3 transparency.

Nick Cain, VP of Strategy & Innovation at the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, highlighted the necessity of public-private partnerships in decarbonizing global value chains. “Systemic change can only happen when all stakeholders work together to build the partnerships and solutions needed to decarbonize global value chains." he explained, stressing the importance of platforms like PACT in fostering the collaboration needed to drive meaningful progress.

From a technology perspective, SAP’s Chief Product Officer for Sustainability, Gunther Rothermel, discussed how digital innovation is reshaping the way companies track and manage emissions. "Technology is advancing rapidly, making emissions data more accessible and accurate than ever before," Rothermel explained.  High quality data is key to enabling companies to make informed, and climate-resilient decisions.

Unilever’s Rupert Posner, Director of Global Sustainability Advocacy for Home Care, reflected on the complexity of managing Scope 3 emissions across vast supply chains. He highlighted the challenges of collecting high-quality data from a vast and diverse supplier network but expressed optimism about the future.

"The landscape of Scope 3 data collection is evolving and expectations for transparency are growing, but improved data will enable us, and others, to work with our value chains to reduce emissions more substantially and more rapidly."

Collaborative Action: Hands-on Solutions for Scope 3 Challenges

One of the summit's highlights was the Gallery Walk, where attendees engaged in roundtable discussions led by PACT Implementation Program members and solution providers. These discussions offered hands-on strategies for overcoming key Scope 3 challenges such as gaining internal buy-in, mobilizing suppliers, and improving data quality.

PACT Implementation Program corporates and PACT-conformant solution providers. Each roundtable focused on a specific Scope 3 challenge, offering hands-on solutions and real-world examples from companies leading the way in emissions transparency and reduction.

The eight key challenges discussed, along with the experts who led the sessions:

1. Gaining Internal Buy-In – Led by Anke Hampel, Group Head of Sustainability at ABB

2. Achieving Digital and Data Readiness – Led by Chris Low, Head of Sustainability Procurement & Packaging at Haleon

3. Mobilizing Suppliers for PCF Exchange – Led by Saif Hameed, Founder and CEO of Altruistiq

4. Building Data Trust and Transparency – Led by Doug Rheiner, Managing Director in KPMG’s Audit Sustainability Reporting Center of Excellence

5. Engaging with Procurement for Data-Driven Decisions – Led by Oliver Hurrey, Founder of the Sustainable Procurement Group, and Florian Vollmer, VP, Head of Procurement at Bayer

6. Driving Supplier Transparency and Decarbonization – Led by Suzanne Greene, Global Purchasing Environmental Sustainability Director at Dow

7. Coordinating Across Industry Sectors – Led by Alessandro Pistillo, Director of Digital & Sustainability Strategic Projects at BASF and Co-Chair of the GHG Scope 3 Emissions Workstream

8. Improving Data Quality and Visualization – Led by Frans-Willem de Kloet, CEO of Ecochain

These discussions not only provided deep insights into each challenge but also equipped attendees with actionable solutions to take forward in their own organizations.

Looking Ahead: A Blog Series to Continue the Conversation

The Summit made it clear that addressing Scope 3 emissions is a long-term effort requiring sustained collaboration and innovation.  

To build on the momentum of these discussions, PACT will publish a series of expert insights. These posts will offer deep dives into specific Scope 3 challenges discussed during the Summit, and provide practical, actionable strategies for achieving greater emissions transparency.  

Follow us on LinkedIn or visit our website. to ensure you don’t miss these essential insights.  

PACT would like to thank SAP for kindly hosting the event at their Headquarters in New York City, and Ambipar Group for offering to offset the Summit’s entire carbon emissions. We are grateful for this partnership and look forward to working together in the future.