If companies aren’t setting targets themselves for carbon emissions, then it will be their customers that will demand it. Supply chain, or Scope 3, emissions are now the centre of attention. Customer retention and new customer acquisition, say, through RFPs, is dependent on businesses having policies in place that reduce their emissions. And that includes business travel.
Businesses are losing out if they don’t have systems and polices in place that account for the effects of climate change. Companies are also committing to emissions reductions along their supply chain, accounting for more of their Scope 3 emissions with science-based targets; this can involve the travel they purchase.
For some, these emissions can be significant. Take AXA Investment Managers, for example. Scope 3 emissions account for 96% of the firm's total, which was 31,280 tonnes in 20218, mostly from suppliers, such as “business travel, the purchase of services, the purchase of goods including IT material, cloud usage, commuting, catering and home working". Notice the prominence of business travel. Elsewhere, global consultancy Bain has announced a 35% reduction in Scope 3 emissions from air travel as a formal ESG strategy9.
