Singapore Post is in the process of developing a full inventory of its Scope 3 emissions and aims to reach net zero across the business by 2050. — Bloomberg
SINGAPORE: Major companies can bolster efforts to calculate Scope 3 emissions by helping entities across their supply chains build capacity to provide better data, according to Singapore Post Ltd.
The postal and logistics company, which operates in 14 global markets, is in the process of developing a full inventory of its Scope 3 emissions and aims to reach net zero across the business by 2050.
“It’s all in the data,” chief sustainability officer Michelle Lee said at the Bloomberg Sustainable Business Summit in Singapore.
“With supply chains, you can’t control directly what they do, whether they even give you the data.”
Rather than shift away from suppliers that are unable to immediately provide the necessary degree of detail, larger companies need to assist those smaller entities, she said.
“Businesses have got a lot of pressure nowadays,” Lee said. “We help them understand that perhaps these are some of the tools that you can be using.”
Scope 3 emissions on average account for about three-quarters of a sector’s total carbon pollution, according to CDP, a nonprofit that collects corporate climate disclosures.
Differing methods of accounting, and varied approaches to verification, has posed challenges in calculating accurate totals in industries, ranging from fashion to energy.
Improving data collection on emissions can deliver companies benefits beyond more reliable reporting, according to Lee.
“You are able to – in a very organic and disciplined manner – look at the data and analyse it, and be very focused and targeted in your reduction initiatives,” she said. — Bloomberg
