Case Study l TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
How Bevolve Platform Enabled Supply Chain Decarbonization for a Fortune 500 Company
Client
Fortune 500 Company
Need
Engage suppliers and reduce Scope 3 emissions across diverse supply chain
Industry
Technology
Goal
Bevolve was brought in to assist in sustainability maturity assessment and supply chain decarbonisation
What we did?
- Onboarded 50+ suppliers from diverse sectors on the platform
- Conducted workshops to educate suppliers on reducing emissions and improving sustainability practices
- Analyzed scope 1 and 2 data to calculate the Fortune 500 company’s actual Scope 3 emissions and guide decarbonization efforts across the supply chain
Case Study
“Our ultimate goal with this initiative is not just to rank suppliers based on their environmental, social, and governance maturity, but to genuinely help them understand the importance of sustainability. We have to guide them in taking the right steps.”
— Head of Procurement, Fortune 500 Technology Company
Introduction: A Bold Vision for Sustainability
In today’s corporate world, sustainability has become a key driver of competitive advantage. A leading Fortune 500 Technology company, with 200 thousand employees operating in more than 50+ countries, recognized the critical need to reduce emissions not only within its operations but throughout its entire supply chain. The company had already made strides in reducing emissions within its own operations, earning a gold rating from EcoVadis and becoming a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI). The organization is committed to cutting Scope 3 emissions by 55% by 2030, demonstrating significant progress toward sustainability. By targeting Net-Zero emissions by 2040, a full decade ahead of the global 2050 target, they plan to achieve this through close collaboration with suppliers to reduce value chain emissions.
The Challenge: Engaging a Global and Diverse Supplier Network
The company’s supply chain spanned 14 industrial sectors, including IT hardware, software, IT consulting, healthcare, cybersecurity, telecommunications, food technology, infrastructure, and pharmaceuticals. This diversity presented a challenge in assessing and improving the sustainability practices of suppliers, each with different operations, emissions profiles, and expertise in environmental management.To address this, the company needed an efficient and scalable way to onboard and assess suppliers’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) maturity and identify opportunities for improvement.
This is where the Bevolve platform became the solution.
Onboarding Suppliers: A Seamless Integration
To kickstart the supply chain decarbonization journey, Bevolve platform successfully onboarded 50 + suppliers from various sectors, with the reporting company spending approximately ≈ US $80 million annually on these suppliers. Using the platform, suppliers were introduced to an initial survey designed to assess their current maturity levels in key ESG areas, including: emissions, water usage and waste management, labour practices, health insurance, and adherence to codes of conduct.
Through the platform, our client was able to create a comprehensive and user-friendly system to collect and analyze the crucial data. The goal was to set a baseline for suppliers’ sustainability practices and identify areas where they could improve.
As the Head of Procurement emphasized, the company’s ultimate goal wasn’t just to rank suppliers based on their ESG maturity but to guide them on the path to sustainability and help them take actionable steps toward meaningful change.
Workshops and Data Analysis: Empowering Suppliers
Once the initial data was collected, our team facilitated the organization of awareness workshops for each supplier. These workshops provided suppliers with insights into their environmental impact and actionable steps to reduce emissions, manage water usage, and improve waste management practices. This enabled easy communication and sharing of educational resources to help suppliers better understand the importance of sustainability and how they could contribute to the company’s decarbonization goals.
After the workshops, we worked with suppliers to gather actual emissions data—focusing on Scope 1 (direct emissions) and Scope 2 (indirect emissions from electricity usage). This data was crucial in evaluating their emissions profiles and understanding the exact contribution each supplier made to the company’s total emissions. This data collection process provided a clear overview of each supplier’s current emissions, enabling tailored recommendations for improvement.
Overcoming Challenges: A Global Solution for Diverse Suppliers
Managing a global supply chain comes with unique challenges, such as coordinating with suppliers from different regions, sectors, and with varying levels of knowledge about sustainability. Through the platform, we were able to overcome these challenges by offering standardized yet customizable approaches. Suppliers were able to input their data directly into the platform, and the platform automatically adjusted to ensure that the right questions were being asked based on each supplier’s sector and operations. This enabled the company to track and measure its suppliers’ Scope 1 and 2 emissions, providing an accurate Scope 3 emissions value. This data helped target decarbonization efforts and informed decisions for emissions reduction across the supply chain. Additionally, suppliers gained a better understanding of their sustainability status, raising awareness and encouraging actionable steps to reduce their emissions. This initiative advanced the company’s net-zero goals and fostered a culture of sustainability throughout the supply chain.
Tailoring Data Collection: Adapting to Supplier Needs
Given the diversity of suppliers, some had unique operations that did not fit into traditional emissions categories, such as those without office premises or significant transportation activities. We leveraged one of the unique features of our platform,its ability to tailor data collection based on each supplier’s specific situation.
For example, a third-party vendor supplier based in London, provided contract-based employees to the reporting company. Since this supplier lacked traditional operations like office space, transportation, or significant energy usage, collecting standard Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions data would not be applicable. With the help of our platform, we customised the survey questions to focus on the specific emissions caused by contract employees working for the reporting company. This adaptability ensured that accurate and relevant data was collected for each supplier, regardless of their operational model.
Conclusion: A Shared Journey Toward Sustainability
The Bevolve platform played a pivotal role in enabling the Fortune 500 Technology company to drive its supply chain decarbonization efforts. By providing a user-friendly, adaptable system for data collection, analysis, and supplier engagement, we helped the company take significant steps toward reducing emissions and fostering a culture of sustainability across its entire supply chain.
This initiative has not only provided the company with the data needed to reduce emissions across its supply chain but also inspired greater awareness and responsibility among suppliers. By working together, the company and its suppliers are making significant strides toward reducing Scope 3 emissions and achieving the company’s sustainability goals
Contact us: catalyst@bevolve.ai
