In order to reach net zero by 2050, emissions must be halved globally by 2030. Accordingly, organizations have a clear and urgent need to be able to accurately measure the full scope of their emissions before they can effectively manage them. Companies cannot achieve this individually. Tracking and measuring must also extend across value chains in an end-to-end manner, providing entire ecosystems with the product-level data they need to act on reducing their overall carbon footprints.
Today, CO2 AI by BCG and CDP are pleased to announce their strategic partnership to co-develop a platform that enables companies to collaborate on—and accelerate—their emissions optimization journeys by sharing product-level sustainability data in a secure, auditable, and action-oriented manner. The platform’s key benefits include the enablement of transparency at scale and accurate measurement of scope 3 emissions (external emissions that occur in the value chain of the reporting company).
The platform will support organizations in measuring and sharing their primary sustainability data more comprehensively by allowing all members of their ecosystems to exchange data in an easy and transparent way. The platform will be enabled by best-in-class technology to ensure a secure and high-quality data exchange, including the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
CDP’s Supply Chain program is currently the go-to reference for sustainability data at the company level. The partnership will complement and expand on CDP’s existing work on scope 3 data disclosure and expand its product-level data with access to important technological and infrastructure capabilities.
For BCG, the partnership represents the next step in the development of CO2 AI by BCG, an end-to-end AI-powered solution that organizations from all industries can deploy to quantify current emissions and find ways to reduce them at scale.
CDP is also publishing its 2021 Supply Chain report, Engaging the chain: driving speed and scale, today. Produced in collaboration with BCG, the report reveals that although progress is being made when it comes to direct environmental impacts, only 38%, 47%, and 16% of reporting companies are engaging with their suppliers on climate change, deforestation, and water security, respectively. It is urgent that companies cascade measurement and action down the entire supply chain to achieve the speed and scale required to avert environmental crisis.
“We are truly excited and proud to partner with CDP – the gold standard of environmental reporting. This platform will provide a critical unlock in the fight against climate change. Together, we will help organizations around the world take targeted action to decarbonize value chains,” said Christoph Schweizer, BCG’s CEO.
“There is a critical need for companies to collaborate with their value chains on environmental action, especially decarbonization. Through our partnership with BCG, we can accelerate insights into action, leveraging digital, advanced analytics, and AI solutions to revolutionize emissions management,” said Paul Simpson, chief executive officer at CDP.
“The AI-enabled platform will allow organizations, suppliers, and customers to exchange product-level data and empower them to compute their own carbon footprint. It provides a seamless way to share sustainability data across supply chains and collaborate on levers and roadmaps, facilitating net-zero journeys for entire industries,” said Charlotte Degot, managing director & partner at BCG, and founder and global leader of CO2 AI by BCG.
“CDP looks to continually improve the speed and scale of supplier engagement globally, leveraging over a decade of sustainable supply chain experience. The development of this platform complements our long-standing work on scope 3 emissions data, further enhancing collaboration across ecosystems at a product level,” said Dexter Galvin, global director of corporations and supply chains at CDP.
