Challenge
How can a global manufacturer measure the indirect emissions from its value chain?
Across nearly every industry, most emissions occur within the value chain. Nonetheless, collecting and assessing this data isn’t easy. The more international and intricate a value chain is, the harder it can be to capture Scope 3 emissions data.
As the world’s leading producer of cereals, Kellogg Company understands this challenge first-hand. Its foods, like Rice Krispies® and Frosted Flakes®, grace breakfast tables across the globe, requiring Kellogg to liaise with about 20,000 suppliers in multiple markets.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is part of Kellogg’s™ Better Days Promise environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy, which aims to create better days for three billion people by the end of 2030. Recognising the opportunity of decarbonising its value chain, Kellogg sought to measure its value chain footprint. Doing so, will help the company track its progress on driving emissions down and spur further action.
Solution
Steering Kellogg’s climate action plan through an emission calculation tool
To help Kellogg dissect its value chain emissions and identify areas where emission reductions have the most impact, we:
Completed a Scope 3 emissions inventory from 2015 to 2021, establishing the company’s emission baseline. The inventory showed that most of Kellogg’s value chain emissions lie within product’s ingredients and their packaging.
Designed a bespoke Scope 3 calculation tool that enables Kellogg to quantify its footprint and identify emission hotspots.
Trained Kellogg’s sustainability team, so they could use the calculation tool, communicate findings and factor in the carbon footprint of their suppliers in procurement decisions.
Impact
Making carbon-informed supplier choices
The calculation tool empowers Kellogg to go beyond simply measuring its footprint. Instead, it enables a concrete plan of action that will help Kellogg steer its climate strategy and strengthen its carbon data collection. It will enable Kellogg to:
Dissect the environmental impact of its value chain and its importance in reducing Kellogg’s overall footprint.
Integrate carbon accounting into its procurement strategy and support dialogue on CDP reporting with suppliers.
Identify areas to strengthen the data accuracy of its footprint.
Working with the Carbon Trust has enabled us to detangle the complexity of our supply chain. Thanks to their scalable model, we now have a much more detailed picture of where we are in meeting Kellogg’s ™ Better Days Promise environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy climate ambitions. The team's training sessions were especially helpful. We now have a better understanding on where to reduce our supply chain emissions and can factor our calculations into future procurement decisions.
