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Three years after the launch of our Supplier Climate Programme, a growing number of businesses within our supply chain are accelerating their climate action.
We are focusing our support on a subset of key suppliers whose materials contribute the most to our climate impact: around 300 suppliers that are equal to approximately 44% of our ‘Scope 3’ GHG emissions (outside our operations and within scope of our net zero ambition) that are related to raw materials, ingredients and packaging.[a] These suppliers come from a range of industries including palm/oleochemicals, fine chemicals, soft commodities, food ingredients, packaging and petrochemicals, as well as collaborative manufacturers who produce some Unilever products on our behalf.
Our updated Climate Transition Action Plan (CTAP) estimates that our Supplier Climate Programme could deliver the biggest step towards reaching our new science-based targets for reducing our Scope 3 GHG emissions by 2030.
With 63% of our total emissions within scope of our net zero ambition estimated to come from our raw materials, ingredients and packaging,[b] helping suppliers to calculate and share the footprint of the materials they’re selling to us is key – we each need it to better understand our climate impact, collaborate over effective action and track progress over the next few years.
Weener Plastics and Ball Corporation are among the companies taking part in our Supplier Climate Programme. Both supply Unilever with packaging solutions.
Last year, we provided guidance and tools to Weener Plastics to start calculating PCF data for the first time, and it shared this with Unilever. Ball Corporation also shared its PCF data via a joint decarbonisation workshop. This year, we have engaged both companies again to share their updated PCF data, enabling us to track the progress they are making with reducing the climate impact of their materials.
Here, they explain how taking part in the Programme and recognising the business case for climate action is helping them to accelerate efforts in their own supply chains.
In recent months, Unilever has equipped our Procurement team with knowledge of how to interpret and meaningfully integrate emissions reduction into their commercial strategies.
Looking to the future, our focus will be on the development of partnerships coming out of workshops we’re holding with select suppliers, as well as shaping roadmaps for priority materials with the biggest GHG reduction opportunities.
“We’re seeing more suppliers accelerating their climate actions,” says Stella Constantatos, Unilever’s Supplier Climate Programme Lead.
“By collaborating with us in the Programme, our partners are not only better equipped to reduce emissions, they are also helping us build a more accurate picture of the climate impact in our supply chain. This allows us to focus on the best emission-reduction opportunities and paves the way for our future partnership.”
To find out about the suppliers who have gone public with their climate leadership through the Unilever Climate Promise, click here.
To read more about our updated commitments on climate, nature, plastics and livelihoods, visit our Sustainability Hub.
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