Launched in March 2023, the Scope 3 Maturity Benchmark is a tool created by leading procurement consultancy Proxima, in collaboration with the Scope 3 Peer Group.
With ‘Scope 3’ emissions (most notably emissions from supply chains) averaging in the region of three-quarters of total organizational emissions, tackling Scope 3 is the critical challenge for businesses seeking to hit net zero. The Benchmark is an important enabler of this, focusing on how to share the activities and actions that are being taken by businesses in an effort to accelerate progress as a community.
Over the past year, over 170 companies, with combined revenues of over $2.7 trillion (equivalent to the world's 8th largest economy by GDP), have contributed to the Benchmark by sharing their own experiences. They have used this information to chart their progress and define their next key actions. This group has influence over more than three million suppliers around the world and provides a blueprint for other organizations wanting to follow suit.
Key Takeaways:
- Overall executive ‘buy-in’ is strong and corporate communication firing. 47% of our group have set 2030 targets and across the group the highest maturity levels were found in Target Setting, Executive Buy-In and Communications.
- Ambition is not necessarily translating into investment to solve the problem. The lowest scoring elements, demonstrating the lowest perceived levels of maturity were concentrated in some of the fundamentals: talent, policy, process, and the management of the suppliers that will ultimately dictate speed and scale of progress.
- There is no evidence of significant investment in terms of money or resources going into procurement teams. CPOs are having to think creatively and choosing to upskill their teams in the absence of funding for new resources and solutions.
- With 80% of emissions coming from Scope 3, there is concern that there may only be 1-2 sourcing cycles for some critical supply areas where there is a need to align ambition with practical action. There is a very real risk of widescale failure to hit targets as organizational learning struggles to keep pace with corporate targets.
