SUSTAINABILITY
Schneider taking tier-one suppliers along with it on its sustainability journey is something of a template for other organisations to follow as they strive to meet their net-zero goals .
Collaborate with suppliers on sustainability , urges Suppeco Sheldon Mydat , CEO of Suppeco – a cloud-based dynamic supplier-data platform – believes tier-one suppliers hold the key to driving sustainable practices deeper into the supply chain .
Speaking at another BMG event – April ’ s Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE – Mydat said that , because supply chains are complex , “ it requires a lot of work to bring smaller companies along on the sustainability journey ”. He added that almost half of such companies don ' t track their produce at all once it leaves their premises .
He continued : “ When it comes to sustainability programmes , I think a lot of smaller suppliers wonder what is in it for them . Inflation is high right now , and there ’ s a cost associated with doing things sustainably . Many smaller companies don ' t have the money to invest in new processes , and this is often why they don ' t track produce when it leaves their premises .
“ Encouraging suppliers to embrace sustainability is about creating a willingness to support the cause . It ' s down to tierone suppliers , in collaboration with their customers , to drive those behaviours and to bring smaller companies on the journey . Ultimately , it ’ s all about collaboration – about things such as driving shared R & D .”
Schneider ’ s Smith feels that , ultimately , many of the net-zero challenges faced in supply chains – including Scope 3 emissions – will be met through the widespread adoption of ‘ Electricity 4.0 ’.
Net zero solutions ‘ already exist in shape of Industry 4.0 tech ’ “ All the solutions we need already exist in the shape of Industry 4.0 technology ,” he said . “ Electric and digital is the best vector for decarbonisation because it allows us to bring more renewables into an increasing share of the mix . It allows us to see and understand how energy is being used so that we can reduce that massive 60 % wastage that we see today .”
Smith says buildings are the biggest consumers of energy and that the evergrowing number of power-hungry data
48 October 2022