Q&A with Karlina Wu of 3Degrees: “Redirect your efforts towards targeting carbon hotspots for greater positive impact.”

Learn how a targeted approach to Scope 3 emission reduction can help your company accelerate climate action with your suppliers. 

We spoke to Karlina Wu, Manager on the energy & climate practice team at 3Degrees, about the common pitfalls of carbon management and strategies for achieving tangible results with your suppliers. 

The below interview was edited for length and clarity.

1) What’s a common challenge of addressing Scope 3 emissions?

⁠We often hear our customers saying they’re having trouble taking action once they start measuring scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions. It's not always clear what the next steps are, such as what type of data or actions are needed from suppliers to achieve tangible results. As Scope 3 emissions represent over two third of most companies’ carbon footprint, it’s easy to get stuck in emission measurements.  

2) Can you share learnings from one of your customers on how to effectively reduce these indirect emissions? 

We work with a global company in the consumer goods industry to identify the primary sources of their carbon emissions and provide specific reduction actions. Our client was aware that a significant portion of their Scope 3 emissions stemmed from Category 1 of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol on goods and services. A majority of these came from advertisements.

When we analyzed their data, we discovered that most of their advertising emissions were generated by digital ads hosted on platforms that already had renewable energy targets and decarbonization plans in place. Instead of focusing on working with them, we redirected our efforts towards addressing the next highest sources of emissions, thereby targeting carbon hotspots for greater positive impact.
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3) What are your tips for successfully tackling Scope 3 emissions? 

In this case, data transparency was crucial for organizations to trace emissions back to their suppliers and identify the specific activities contributing to these. Carbon management software can assist in managing emission data, providing the necessary transparency, and reliability for informed decision-making. This allows our clients to concentrate on implementing reduction actions with their suppliers.

Looking for a powerful data partner? Our carbon management platform can help.
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