Research report
High Tech: Can you see your Scope 3?
3 Minute Read
August 15, 2023
Research report
3 Minute Read
August 15, 2023
High Tech companies are working tirelessly to achieve their climate change goals. It's a process rooted in entity-level complexity, often in less transparent – and therefore less measurable – data. Efforts to date have been mainly focused on reducing emissions directly attributed to their organization, called "Scope 1" emissions. In doing so, they may inadvertently be omitting the biggest driver of their emissions.
Like others across the industry, these companies lack visibility into one of the other biggest sources of emissions: their upstream supplier base. These suppliers are responsible for the greatest amount of what's referred to as "Scope 3" emissions. The current lack of visibility precludes companies from fully accelerating their progress in reducing their emissions, increasing supply chain sustainability, and lowering their overall carbon footprint.
Insights from Accenture Research help to change the equation. Their proprietary data analysis provides supply chain network visibility beyond Tier 1. This information is invaluable for geographically diverse and supply chain-dependent companies like those in the High Tech industry. Our research provides a new lens that allows High Tech companies to see what's strategically important to their supply chain – and where to focus their efforts and identify the main drivers of upstream emissions ("hot spots") across industries and geographies. Some industries have upstream emissions that greatly outweigh their direct emission. Central to this idea is the High Tech industry, its Scope 3 emissions are 24 times greater than Scope 1 (i.e., the emissions that High Tech companies directly control or own, such as emissions associated with fuel combustion in boilers, furnaces, and vehicles).
24x
More upstream scope 3 emissions compared to scope 1 emissions
86%
of High Tech's upstream Scope 3 emissions come from Tier 2, 3, 4 and Nth suppliers compared to a 36% industry average
41%
of High Tech's upstream Scope 3 emissions beyond tier 1 can be attributed to the utilities sector (the largest amount)
Companies that embrace Total Enterprise Reinvention are creating long-term, sustainable value ahead of their peers. Putting AI-powered insights and the digital core at the heart of reinvention and creating a boundaryless flow of data between teams are essential steps in achieving key environmental goals, such as reducing Scope 3 emissions and fulfilling net-zero commitments.
With these insights, High Tech companies can take several strategic routes. They can:
The challenge of reducing emissions is enormous. But it’s not insurmountable. With the right combination of visibility, actions and collaboration, we can reach our goals and create far better supply chains. We can build supply chains that are good not just for business, but also for society and the planet.
Explore the Life Science supply chain’s visibility challenge
Global report: Thought you knew the Scope 3 issues in your supply chain?