Procurement with Purpose Newsletter No. 5 - March 7th 2023

Hello again – a quick reminder to register for the World Sustainable Procurement Day on March 21st, only two weeks away now. Then you can access more than 20 online events promoted by the Sustainable Procurement Pledge, timed to suit you wherever in the world you may be!

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But now some disappointing news. Methane emissions remain “stubbornly high” according to recent analysis by the International Energy Agency (IEA). The Global Methane Tracker 2023 report found that the global energy industry was responsible for 135 million tonnes of methane released into the atmosphere in 2022. That is just below the 2019 record. Methane is estimated to have contributed 30% of the rise in global temperatures since the industrial revolution. Other major contributors include livestock, particularly cattle, and cutting methane would help with both climate and atmospheric pollution.

The good news is that methane emissions from oil and gas alone could be reduced by 75% by using existing technologies. This would be relatively cheap to address – the report says that “less than 3% of the income accrued by oil and gas companies worldwide last year would be required to make the $100 billion investment in technologies needed to achieve this reduction”.?A Global Methane Pledge was announced at COP26 in November 2021, promising a 30% reduction in methane emissions by 2030, but now energy firms and governments need to pull their fingers out and actually make this happen.

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I’m always looking for useful resources for procurement and sustainability professionals and this article from consulting firm BCG fits the bill. It is titled “Let Science Be the Guide for Net-Zero Targets” and covers “science-based targets” for carbon reduction, which is an expression that I suspect a lot of us have heard without really understanding what it is all about! A recent release of a net-zero standard by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is a significant step forward, BCG says.?But as the process of setting and validating science-based targets gains momentum, “the reality of the radical changes that will be required to actually achieve net zero is coming into view”.

The article discusses three ways organisations can address emissions; by reducing emissions across the value chain; through “beyond value chain mitigation” and by “neutralization” – removal of CO2 via nature based or engineered solutions (such as carbon capture). As the article says, “abatement of emissions within a company’s value chain is, and must remain, the highest priority”.?

But there is a long way to go. Amongst the top global 2000 firms, only 21% or 420 have set a net-zero ambition. 93% of those are targeting 2050, but only 63% have set interim targets, and only 30% of those include Scope 3 emissions, and 33% restrict or prohibit the use of offsets. That approach puts the focus on emission reductions, which should indeed be the top priority (I’ve written quite a lot about the dodgy nature of too many offset schemes). ?Anyway, there is more in the article on implementation challenges, use of new technologies and offsets, and a section on “how the leaders do it”.?So definitely recommended reading with some useful and practical advice and insight into good practice.

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Last week I did a 24 hour trip across (under?) La Manche to deliver a guest lecture at the Skema business school in Lille, one of the few large French cities I’ve never previously visited. I didn’t have much time but the centre is very impressive, with a Grand Place, L’Opera and lots of nice-looking bars and shops. Also lots of rough sleepers, I should say.

Skema is rising up the business school rankings generally, with sites in Lille, Paris and near Cannes, as well as international associations in several continents, including links with MIT. The Lille facility is modern and well equipped – it is within the huge EuraLille development, very central, 5 minutes from both the Eurostar terminal and the main internal Lille station, and next door to the Westfield shopping centre! No shortage of places for the students to pick up their lunches …

Thorsten Makowski, who leads the Supply Chain and Procurement faculty, aims to make Skema a top 3 European business school in that area and they are well on the way to that, with around 80 students a year on the Masters course. Based on my 90 minutes with them, it is a smart, lively and diverse group in terms of age and nationality – about 50:50 male / female but students ranging from early twenties to 40-ish, and many different countries represented.

I was talking about Procurement with Purpose, with a focus on some of the dilemmas and difficult issues faced by procurement professionals in this area. Sustainability is covered in several different modules now during the course, and the students probably had more prior knowledge than I expected, so I wondered afterwards if I should perhaps have pitched it at a more “advanced” level. But most seemed to be engaged, no-one fell asleep that I could see and I certainly enjoyed the experience. So thanks to all those who attended and particularly to Thorsten and his colleague Helene for inviting me and organising the session.?And there is more here on the Procurement with purpose website if you want to know whether the students are considering purpose when they choose their future employers… the answer might surprise you.

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The Times reported on a recent scientific study that showed rainforests actually “create” rainfall themselves. The results, published in the prestigious science journal Nature, (behind a solid paywall ) showed that the more forest you cut down, the less rain falls. The scientists estimated that for every percentage point of forest cover lost, rainfall ?declined by 0.6 per cent in the wet season and 0.2 per cent the rest of the year. So for example, the projected 40 per cent decline in forest cover in the Congo over the next 80 years would result in 10 per cent less rain.

Researchers including Callum Smith from the University of Leeds used satellites to analyse rainfall patterns, and then correlated them with changes in forest cover across the Amazon, Congo and southeast Asia. Others have suggested this link over the years but this is a solid scientific study that validates those theories. It also supports the idea that so many of our environmental (and wider) issues and potential crises are linked. Chop down the rainforests, you affect biodiversity. Then it rains less, so crops fail. Water shortages drive local conflicts and even wars. The climate gets hotter and dryer, and diseases spread… and so on.?So if your organisation buys any agricultural crop items, or meat, or timber in some form, do look into your supply chain carefully and make sure you are not contributing to this deforestation disaster.

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A huge music festival is never going to be totally environment-friendly, but Reading and Leeds Festivals have gradually introduced more actions in recent years to move in the right direction. No plastic cutlery, deposits on the (paper) beer cups, recycling waste bins – and we have noticed that the audience, very heavily biased towards the 16-21 demographic, does seem a little more responsible than ten years ago. Last year saw the introduction of an “eco campsite” and that will be expanded this year. Apparently it was left “absolutely spotless” last year – discarded tents are usually a big waste issue at the Festival.

Anyway, we will be there at reading for our 17th consecutive year this August Bank Holiday weekend. Reckon I’ve got another ten in me, with a bit of luck. 80 new acts were announced last week, and I’m most excited as usual by some of the lesser known artists, one of whom is Ethel Cain (real name Hayden Anhedonia). American Teenager was one of the best tracks of last year – there is a “diversity” angle here, but I’ll let you do the research yourself if you’re interested. A seriously talented songwriter, with an unusual back-story; check out her album, “Preacher’s Daughter”, although it is darker and less commercial than American Teenager. ??