Sphera’s ESG Virtual Summit: Day 2 Roundup

The second day of Sphera’s ESG Virtual Summit was centered around the theme of addressing ESG challenges. Keep reading for key takeaways from today’s sessions.?

Keynote: The Need for Global Standards

Dr. Rajesh Singh, senior director of consulting at Sphera, kicked off Day Two by diving into the need for global standards. Some key takeaways are:

• There is growing momentum toward mandatory ESG reporting worldwide, and there is a need for global standards for ESG reporting.
• Globally, there are many regulations and reporting frameworks for companies to consider, and the current “alphabet soup” of acronyms can be confusing and overwhelming.
• For companies just starting to report ESG metrics, Dr. Singh recommended that companies use standards from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and incorporate standards from the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) if the company is located within the U.S.

Panel: How to Solve the Scope 3 Challenge to Improve Carbon Accounting and ESG Performance

Next, Laura Hohmann, manager of the sustainable supply chain at CDP;?John Haeflinger, senior VP of sustainability & maritime policy at?Carnival Corporation; Mark Evans, director of business development, sustainability consulting at Sphera; and Stefan Premer, senior consultant - sustainability at Sphera, had a very informative discussion on Scope 3 challenges. Some key things we learned are:

• A robust strategy to target Scope 3 emissions is a core part of any ESG program.
• A spend-based approach is the quickest way to tackle Scope 3 emissions, but it’s the least valuable approach, as it provides a less accurate picture of a company’s Scope 3 emissions. Conducting life cycle assessments (LCAs) allows companies to get a more accurate assessment of their products’ environmental impact.
• Reducing Scope 3 emissions is a journey, and companies shouldn’t expect to have a handle on it right away. A useful long-term strategy is to use multiple approaches to measuring Scope 3 emissions. This includes starting with a spend-based approach and then moving to LCAs and other primary data sources.

Connecting the Dots: Simplifying Complexity Through LCA Automation

Harald Florin, VP of sales, product sustainability, at Sphera, and Sebastian Schulz, senior product manager, PS, at Sphera, discussed how LCA is the most robust approach for calculating environmental impacts of products, as well as the benefits of an automated LCA solution. Here are some key takeaways:

• LCA allows companies to measure the resources used to manufacture products, how those products are used and how they’re ultimately disposed of.
• LCA Automation replaces manual processes, which can be time consuming and costly. An automated LCA solution can be used to communicate the environmental impact of a company’s entire product portfolio in a manner that is scalable and fully integrated into existing systems.
• Companies can get started on conducting LCAs by collecting data on how the products are manufactured, the materials used to create the products and the resources needed to produce them. This includes how much energy it takes for every production step.

Join us for the third and final day of Sphera’s ESG Virtual Summit on June 23 to hear expert insights on closing the ESG gap! For full summit details: https://bit.ly/3LlPL3A

#ESG #sustainability #climatechange