MORGANE EZANNO

Commercial Sustainability Lead, EMEA, Univar Solutions, Paris, France

Today, 193 countries have signed and committed to comply with the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (3). The European Union plans to be climate-neutral by 2050 – an economy with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. This objective appears at the heart of the European Green Deal (4). As a key element of it, the European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) (5) entered into force in January 2023. It requires all large and listed companies in the EU to disclose their Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions yearly. It revises and strengthens the sustainability reporting requirements, with the objective to put it on the same level as financial reporting. Companies are expected to be more accountable for their impacts on people and environment, to provide more relevant, comparable, reliable, easier to access data related to sustainability, and to realize more sustainable investments.

The transition to a climate-neutral society is an opportunity that every business is capable of embracing. In addition to new regulations, multiple stakeholders are adding pressure: 74% of consumers believe businesses have a responsibility to make society fairer, while 64% demand for climate action, saying it is businesses’ responsibility to solve climate and environmental issues (6). This appears especially true for younger cohorts, as sustainability represents a core part of who they are. However, today there is a value – action gap: 93% of people want to live a sustainable lifestyle, but only 10% are actively changing their behavior. Therefore, consumer-facing companies, for example in Personal Care, must understand how to close the value-action gap by providing consumer-demanded products and educating with respect to sustainability.

Many consumers are embracing sustainability and seeking ways to track, measure, and better understand their environmental impact, including how carbon reduction impacts their purchasing decisions (7). At the same time, numerous carbon advertisements confuse consumers: i.e., Carbon-neutral, Carbon-negative or positive, Carbon-free, Carbon-responsible… (8) and consumers cannot be confused if they are to be part of the solution. Without education and quantification based on science and consistently used by the entire value chain, it is challenging to know what products are “better” from a sustainability perspective.

From my experience working for an ingredient distributor, they are an essential part of the chemicals and ingredients value chain. This unique position between suppliers and customers requires significant collaboration and a key source of data in the value chain. Indeed, the suppliers‘ reach is extended in a sustainable way by ingredient distributors, offering products, formulations and services that align with sustainability requirements. They are increasingly used to support ESG objectives across the supply chain: add or replace chemicals and ingredients to improve sustainability in the finished products, use renewable energy for production, report GHG emissions and set targets... Conducting customer surveys on an annual basis allow to gather data on general sustainability questions. A survey conducted in 2022 received around 1,000 responses. In 2024, 61% of respondents reported ESG goals, up from 51% in 2022 (internal data). This survey also highlighted that more customers are requesting scope 3 and PCF data from their supply chain to more accurately report their own GHG emissions.

The number of PCF requests from ingredient distributor’s customers increases every year, as well as the number of customers sending sustainability questionnaires. In 2023, 24 customers requested PCFs for more than 2,000 products; in 2024, we provided more than 137 customers PCFs for over 4,350 products.

A product carbon footprint (PCF) is a measure of the climate impact of a product, in kg CO2-equivalents/kg product, commonly accounting for all processes from the point of raw material extraction to the point of customer receipt (i.e. “cradle-to-gate”). A cradle-to-gate PCF accounts for GHGs emitted during raw material extraction, processing, and transport, as well as treatment of related pre-consumer wastes. Per Together for Sustainability (TfS), cradle-to-gate PCFs exclude emissions related to transport to customer.

A major share of the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions arises from the upstream value chain, or upstream Scope 3 emissions. Currently, many corporations rely on generic data to estimate their scope 3 upstream emissions. While this is a great start, to reduce Scope 3 emissions, a company requires supplier specific PCF data to identify and target their emissions hotspots and product opportunities available for carbon reduction. However, the complexity of the global chemical sector value chain can make it difficult to compare and harmonize PCF calculations.

TfS created a chemical-industry-specific guideline for PCF calculation (9). These guidelines were created to align with International Standard ISO 14067 (10), the GHG Protocol Product Standard (11), the European Commission Product Environmental Footprint (PEF 2021) system (12), and the Pathfinder Framework (PACT powered by WBCSD) (13). Thanks to TfS’ PCF Calculation guideline, TfS members and supply chain partners can better understand the GHG emission impacts associated with the products they buy and sell.

The complexity of the chemical industry supply chain causes difficulty in gathering reliable and consistent sustainability data across the value chain. Beauty and Home Care customers must become part of the solution. Requesting PCFs from upstream suppliers will help to identify hotspots and carbon reduction opportunities and enable more accurate GHG emissions reporting. Partnering with suppliers and distributors that utilize TfS’ PCF Guideline will result in accurate carbon footprints. In addition, harmonized PCF calculations will build trust throughout the supply chain and ultimately lead to lower supply chain GHG emissions. Ingredient distribution has a key role to play on this journey. Working between suppliers and customers provides a unique perspective and enables to help customers reduce scope 3 GHG emissions.