Reducing Scope 3 emissions often starts with a simple assumption: the more data you have, the better your climate strategy. But in reality, the challenge is not so much the volume of information but its usefulness.
In this article, we explain why transparency matters and how to turn it into a tool that truly drives emissions reductions. We look at the perspective that sustainability standards are adopting, how to use transparency to engage more suppliers, and how businesses can leverage it to unlock business value.
Transparency is essential to supply chain decarbonisation. However, more transparency does not necessarily mean collecting more data points. Instead, we should capture information that helps us visualise behaviours that we can, in turn, influence to reduce emissions.
Think of electricity, for example. A significant portion of Scope 3 emissions — especially in Scope 3.1, Purchased Goods and Services — comes from power usage. Electricity is easy to measure, with reliable and comparable data that can be obtained relatively effortlessly from meters or electricity bills, for example. This is what is referred to in sustainability circles as “primary” or “activity-based data.”
Capturing that data helps companies not only understand where in their supply chain electricity consumption occurs, but also develop a plan for transitioning that consumption to renewables. Data become an actionable lever for decarbonisation.
Leading sustainability standards are increasingly embracing this approach. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is working on a new draft of its Net Zero Standard (NZS) which, rather than requiring a general emissions calculation for Scope 3, encourages decarbonisation approaches that rely on selected activity-based data.
For many organisations, this would mean moving away from complex product carbon footprint calculations — one of the only ways they can currently show progress on Scope 3.1 — and focusing on relevant activities they can influence, such as power usage.
What SBTi seems to be saying is that we should not accumulate data for data’s sake. Instead, we should concentrate on reducing emissions across supply chains as fast as possible. Other standards are now rethinking their approach as well.
In September 2025, the GHG Protocol and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) announced a partnership to harmonise their criteria and co-develop “a common global language for emissions measurement and reporting.” Together, they aim to unify the reporting landscape, improve the consistency and comparability of data, and enhance investors’ confidence in verification frameworks. In other words, the organisations want to increase emissions data transparency by making disclosure simpler.
This matters for Scope 3 efforts. Often, when faced with requirements for emissions data, some suppliers — especially smaller companies — can feel overwhelmed, which decreases their willingness to engage. Through simpler guidance, the standards aim to lower the barrier to participation and increase the number of organisations that get involved.
CDP, the most widely used environmental reporting system, is also improving its Supply Chain Program with a focus on “delivering greater simplicity” to “make users’ lives easier.” Among the developments are simplified questionnaires for SMEs, automation in data input processes, and free disclosures for smaller companies, all aimed at increasing the number of companies that use the system to report.
The overarching logic? Reduce the time and effort that suppliers — especially those with limited resources — must spend collecting and reporting data. And while simplicity is key, there is another element that can help Scope 3 decarbonisation scale up.
When Ecohz developed the Renewable Energy Procurement Portal, one of our goals was to simplify data sharing between brand owners and suppliers. We also wanted to create a layer of trust that would make it safer — and more likely — for suppliers to share that data. Let us explain.
To determine how much of a supplier’s electricity usage corresponds to a client’s Scope 3, suppliers must disclose their power consumption and, potentially, the percentage of their revenue that comes from that client. That is sensitive information, and suppliers may be reluctant to share it.
Through the Portal, Ecohz acts as a reliable intermediary that receives sensitive data from suppliers and communicates to clients only the volume of energy that corresponds to their emissions.
Building trust with direct suppliers is essential kickstarting Scope 3 programmes, but it becomes even more crucial when scaling beyond Tier 1, as suppliers may be unwilling to share data with a client of their client with whom they have no direct relationship. Pro
viding this layer of confidentiality significantly increases the willingness to share data, while brand owners can rest assured that they are receiving a clear and transparent picture of their Scope 3 emissions that they can act on.
A growing number of companies would say yes. But to achieve that, transparency must extend to clients and investors.
For example, some manufacturers are developing customer-facing communication initiatives, such as labelling programmes, that allow consumers to choose products based on their carbon performance. Painstakingly calculated CO₂ footprints are translated into easily digestible numbers that enable buyers to make better informed choices — and give manufacturers a lever to gain market share.
For companies covered by regulations like the European CSRD, California’s SB 253 and SB 261 laws, or the ISSB S2 standard, transparency is indeed part of a regulatory responsibility that includes not only reporting climate progress but also acknowledging shortcomings. Recognising weaknesses, however, is not necessarily bad. It is, in fact, part of sound risk assessment, which is highly valued by investors and executives.
Furthermore, obtaining information on the climate performance and risks of suppliers is good due diligence. Any company worth investing in will have a clear overview of its partners’ exposure. Maintaining a transparent supply chain is a key part of that effort.
Ecohz Head of Advisory & Services and author of this piece, Madeleine Mowinckel, was on stage, joining a panel on what transparency means for supply chain decarbonisation and the role of technology in accelerating action. You can watch the full panel discussion here: