A customer has asked for your carbon figures. Now what?

Why you are being asked

When a large company sets a carbon target, it has to count the emissions in its supply chain as well as its own. That supply chain footprint is called Scope 3, and for most organisations it is by far the biggest part. Government guidance puts it at up to 80% of the total.

So when your customer asks for your carbon figures, what they really want is your own emissions, so they can add them to theirs. You are not being asked to measure your whole supply chain. At least, not yet.

What they usually want

Most requests boil down to three things:

• Scope 1: the fuel you burn on site, such as gas for boilers, ovens and furnaces, and fuel for vehicles.
• Scope 2: the electricity you buy.
• Scope 3: the emissions from your wider value chain, such as purchased goods and services, business travel, and waste.
• A plan: some sign that the numbers are going down, whether that is a reduction target, a list of projects or a net zero commitment.

Some customers go further and ask for the carbon footprint of a specific product, or ask you to set a science-based target. But for most manufacturers, getting Scope 1 and 2 right and having a credible plan answers the question.

Getting it right

Annual bill totals will give you a number, but it is a blunt one. It can't tell a customer, or you, which site, process or product the emissions come from. It also won't show whether anything has changed since last year.

Metered data is far more convincing. With sub-meters on your main plant, you can report emissions by process or per unit of output, show a clear trend, and back up your reduction plan with evidence. It also tends to turn up savings, which is where the real payback is.

What this looks like in practice

One food business we work with needed its Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions measured across several sites so it could set science-based targets. We worked with the team to streamline data collection, audit the figures and prepare the targets.

One result stood out. Even though the business had grown, its emissions per kilogram of product stayed stable. That is exactly the kind of evidence customers look for, and it gave the business a solid base for its supply chain work.

Four steps to a good answer

1. Pull together a year of energy data. Gas, electricity and vehicle fuel for each site. This is your starting point.
2. Convert it using the government's conversion factors. This gives you Scope 1 and 2 in tonnes of CO2e, calculated in a way your customer will recognise.
3. Write a reduction plan. List the projects you have done and the ones you intend to do, with rough timings.
4. Keep a standard answer ready. Most questionnaires ask similar things. A current one-page carbon summary saves you starting from scratch every time.

If customers start asking for more, such as product footprints or supply chain figures, you will be building on solid ground rather than starting again.

How we can help

We help manufacturers answer these requests properly:

• Carbon footprinting (CFAR): our online platform calculates your Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions in line with the GHG Protocol and ISO 14064, with the figures ready for questionnaires, tenders and SECR.
• SEE Change monitoring: sub-metering on your main plant, giving you half-hourly energy, cost and carbon data by process.
• Carbon reduction plans and science-based targets: practical plans your customers will take seriously.