Biting people

Your supply chain (or your “scope 3” emissions footprint) is the most complicated of the three scopes to clean up.

Quick refresher – scope 1 is the direct emissions you create; scope 2 is your power supplier; scope 3 is the rest of your supply chain.

Supply chains are complex. You don’t often have insight into the processes, policies, and values of your suppliers. Sometimes maybe, but not always.

If your suppliers are easy to replace, that’s definitely one option – find an equivalent on something like the BCorp Directory (filtered to Australia), apply due diligence, and switch.

If they’re not so easy to replace, it might fall to you to bite* them.

*When I speak to people on this journey, they often say they got “bitten” by the sustainability bug. It’s the point where you start finding it hard to unsee things – most people can recall when, as well as who or what bit them.

So how do you bite them?

Be honest about where your organisation is headed, how you’re moving towards a more climate-conscious position, and how your supplier won’t be cutting it if they continue as they are. Explain why, and show them what you mean, share articles and books, recommend podcasts or newsletters 😉 – how cool if you’re the one that bites them!

Even if you’re not the one, you may find – as I’ve found on many occasions – that they’re kind of thinking about this stuff already, and a nudge from outside their bubble was all they needed to get rolling.