“Carbon footprint” is a term used to describe the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by a particular activity or entity, and thus a way for organizations and individuals to assess their contribution to climate change. Understanding these emissions, and where they come from, is necessary in order to reduce them. In the past, companies wanting to measure their carbon footprints have focused on their own emissions, but now they are increasingly concerned with emissions across their entire supply chain.

Supply chain GHG emissions, which include those associated with processes not controlled by the company itself, can be measured at either the company level or the level of an individual product.

While PAS 2050 provides a standard method for assessing a product’s carbon footprint, this guide, “Guide to PAS 2050″, will help businesses to implement the standard by offering specific and practical guidance. It is not a replacement for PAS 2050 and should always be used alongside PAS 2050. There are benefits to both company- and product-level supply chain emissions assessment; however, PAS 2050 and this guide focus on product-level emissions only.

This guide aims to:

- Enable companies of all sizes, and from all industries, to assess the life cycle carbon footprint of their products and to identify emission reduction opportunities

- Share best practices, tools and frameworks for calculating product-level GHG emissions and prioritizing opportunities to reduce emissions

PAS 2050 and this guide focus exclusively on GHG emissions created during a product’s life cycle.

Visit the Carbon Trust website (http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/Pages/Default.aspx) to download supporting documents such as the PAS 2050 Specifications, the Guide to PAS 2050, and the Code of Good Practice.

Paul Tasner
Reclipse Group, Inc.

http://www.eco-opscenter.com/report-download.php

A 90-page report and survey findings detailing the forces and
factors driving supply chain executives toward greater levels of
environmental responsibility, visibility, collaboration and
accountability.

Paul Tasner
Reclipse Group, Inc.

Opportunities to Reduce GHG Emissions Through Materials and Land
Management

http://www.epa.gov/oswer/docs/ghg_land_and_materials_management.pdf

First, in order to increase understanding of the link between
materials and land management and GHG emissions, this document
presents an estimate of the portion of U.S. GHG emissions associated
with materials and land management practices. Second, it presents a
set of materials and land management scenarios—referred to as total
technical potential scenarios—as a first step to identifying areas of
opportunity for EPA and its partners to reduce GHG emissions through
materials and land management.

Products, Packaging, and US GHG emissions

http://www.productpolicy.org/content/climate-change-epr

This paper builds on a new report from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, “Opportunities to Reduce GHG Emissions through
Materials and Land Management Practices,” which offers new insight
into the impact of products and packaging on climate change. Based on
the report, non-food products are associated with 37 percent of U.S.
greenhouse gas emissions. This paper extends the EPA analysis to
include the impacts from producing products abroad that are consumed
in the U.S. This brings the share of products and packaging to 44
percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

Paul Tasner
Reclipse Group, Inc.

The traditional view of supply chain management was optimizing performance within silos; however, that was done at the expense of the greater supply chain. In the past, supply chain strategy was very much focused on cost reduction and capital productivity. The supply chain of old reacted to rather than aligned with and supported the overall business strategy. Today, the key is for the entire enterprise to focus on optimizing supply chain management. That means achieving full alignment with the strategic intent of the business in order to create value and enable growth.

We have an opportunity to build strategies and create value working side-by-side with colleagues from related disciplines. As the connector between brand strategies and execution at the customer level, supply chain alignment seems a natural objective. In essence, we have an opportunity to ensure the goal of every company with a retail product – that the right product is available at the right place, at the right time, in the right quality and at the lowest possible cost.

We in supply chain management need to be agents of change – helping our colleagues across the business to shift their view of the supply chain from that of a cost center to that of a growth opportunity. We need to repurpose the supply chain and make it a source of competitive advantage. Aligning the supply chain with the business strategy allows the organization to capture cross-enterprise opportunities that not only generate cost and capital efficiencies, but also helps to drive top line opportunities.

To begin, we must examine the financial and operational anatomy of each link in the current chain, identify opportunities for improvement, and recommend action plans, as appropriate.

Once the aforementioned work is completed, we will be prepared to work with our colleagues in other functional areas of the business in order to pursue the following challenges:
• In aligning the supply chain strategy to the business strategy, the supply chain focus needs to start with the customer and then extend back to the company. Without this perspective, supply chain management will tend to focus exclusively on internal costs and return on assets.
• A future horizon must be defined and looked to in establishing a desired future-state vision. The ever-changing business environment requires a view to the future in driving new capabilities.
• Both within the function and throughout the business, the view of the supply chain needs to shift from that of a cost center to that of a growth opportunity. This creates the focus on developing supply chain capabilities that will enable growth in the marketplace.
• Both internal and external views must be taken into account in order to develop an honest assessment of the company’s capabilities and performance and to help identify gaps. While this critical view might bring some pain to those areas with the largest gaps, this inside/outside approach enables the proper assessment of where fundamental operational improvements and future capabilities are needed.
• The company’s long-term business strategy needs to be well-defined, shared and understood, especially around products, customers, and distribution channels.
• Strategy development work requires broad internal support and should be organized accordingly. All supply chain functions, as well as finance, marketing, and sales, are key participants to this process.

Paul Tasner
Reclipse Group, Inc.