Reflections on partnerships for reducing emissions

“Success requires openness and transparency”

"In line with the EU’s ambition to become the first carbon-neutral continent by 2050, businesses are actively developing roadmaps towards net zero. Tackling Scope 3 emissions (indirect emissions from the value chain) requires strong partnerships. For a chemical specialty company like Nynas, Scope 3 emissions make up most of our carbon footprint.

Key challenges include reducing the carbon footprint of raw materials, distribution, processes in use phase and, ultimately, building circular loops. If each player along the value chain only focuses on their own operations, progress may be incremental, costly and slow.

Innovation is often limited by three factors: risk, costs and regulations. By sharing expertise and aligning expectations, partners can co-create solutions, reducing risk and speeding up adoption. Pooling resources also helps cut costs, during both the development and the implementation phase. Funding is available for large collaborative projects, and economies of scale make these efforts more viable.

Partnerships can also influence the creation of new standards and practices, offering the combined weight needed to engage with regulatory bodies. This collective approach leads to faster, more cost- effective, and scalable outcomes.

I firmly believe collective intelligence can unlock improvements that would be impossible individually. Achieving carbon neutrality requires these deep changes. Partnerships can form along specific value chains, geographic clusters, or within industries, and all companies must engage in a mix of these collaborations.

Success requires openness and transparency, and this may be the most difficult hurdle to overcome. Partners must balance their own value creation with that for society, guided by the triple bottom line: people, profit and planet. At Nynas, we have a strong history of such partnerships, and we are committed to expanding our collaborations beyond traditional activities.”

“Companies should adopt a holistic, collaborative perspective”

"The most significant growth for CO2 emissions targets since 2018 is for Scope 3. However, Scope 3 ambitions have remained relatively flat and vary across regions. According to a recent analysis by Bain, 51% of companies are behind on their Scope 3 targets.

Most emissions are Scope 3, and they are more difficult to control. However, collaborating to bring supply lines closer to customers can reduce upstream Scope 3 emissions, while redesigning products to use less energy helps reduce downstream emissions in the Scope 3 category.

Establishing a baseline for your operational emissions can be challenging, especially for the upstream Scope 3 emissions that companies do not directly control. By systemising carbon baselining and accounting — with software tools, for example — and how data is exchanged with suppliers, companies can collaborate and build a level of insight into their emissions that will only get more precise over time.

Reducing upstream Scope 3 emissions requires partnership development and action on multiple fronts. You should set carbon emissions requirements for your suppliers, designing incentives to encourage supplier decarbonisation. Businesses should share best practice on power sources, raw materials, by-products and waste. They should collaborate through partnerships and investment in joint reduction initiatives.

Overall, companies should adopt a holistic, collaborative perspective so that they can take a long-term strategic approach to Scope 3 emissions and other sustainability issues.”

“Collaboration is crucial in reducing Scope 3”

"Reducing Scope 3 emissions is a challenge that no organisation can effectively address in isolation. Collaboration among companies is not just beneficial but essential; going it alone is no longer an option.

Firstly, many companies share suppliers but lack individual leverage to demand sustainable practices. By uniting, they could collectively influence suppliers to adopt greener methods, reducing Scope 3 emissions. Moreover, collaboration aggregates demand for sustainable materials, incentivising suppliers to invest in eco-friendly processes.

If electronics companies collectively sourced recycled metals, they might prompt cleaner mining practices, thereby lowering emissions linked to material sourcing. In addition, developing low-emission technologies is often too costly for one company. Pooling resources allows for the co-development of innovations that benefit all and reduce supply chain emissions. For instance, companies jointly investing in electric freight vehicles could substantially reduce Scope 3 emissions from logistics operations.

Furthermore, collaboration enables companies to redesign value chains rather than retrofit sustainable practices onto inefficient models. By forming a consortium to build a shared zero-waste packaging facility, companies could significantly cut emissions from production and disposal.

Finally, companies may struggle alone to shift consumer behaviour toward sustainable products. Unified messaging can more effectively educate consumers and drive demand for low-emission options. For example, if food brands collaborated on plant-based diet campaigns, they could encourage lower-carbon choices, reducing downstream emissions.

In conclusion, collaboration is crucial in reducing Scope 3 emissions, as it amplifies influence over suppliers, drives demand for sustainable materials, fosters innovation, redefines value chains, and effectively influences consumer behaviour.”