Making informed sourcing decisions
begins with sourcing
the right information

Zero carbon and zero waste are lofty goals, but the escalating climate crisis demands that kind of ambition from businesses and, increasingly, consumers demand it, too. Companies can identify science-based targets and implement sustainability initiatives within their own organizations, but they also need to consider their suppliers. Do their standards align with yours—or could they hinder your sustainability efforts?

A global consumer products company prioritized sustainability and set science-based targets within its organization, but it also worked with a vast global supplier network. Many of these suppliers were implementing their own sustainability programs, and the company wanted visibility into how these initiatives aligned with its own climate-focused goals. It needed to develop a baseline of the relative maturity of these suppliers’ programs. This could help the company avoid transactions that would make it harder to reach certain goals or even negatively impact its brand and reputation.

With thousands of suppliers to account for, reaching out to each one didn’t make sense. The company was already working with Deloitte’s Audit & Assurance team on related environmental, social, and governance (ESG) work. We presented a service intended to provide insight into its suppliers’ ESG metrics and, at the same time, provide a deeper analysis into how peers within the larger industry are approaching important environmental benchmarks.