Scope 3 is where leadership will be decided
Every week we see headlines that confirm one thing: the climate transition runs through supply chains. SSAB’s new fossil free steel plant in Luleå could cut Sweden’s emissions by seven percent . Nordic governments are signing cross-border deals to ship and store CO2. And in Germany, Schneider Electric is expanding programmes that now engage more than 2,700 suppliers to cut Scope 3 emissions .
If Scope 1 and 2 are the easy part, Scope 3 is where leadership will be decided. Suppliers are expected to provide credible numbers. Buyers are expected to act on them.
Why Scope 3 is still the blind spot
For most companies, Scope 3 makes up the majority of their footprint, yet the data is unreliable. Supplier surveys rarely capture the full picture. Spend based estimates may be convenient, but according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol they are the lowest-quality option .
The highest quality is activity based, supplier specific data. That is what creates trust, transparency, and the insight to act. The challenge has always been how to get there without drowning in manual collection and aggregation.
A different way forward
At Simple we believe that barrier should not exist. The Simple platform connects directly to the data companies already hold – invoices, procurement records, transactions – and automatically converts every line into activity based CO2e insights.
That means:
- No supplier surveys or manual collection
- No spreadsheets or aggregation exercises
- Full coverage across operations and suppliers
- Alignment with the GHG Protocol’s Scope 3 data quality hierarchy
From compliance to competitive edge
This is where the real opportunity lies. Scope 3 is no longer only about meeting a regulation. With accurate, supplier specific data, companies can benchmark vendors, negotiate on both cost and carbon, and identify hotspots where reductions create real value.
Look at what is happening around us: fossil free steel is entering supply chains, CO2 transport routes are opening across borders , and buyers like Schneider Electric are mobilising thousands of suppliers to deliver measurable Scope 3 reductions. The companies that treat Scope 3 as a decision making tool will not only keep up, they will lead.
The supply chain used to be the blind spot of climate reporting. Now it is becoming the stage where ambition, credibility, and competitiveness are tested. And with the Simple platform, it can also be where the strongest leaders emerge.
Sources
- SSAB – Fossil free steel plant in Luleå
- Government of Finland – Framework for CO₂ transport and storage
- Schneider Electric – Scope 3 supplier decarbonisation programme
- Greenhouse Gas Protocol – Main site
- Greenhouse Gas Protocol – Scope 3 Calculation Guidance