By asking suppliers to report on their environmental footprint, the retailers aim to reduce environmental risk and cut carbon emissions in their supply chains. The retailers are three of the new companies that have joined in the supply chain initiative through CDP: the total number of companies now reporting through CDP marks more than a 15-percent increase from last year, when 99 organizations were requesting data.

Other organizations which have begun requesting supplier data through CDP in 2018 include: AB InBev, Royal Bank of Canada, chemical companies Croda and Arkema, and the Los Angeles Department of W”after & Power.

Retail Leads the Charge

Commitments by the retail sector regarding supply chain sustainability is part of a wider surge of action from private and public-sector organizations, says CDP. Retail companies are acknowledging that they can harness their purchase power and global scale to tackle issues like climate change, deforestation and water security.

Emissions in the supply chain are on average four times greater than those from a company’s direct operations; for retailers and consumer-facing companies, that rises to seven times greater. Therefore, large multinational corporations cannot comprehensively address their environmental impact without looking to their supply chains, says CDP.

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