SCDigest Editorial Staff

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That information is then available to the sponsoring company to assess both its own total supply chain carbon impact, and potentially to use to nudge specific supplier to be more “green” or to even qualify/eliminate suppliers, as well as to the overall CDC database. What do you say? Send us your comments here

The London-based Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is a non-profit organization with a mission to reduce carbon emissions by companies worldwide, through documentation that details how much carbon a company or its suppliers is emitting. The basic theory is an old one – what get’s measured gets managed, in this case the environmental group hopes downward.

The foundation of the CDP are two standard surveys. One is focused on institutional  investors, and on their stated behalf request carbon emissions data from major corporations across the globe. Institutional investors (banks, pension funds, insurance companies, etc.) that agree to put their name on the CDP information request are known as 'signatory investors.' According to the CDP web site, 315 signatory investors, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, AIG, Barclays and HSBC are currently signatories.

Using this perceived leverage, and the general green movement, CDP has solicited responses from a huge number of companies - 2,400 in 2007. In 2008, it is just kicking off its sixth such corporate survey. CDP claims to have the world’s largest data bank on global carbon emissions.

CDP is funded by a variety of organizations: five national governments and agencies, charities and companies. Some of these include: DEFRA (UK), US Environmental Protecion Agency (EPA), Esme Fairbairn Foundation UK, Home Foundation Holland, Lens Foundation for Corporate Excellence USA, Network for Social Change UK, Rockefeller Brothers Fund USA, The Carbon Trust UK, The Funding Network UK, The Nathan Cummings Foundation USA, and the Turner Foundation USA.

(Global Supply Chain and Logistics Article - Continued Below)

Supply Chain Program

In 2007, the CDP began a related program for a company’s supply chain. The CDP Supply Chain process began with a partnership between CDP and Wal-Mart in September 2007, when Wal-Mart decided to use the CDP process to engage its supply chain to report on climate change-relevant information.

When companies join the program, the CDC sends out a survey on their behalf to up to 2000 suppliers, requesting a broad range of environmental and carbon emissions data. That information is then available to the sponsoring company to assess both its own total supply chain carbon impact, and potentially to use to nudge specific supplier to be more “green” or to even qualify/eliminate suppliers, as well as to the overall CDC database.

Under the program, suppliers respond to an on-line survey. Sponsoring companies can view responses as they are received, and CDP produces an overall report analyzing trends through the supply chain at the end of the year. Companies often participate under the belief that the standardized approach will reduce the burden on suppliers being asked for environmental data from multiple customers.

Sponsoring companies are supposed to encourage their suppliers to make their responses public, but it is not compulsory.

Cosmetics make L’Oreal is among the most recent company to participate in the supplier program. In a press release, L'Oreal's director of Corporate Sustainable Development Managing, Pierre Simoncelli, said that becoming a member of the SCLC was a win-win situation for the environment, L'Oreal and the company's suppliers.

"Our suppliers will now have a single central source for reporting their greenhouse gas strategies and results that are accessible to all their customers. We also believe this will help drive our performance as well as theirs in this important environmental area," said Simoncelli.

Other supply chain program members include Reckitt Beckinser, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Dell, Nestle, HP, Tesco, Cadbury Schweppes, and Imperial Tobacco.

The supply chain program for 2008 is just kicking off. The deadline for participation for this year is March 31. Letters will be mailed to suppliers in April, with an October 31 deadline for submitting the on-line response. The program will repeat annually.

Is the CDP supply chain program a good thing – or too much of a heavy hand? Will companies begin using carbon data to choose suppliers? Let us know your thoughts at the Feedback button below.