Program for

Carbon
M a n ag e m e n t
i n t h e S u pp l y C h a i n
 Program for

Carbon
M a n ag e m e n t
i n t h e S u pp l y C h a i n

1 st
edition

B r a z i l i a n B u s i n e ss C o u n c i l
f o r S u s ta i n a b l e D e v e l o p m e n t ( C EB D S )
Av e n i da da s A m é r i c a s , 1 1 5 5 / s a l a 2 0 8
B a r r a d a T i j u c a – R i o d e J a n e i r o – RJ

•••

www.cebds .org .br

T : + 5 5 ( 2 1 ) 2 4 8 3 - 2 2 5 0 E : c e b ds @ c e b ds . o r g
 Executive
Summary
The Program for Carbon Management in the Supply Chain,
developed by the CEBDS Energy and Climate Change
Thematic Chamber (CTClima), has raised the awareness
of and trained 32 suppliers of member companies in order
for them to conduct their GHG emission inventories.
According to the latest survey, carried out in August, 22 of
these companies have already presented their inventories,
fully (15) or partly (7). These figures show that the pilot
project has a consolidated take-up rate of 69%, and is an
important tool for companies that have realized that the
main source of their GHG emission lies in their supply
chain, as demonstrated by an analysis of the inventories
published by the GHG Protocol program.

contents
Executive Summary 4

Introduction 5

Project 6
Defining par ticipant suppliers 6
Initial lists of par ticipant companies 6
Selection of the project’s 50 par ticipant suppliers 6
Awareness-raising and training 8
Subsequent individual follow-up 10

Conclusions, Lessons Learnt and Next Steps 11

4 | Program for C arbon

M a n a g e m e n t i n t h e S u pp l y C h a i n
INTRO D u C TION
In 2008, the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) adapted the
methodology of the World Resources Institute (WRI), the GHG Protocol, to the Brazilian
context, in partnership with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, GVces
and the Ministry of the Environment. At present, this is the methodology that is most widely
used by companies and governments to carry out greenhouse gas inventories.
Its importance to the national reality was
such that, today, just four years after its
actual start with 27 companies, those
officially publishing their inventories have
risen in number by 250% – despite the
absence of legislation compelling or even
encouraging this practice.
However, there has been an increase in
the number of companies publishing their
inventories, and in their refinement. By
investigating their sources of emissions,
companies obtain greater knowledge of
their own production process and even of
their suppliers’ production processes. In fact,
one of the conclusions of this investigative
process is that depending on the type of
business of the company that conducts its
inventory, a major portion, or even the vast
majority of its emissions do not come from
its production processes (scope 1) or as
a byproduct of the energy generated for
such processes (scope 2) but, rather, from it
supply chain (scope 3) (figure 1).
One of the main conclusions of this
analysis is that despite any investment that
this company makes in energy efficiency or
other methods for mitigating its emissions,
the result will not have a major impact
precisely because of the considerable
proportion represented by its suppliers’
carbon footprint in the overall volume of
emissions. In this sense, greater closeness
between such companies and their
suppliers is indispensable – whether due to
the possibility of more restrictive legislation
regarding emissions in the future, or to
the backing needed by the stakeholders
involved in the process.
Strategies to forge closer relations with
suppliers, and even the training of suppliers
by companies on specific matters had
already been occurring. Some have gone
so far as to establish that in the near future
one of the criteria for the contracting of
products or services from these suppliers
will precisely be whether they take the
inventory and control their greenhouse gas
emissions. In line with this aim, the CEBDS
Energy and Climate Change Thematic
Chamber (CTClima), with support from
KPMG, has proposed to concentrate these
individual efforts into a single task, through
the Program for Carbon Management in
the Supply Chain. The idea of the project
was to bring together the largest possible
number of member companies’ common
suppliers with the intent of raising their
awareness both of climate change and of
the necessity of conducting inventories,
and then training them to carry out this
measurement.
B r a z i l’ s e m i s s i o n s
per scope in 2010
2 3%
1%
figure 1
76%
Scope 1 Scope 2 Scope 3
The two complementary approaches,
awareness-raising and training,
turned out to be relevant owing to
the common features of the expectations
held by these suppliers. The first
was their possible lack of knowledge
about climate change and its direct
impact on society and on business.
Moreover, the awareness-raising
seemed fundamental for these
suppliers to manage to connect climate
change issues with the actions of their
enterprises and, of course, with how
inventorying their emissions could
impact the knowledge of their own
business and possibly lead to efficiency
gains over the course of the process.
The complementary training element was
shown to be necessary, since even those
already aware of the issues might lack the
technical outlook and specific expertise
needed to carry out their inventories.
The project began in late 2011 and
was concluded in May 2012, having
been sponsored by Vale, Votorantim,
Banco do Brasil and Banco Itaú.
Over 240 suppliers of the sponsors
were initially contacted. Among the
most important suppliers, and those
that were common to more than
one company, 50 were selected
to take part in the awareness-raising
and training workshops. The following
pages demonstrate the methodology
employed for the project, its main results
and conclusions, as well as the self-
criticism of those conducting the process,
an important element for the project’s
continuation and expansion.
Brazilian Business Council
f o r S u s ta i n a b l e D e v e l o p m e n t | 5
 Project
The objective of the project was to seek the engagement of CTClima
members’ main suppliers for the formulation and publication of
greenhouse gas inventories. After some adjustments and reformulations,
the initial project was divided into four consecutive stages:

I . M e m b e r C o m pa n i e s J o i n t h e P ro j e c t ( J u ly- D e c e m b e r 2 011)

II . Pa rt i c i pa n t S u p p l i e r s D e f i n e d ( J a n ua ry- F e b rua ry 2 012)

Lists with Selection of the 50 main Invitation to selected

main suppliers of common suppliers based suppliers to take
participant companies on the list offered part in the project

III . Awa r e n e s s - R a i s i n g a n d T r a i n i n g ( M a rc h 2 012)

Telephone and e-mail Awareness-raising Subsequent survey

contact with all the and training workshop for about the workshops
participant suppliers conducting GHG inventory

IV. Conduct of Inventories Followed Up Individually (March-May 2012)

I . De f i n i ng partic i pant s u ppli e r s

Initial lists of participant
companies
After sending out the initial lists to the participant
companies, 244 suppliers were recommended
for the project. They were from all over Brazil
and from different business segments.
An initial analysis found a discrepancy in
terms of the segments (figure 2), and great
regional concentration in the Southeast (78%)
and, specifically, in the state of São Paulo
(51%) (figure 3). Another potential problem
emerged: the kinds of service provided to the
the most impacting companies by these suppliers were also rather
figure of the initial discrepant. Some had very significant emission
list was the number
levels (such as steel or transport), while
of companies that
others lacked the same carbon intensity (like
did not carry out
providers of IT services or consultancies).
inventories. out of
the original universe
of 244 companies, Even so, the most impacting figure of the
only 8 were already initial list was the number of companies that
doing some sort did not carry out inventories (figure 4): out of
of greenhouse gas the original universe of 244 companies, only 8
emissions survey were already doing some sort of greenhouse
gas emissions survey. This further reinforced
the need for action, according to information
made available by the companies themselves.
Also regarding the initial group of suppliers
put together by the companies, it is worth
mentioning that the lack of information with
respect to their size – whether these were
small, medium-sized or large companies. Just
63 companies had this data revealed. For the
record, and for future reference: there is a need
to ascertain this information in advance and
to define the criterion to be used to this end
(whether by revenue or number of employees).
Selection of the project’s 50
participant suppliers
One of the most challenging figures relating
to the initial list was that only 8 suppliers were
common to two or more of the four participant
companies – something not that surprising given
the sectors in question: two banks, a mining
company and an industrial group with activities
in mining, steel, cement, energy, paper and pulp

6 | Program for C arbon

M a n a g e m e n t i n t h e S u pp l y C h a i n
and orange cultivation. The discrepancy is clearly identifiable in the S h a r e o f c o m pa n i e s t h at
distribution per sector of the 50 participant suppliers (figure 5). h a d a l r e a dy co n d u c t e d
GHG i n v e n t o r i e s
before the project
On the graph presented, only sectors with three or more suppliers (group recommended by
are represented individually. One notices that the atomization the participant companies)

found in the first group (figure 2) remained in the second (figure 5)

6%
– further reinforcing the need for the tough but important mission
of working with different sectors on the same project.

The same occurs with the participants’ geographical

distribution (figure 6). Even though one finds a slight fall in the
figure 4
preponderance of the Southeast and increase in the number
of suppliers from the Center-West, the proportion remained
almost the same as in the original group. Yes
9 4% No

Suppliers per segment Suppliers per segment

(group recommended by ( pa rt i c i pa n t s o n ly )
the participant companies)

14% 12%
50%
4 4%
IT 10 %
8%
Security IT
Consultancy Consultancy
figure 2 6% figure 5
Logistics 8% Construction
Steel and related Transport
Construction 6%
Automation
8%
Transport 6% Steel and related
Telemarketing 6% Others
6% 6%
Others 4% 6%

S u p p l i e r s p e r s tat e S u p p l i e r s p e r s tat e
(group recommended by ( pa rt i c i pa n t s o n ly )
the participant companies)

2%
2% 1% 4% 2%
4% 4%
São Paulo 5% 4% São Paulo
42%
Minas Gerais 6% Minas Gerais
8%
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro
Federal District Federal District
figure 3 8% figure 6
Paraná 51% Paraná
10 %
Santa Catarina Santa Catarina
Bahia 8% Bahia
Rio Grande do Sul Goiás
Others 17% Pernambuco
2 2%

Brazilian Business Council

f o r S u s ta i n a b l e D e v e l o p m e n t | 7
Project
II . Awar e n e s s - r a i s i ng an d tr a i n i ng
The process of awareness-raising and
training began with two workshops
conducted in São Paulo on March 27 at
KPMG headquarters. Two 4-hour sessions,
with 25 suppliers each, were held to provide
an initial contact between the project’s
participants and its formulators, explain
the motivation of the CEBDS member-
companies and present cases of suppliers
that clearly benefited (and, consequently,
benefited their customers) from conducting
their enterprises’ carbon management.
Out of the participant suppliers, 32
attended their respective workshop.
Transport costs, scheduling issues and the
lack of a special need for the awareness-
raising stage were the main justifications
alleged by absent suppliers.
The main aim of the workshops was to
raise these suppliers’ awareness of the
need for adaptations in the management of
their business owing to climate change. As
commented previously, at times, suppliers
had little engagement or even interest in
the question – even those whose products
and services cause major emissions or other
significant climate change impacts. In fact, an
important point stressed at the workshop
was the direct consequences of climate
change to various sectors of the Brazilian
economy – and it was precisely on the basis
of these consequences that the advantages
and differentials for those who carry out
emissions inventories were put forward.
After each workshop, there was a brief
introduction to the calculation tool of the
GHG Protocol Brazilian Program and how
to use it. It was previously agreed with the
Two 4-hour sessions,
suppliers that in the light of the very broad
with 25 suppliers each,
were held to provide spread of the sectors present, it would be
an initial contact more fruitful to provide an overall summary
between the project’s of the tool’s functions and use than specific
participants and its operational details that each sector might
formulators request. The presentation focused on setting
8 | Program for C arbon
M a n a g e m e n t i n t h e S u pp l y C h a i n
the operational bounds, identifying and
classifying the main sources of emissions,
and categorizing the three scopes. Lastly, the
functioning of the program’s calculation tool
was demonstrated.
After the workshop, an online form
was circulated among the 50 participant
suppliers for them to evaluate their
participation in the project, point out the
workshop’s main conclusions and indicate
their expectations as to whether they
would in fact initiate the work of taking
inventory of their emissions from then on.
Over 80% of the suppliers did not carry out
any type of inventory of emissions before
the project (figur e 7). In order to justify this,
some 60% of them cited lack of necessity or
interest, either due to the type of business
they are in or to their low level of emissions;
technical difficulties inherent to the process;
or related cost (figur e 8). One concludes,
therefore, that the Program for Carbon
Management in the Supply chain provides
a response to all of the abovementioned
justifications. In other words, the project
confirms the interest of its “clients” in the
information of the inventory (they were
the sponsors of the workshops) and trains
suppliers in how to gather the information –
all this at virtually no cost (participants only
paid for their transport to São Paulo).
With respect to the qualitative evaluation
of the workshops, the participant suppliers
rated the awareness-raising at an average of
3.9, on a scale of 1 to 5. In turn, the quality
of the information related to conducting the
inventories was rated at an average of 4.
Only two of the 32 suppliers considered the
quality of the information poor, while the vast
majority, in both evaluations, considered the
workshop good (figur e 9).
So it is not by chance that the most
significant result of the questionnaire
refers to suppliers’ willingness to conduct
their first inventory, or a new one, after
the workshop: four out of five said they
would, while 6% did not yet know for sure
(it depended on decisions to be made
after this report’s publication) (figure 10).
This can be regarded as the project’s first
successful outcome. Though on a small
scale, the engagement of four out of five
suppliers that took part in the workshop
demonstrates that: (a) the methodology,
even if prone to improvement, was
accurate in the points worked on, the
arguments used and the initial stage of
training; and (b) it is already possible to
plan a second round of the project on a
larger scale, with the due adaptations, for
the next few years.

S h a r e o f pa rti c i pa nt s u p p l i e r s Main reasons mentioned

t h at h a d a l r e a dy c o n d u c t e d for not conducting
GHG i n v e n t o r i e s b e f o r e t h e p r o j e c t emissions inventories

19 %

33%
38%
Absence
of need
figure 7 Technical figure 8
difficulty
Lack of
interest

Yes 81% Cost

No Others 4% 17%
8%

Q u a l i tat i v e e va l u at i o n o f t h e Suppliers willing to conduct

works hop by partic i pant s u ppli e rs t h e f i r s t / a n e w i n v e n to ry
(1: v e ry p o o r ; 5: e xc e l l e n t )
after the workshop

figure 8
20 6%
18 13%
16
14
12
10
figu re 10
8
6
Yes
4
No
2
Doesn’t know 81%
0

Awareness raising workshop

Quality of the information provided at the workshop
for the purpose of conducting inventories

Brazilian Business Council

f o r S u s ta i n a b l e D e v e l o p m e n t | 9
Project

III . S u b s eq u e nt i n di v i d ua l f o llow- u p

During the last stage of the project, KPMG
maintained a continuous follow-up process
with the companies that attended the
workshop and/or answered the subsequent
questionnaire. The companies were
accompanied over the course of their internal
processes, asked for assistance on particular
questions and consolidated their inventories.
At the time of the last survey (August
2012), 22 companies had presented a full
(15) or partial (7) emissions inventory,
which means 91% of the total number of
suppliers who at the end of the workshops
said they were willing to conduct
91% of the total
inventories, and 69% of the total number
number of suppliers
of participants. The remainder (12) have
who at the end of
the workshops said not yet set a date or did not answer this
they were willing to question (figure 11).
conduct inventories,
and 69% of the total Of the inventories received, KPMG
number of participants checks items such as the scope worked
on (whether the inventory was for the
whole company or just for those areas that
supplied to the participant companies),
the version of the tool employed (it was
updated twice in 2012) or the sources of
emissions considered. In short, these are
tasks meant to round off the information
already presented and follow up that yet to
be presented.
The number of companies that said they
were mobilizing to conduct their inventory
fell slightly (to 77%) in comparison with
the previous survey, while the number
of companies still unsure rose to 10%
(figure 12). This may be a reflection of a
detachment between companies’ technical/
managerial teams (the workshop’s target
audience) and decision-makers – thus
demonstrating the possible necessity of
working with staff further up the hierarchy
of these suppliers as well.

S tat u s o f t h e Suppliers mobilizing

ongoing inventories i n t e r n a l ly t o c o n d u c t
(Au g u s t 2 012) i n v e n to ry ( J u n e 2 012)

13%

31%

10 %

f i g u r e 11 47% f i g u r e 12 71%
6%

2 2%

Yes
Handed in Already had an inventory
In progress Still under discussion
Not conducted at the company

No

10 | Program for C arbon

M a n a g e m e n t i n t h e S u pp l y C h a i n
Conclusions
L e ss o n s L e a r n t
a n d N e x t S t e ps
The Program for Carbon Management in the Supply chain has achieved its intended
objectives, especially by means of two outcomes: the first and more direct one was
the awareness-raising and training of participant companies’ suppliers. More than
thirty participant companies’ suppliers had their awareness raised and were trained
at the project’s workshops. At least fifteen of these have handed in or are about to
hand in their carbon emissions inventories.

The second positive outcome is the
possibility of replicating, expanding and
continuing the project over the next
few years. As previously spelt out, even
though the project is prone to criticism
and must be further perfected, its
main focus – the training of a diverse
and highly representative group of
suppliers, preferably common suppliers,
of the participant companies – has been
approved. And this can and should be
replicated and continued in future rounds.
However, the criticism must not be
relegated. A series of points will have
to be improved for the take-up rate
of the project to grow satisfactorily.
An initial point, for instance, is a more
intense dialogue prior to the project
within participant companies, so as
to select not just the most strategic
suppliers but mainly those with a higher
share of the total scope 3 volume –
something that hardly took place in
this, the first project. Another point to
work on relates to the standardization
of the information requested about
these suppliers: data such as location,
sector of activity, size (and choice of the
criterion for defining size, whether by
revenue of by number of employees)
and whether inventories are already
taken. In this respect, it is necessary that
those conducting the project (CEBDS
and KPMG) have a more in-depth
dialogue with participant companies’
purchase areas and suppliers, as well as
an enhanced internal dialogue at these
companies, with a view to reducing
possible communication problems.
On the other hand, both the participant
companies and those conducting the
project must establish even closer
contact with the participant suppliers;
the former, by encouraging their
participation, for instance, by means of a
specific invitation to all points of contact,
thus formalizing and legitimating the call
for them to take part in the project even
more. The latter, for their part, furnished
with ample information about these
suppliers – specifically, with a constant
point of contact – must do their best
to coordinate and ensure that all are
present at the workshops and to follow
up the inventory-taking process on a
regular basis. A relevant fact detected
was the extra interest displayed by
suppliers whose client companies
already have contractual demands in
place relating to the presentation of
inventories.
Another point for improvement, so
far not touched upon in this report,
is following up the destination of
the inventories conducted. When
the project was initially conceived,
it included the idea of a possible
publication of the inventories in Brazil’s
public registry of emissions, of the
GHG Protocol Brazilian Program. The
scope for this later diminished, which
made this follow-up impossible. The
suppliers were then informed that the
inventories would be forwarded to their
client companies. We note that the
publication of the inventories should
be studied in future rounds of the
program, so that these emissions may
be made public (and on an annual basis)
and that the Brazilian database on the
subject may grow.

Brazilian Business Council

f o r S u s ta i n a b l e D e v e l o p m e n t | 11
 team

c eb ds
Project coordinator
Fernando Malta

C TC l i m a
President
David Canassa (Votorantim)
Vice-President
Vivian Macknight (Vale)

K P MG
Project Manager
Ricardo Zibas
Consultants
Mariane Sá
Paula da Silva Carvalho

Program for C arbon

M a n a g e m e n t i n t h e S u pp l y C h a i n

Realization

Participating companies

Support

D i s c l a i m e r : This report was published in the name of CEBDS. Even though the companies belonging to CTClima,
the participant companies, their suppliers and KPMG took an active part in the ongoing formulation and conduct
of the project, any and every opinion expressed here is restricted to the positioning of CEBDS.