The Role of Procurement in Decarbonization

Speaker: Bertrand Conqueret, Chief Procurement Officer at Henkel and Co-Founder of the Sustainable Procurement Pledge, hosted by Fergal Byrne, Executive Producer, The Sustainability Agenda

As questions surrounding Scope 3 emissions are rising on the business agenda, understanding why and how we must address them is key to achieving decarbonization. With that in mind, we have launched a podcast series featuring senior business and thought leaders who talk us through their experiences in tackling supply chain decarbonization.

Available on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts 

For this episode we sat down with Bertrand Conquéret, Henkel’s Chief Procurement Officer and the co-founder of the Sustainable Procurement Pledge to talk about the role procurement plays in decarbonizing supply chains. Tune in to learn more about the challenges and opportunities generated by Scope 3 emissions management, particularly against the current backdrop of ongoing supply chain disruptions.  

Sustainability Remains at the Top of Procurement’s Agenda 

With massive supply chain challenges exacerbated by the COVID pandemic and further aggravated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, skeptics may question whether companies are able to effectively work toward reducing Scope 3 emissions. After all, there are plenty of issues to address in the short- to mid-term. However, in the face of heightened volatility in the past three years, many companies, including Henkel, have continued to work toward their sustainability objectives. Long-term sustainability strategies remain unchanged, though they may have evolved to better fit the changing circumstances. 

The increasingly strict regulatory landscape is certainly one of the reasons why companies continue to focus on sustainability. But, as Bertrand Conquéret points out, many procurement organizations view sustainability commitment as their responsibility, something they owe to their companies, industries, people and the planet. And supply chain decarbonization is not just about the role procurement plays, it’s about procurement’s responsibility. 

Focus on Decarbonization 

CO2 management is, as Bertrand Conquéret puts it, a very visible topic and one that will soon have to be tackled by everyone. At the moment, addressing Scope 3 issues still requires a fairly complex approach. And this is where the Sustainable Procurement Pledge comes in as a source of great help and inspiration. Established in October 2019, it now has a team of 8,000 ambassadors to help empower and equip procurement leadership across a whole range of sectors. It also has a team dedicated to working on Scope 3, which involves knowledge sharing, outlining best practices, researching tools and providing inspiration. Scope 3 management is extremely complex this is why collaboration and best practice sharing are so important. It's vital that companies of all sizes have access to all the tools and knowledge. This is the only way we can accelerate the change that needs to happen.

Toward Even Greater Scalability 

Another crucial element to succeeding in supply chain sustainability and decarbonization efforts is scalability. And procurement, by definition, offers scalability. This is why, at the core of the Sustainable Procurement Pledge's vision lies the aspiration that one day all procurement managers worldwide could act in line with the United Nations principles.  This would result in the scalability of all the initiatives that weave environmental, social and ethical considerations into procurement. And this scalability would be enormous. 

About the Speaker

Bertrand Conquéret is the President of Henkel Global Supply Chain and Chief Purchasing Officer. 

Driven by Responsible Leadership and a career of rich and diverse accomplishments and major learnings, he gained experience through Purchasing Transformation, Human Resource global leadership, IT & Shared Service Centers and by leading the Henkel Global Supply Chain transformation. President of Together for Sustainability (TfS) and co-founder of the Sustainable Procurement Pledge (SPP), he strongly believes that procurement is more than a role, it is a responsibility.

About the Scope 3 Agenda Podcast Series

The Scope 3 Agenda Podcast is a monthly series produced by EcoVadis in collaboration with  Fergal Byrne from The Sustainability Agenda featuring stories from senior business leaders working on supply chain decarbonization to reduce Scope 3 emissions across different industries. In the ten episodes we talk to business and thought leaders from a range of industries and explore strategies, challenges and lessons learned by companies who have embarked on a decarbonization journey.