Sustainability

    The Complete Guide to Sustainability & Carbon Management

    Learn how sustainability and carbon management platforms help supply chains measure, reduce, and report environmental impact.

    SupplyWolf Team
    13 min read

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    Who Needs Sustainability Tools?

    Shippers & Manufacturers

    Production & distribution

    Supply planningVendor mgmt

    What is Supply Chain Sustainability Management?

    Sustainability and carbon management platforms help organizations measure, report, and reduce the environmental impact of supply chain operations. These tools calculate carbon emissions, track sustainability metrics, support ESG reporting, and identify opportunities for environmental improvement across transportation, warehousing, and sourcing.

    Growing regulatory requirements, investor expectations, and customer demands are driving adoption of systematic sustainability management in logistics.

    Sustainability Platform Capabilities

    Carbon Accounting

    • Emissions Calculation: Calculate CO2e from logistics activities
    • Scope 3: Track supply chain and transportation emissions
    • Methodology: Apply recognized calculation standards
    • Allocation: Attribute emissions to products or customers

    Data Collection

    • TMS Integration: Pull shipment data automatically
    • Carrier Data: Collect carrier emissions information
    • Activity Data: Fuel, electricity, waste tracking
    • Supplier Data: Collect upstream emissions

    Reporting

    • ESG Reports: Support investor reporting requirements
    • CDP: Carbon Disclosure Project submissions
    • Customer Reports: Emissions data for B2B customers
    • Regulatory: Compliance with emerging regulations

    Reduction

    • Scenario Analysis: Model emission reduction strategies
    • Mode Shift: Evaluate lower-carbon transportation options
    • Carrier Selection: Factor sustainability into procurement
    • Target Setting: Science-based target development

    Who Needs Sustainability Tools?

    Shippers & Manufacturers

    Companies with significant logistics operations need to measure and report transportation emissions as part of Scope 3 reporting.

    Retailers

    Consumer-facing companies face customer and regulatory pressure for transparent supply chain sustainability.

    3PLs & Carriers

    Logistics providers need to measure and report their emissions to support customer sustainability programs.

    Key Sustainability Concepts

    GHG Scopes

    • Scope 1: Direct emissions from owned/controlled sources
    • Scope 2: Indirect emissions from purchased energy
    • Scope 3: Value chain emissions (includes logistics)

    Calculation Methods

    • Spend-Based: Estimate from transportation spend
    • Distance-Based: Calculate from mode and distance
    • Fuel-Based: Derive from actual fuel consumption

    Standards

    • GLEC Framework: Global Logistics Emissions Council
    • GHG Protocol: Greenhouse Gas Protocol standards
    • ISO 14083: Quantification of GHG emissions

    Selection Criteria

    1. Data Integration

    Evaluate ability to collect data from your TMS, carriers, and other sources automatically.

    2. Methodology

    Ensure calculation methods align with recognized standards and your reporting requirements.

    3. Reporting

    Match platform reporting capabilities to your ESG disclosure requirements.

    4. Actionability

    Look beyond measurement to tools that help identify and implement reduction strategies.

    Getting Started

    Explore sustainability solutions in our Sustainability comparison tool to find platforms for environmental management.

    Sustainability
    Carbon Management
    ESG
    Emissions
    Climate

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