AllChiefs supports global beverage group enhance grip on logistics emissions

With the aim to improve the way it keeps track of greenhouse gas emissions in the logistics supply chain, a multinational beverage brand brought AllChiefs on board as consulting partner.

The beverage brand launched a program to upgrade its calculation and reporting process with the end goal of obtaining clear and actionable recommendations for future improvement in cutting emissions. “The project was broken down in three phases, each building upon the previous,” explained Inge Tanke, partner at AllChiefs.

“In the first phase, we worked with the multinational to clarify their ambitions. One of their focuses was to reduce the time and resources spent on manual reporting, so we worked together to transition from a fragmented and manual emission reporting process to a more integrated and automated system.”

One of the main aims for the beverage company was to ensure compliance with emissions accounting standards, which consist of a dizzying array of different rules, making it challenging for companies to operate across borders. Another objective was to have more detailed emissions data on operations, which helps the company to gain better insights into their emissions reduction efforts. 

“Moving into the second phase, we conducted an assessment based on AllChiefs’ three main assessment criteria,” said Bonne Goedhart, partner at AllChiefs. 

Those three criteria are: input data, which is made to be more detailed and reliable so that it can be trusted; calculation methods, which are matched to international standards; and reporting (governance), which includes checking data flows for consistency and ensuring quality in things like dashboards and reports. 

“Our approach was thorough and collaborative. We conducted interviews with key stakeholders to understand the current process, identifying both strengths and challenges,” said Tanke. 

The project also ensured that the client’s IT projects are in alignment with the new way of approaching data. In that way, no data is lost nor stored in a less-than-ideal manner.

“Additionally, we performed sample data calculation checks and we addressed open methodological questions, such as responsibilities for intercompany logistical flows, sources of biofuel emission factors, and reporting on complex logistics scenarios as milk runs,” noted Goedhart.

The final phase aimed at categorizing and prioritizing the identified gaps in the entire process of improving the data habits of the client. Tanke explains how this last step “involved holding a workshop with key stakeholders to validate the gaps and assess them based on effort and impact.”

“The gaps were then categorized into immediate compliance needs, quick fixes, those that would be addressed through the implementation of new tools, and advanced improvements intended for the long term.” 

Moving forward

The process of prioritization resulted in a few different options as far as how the client could move forward with implementation. There were, of course, pros and cons to each of the various scenarios. 

Overall, the project allowed the client to have a clear overview of the current state of their data and reporting on emissions. Those insights led the company to contract a new employee charged with pushing forward improvement efforts. 

“Improving the emission reporting process is a continuous journey rather than a one-time task. It requires dedicated effort to ensure ongoing accuracy and relevance,” stated Goedhart. “We’re proud to have supported our client’s journey towards a more sustainable future. Their drive to reduce emissions fits perfectly with our values, and together we’ve made great progress in reaching their decarbonization goals.”

Greening logistics

As climate change continues to worsen and legislation is put in place, organizations are under increasing pressure to consider and implement greener options in their logistics.

Next to scope 1 and 2, companies are increasingly pressured to also cut emissions at the difficult-to-reach scope 3, which are all the emissions from entities that a company has relations with but does not directly control.

“AllChiefs is committed to accelerate the movement towards net-zero logistics and we partner with our clients in this challenge,” said Tanke and Goedhart.