Collaboration is the key to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

How often in life are you able to say with certainty, confidence and conviction that your work is genuinely enabling a whole global industry sector reduce its carbon footprint? As Sustainability Director at Ricardo, I am fortunate to be in that unique and privileged position because since 2023 my team has been advising the European DIY Retail Association (Edra) and Global Home Improvement Network (Ghin) to guide this global industry on its journey to identify and reduce Scope 3 emissions.

A retailer’s Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from the upstream supply chain and downstream use and disposal of purchased products. Scope 3 emissions are the predominant carbon emissions for retailers. For the home improvement retail sector, they account for more than 90 per cent of emissions, and usually fall outside of retailers’ direct operational control. Given the scale of their impact, they are the most important, but also the most difficult to address. 

As a network Edra/Ghin has shown a huge amount of motivation and willingness to work together to identify and reduce Scope 3 emissions. However, the range of different approaches and methodologies to measure and report on Scope 3 carbon emissions has long created both inconsistency and inefficiency for home improvement retailers trying to lower emissions across their full value chain, making it difficult to establish an accurate picture of where the greatest emissions arise across the value chain.

With my team of carbon accounting and Scope 3 experts at Ricardo, I have been supporting Edra/Ghin to develop a unified approach to reducing Scope 3 emissions in the sector. Edra/Ghin launched the Scope 3 Taskforce at the 9th Global DIY Summit in Berlin in 2023 made up of leading home improvement companies from around the world. The objective of the Scope 3 Taskforce is to agree on more consistent methodologies for handling carbon data throughout the supply chain and share best practice in both reporting and accelerating progress in reducing Scope 3 emissions.

One year after that summit, I was able to stand on stage with Edra/Ghin president Thierry Garnier at the 10th Global DIY Summit in Rome, Italy, in June 2024 to announce the outcome of the Taskforce’s work: a setting of Scope 3 carbon emissions targets for the global home improvement retail sector and the unveiling of a ground-breaking Scope 3 emissions reduction strategy and roadmap. This is very much a strategy developed by the sector for the sector.

The strategy and roadmap delineate a clear set of actions which we know will unite the DIY/home improvement retail sector, propel it in the right direction, and drive collaboration by retailers, suppliers, and other stakeholders across the whole value chain. Offering very practical and pragmatic guidance, the aim of the document is truly to inspire stakeholders to take decarbonisation action through three key objectives:

• developing clear and consistent emissions calculation methodologies;
• agreeing common accounting and reporting standards and reporting platforms; and
• engaging with suppliers to drive action across the supply chain.

To this latter point, it is no coincidence that in Rome Edra/Ghin and Ricardo launched the Home Improvement Suppliers Scope 3 Taskforce which will support and collaborate with the Edra/Ghin Scope 3 Taskforce. This is significant because in order to deliver the greatest impact on decarbonisation, it is essential that retailers in the home improvement industry can collaborate with suppliers on a pre-competitive and voluntary basis. From Ricardo’s century as an environmental and engineering consultancy, we know the power of innovation, collaboration and creative thinking to effect positive change. By encouraging and facilitating innovation, we can progress towards and more circular and carbon efficient economy.

If we are to accelerate decarbonisation around the world, it is vital that the whole industry comes together and fully embraces a collaborative approach: learning from each other and sharing best practice. Pioneers and early adopters are essential to lead by example, so it is tremendously heartening that in early July 2024 six leading Edra/Ghin members: Kingfisher plc, Obi, Kesko, Wickes, Maxeda DIY Group and Intergamma became the first signatories to the seminal Global Scope 3 Decarbonisation Commitment. Edra/Ghin now calls on all members to demonstrate their leadership and join the Commitment.

Leading this initiative and supporting the global home improvement retail sector to unite to reduce Scope 3 emissions is a privilege for me and my team. Ricardo has considerable expertise in bringing organisations of all sizes and levels of preparedness together to collaborate and decarbonise their operations and supply chains. The members of Edra/Ghin understand that by working together, the global home improvement retail sector can accelerate decarbonisation across the value chain and achieve significant emission reductions at scale. We are proud to play our part in enabling this seminal moment for the global sector on its road to net zero.

If your organisation is seeking professional services to tackle Scope 3 please contact Ricardo: info@ricardo.com

Find out more about Ricardo's expertise in corporate sustainability and advising clients on managing Scope 3 emissions 

Read the EDRA/GHIN Scope 3 Strategy and Roadmap

Read the EDRA/GHIN Scope 3 Accounting Guide