Sustainability roles have come a long way from managing operational emissions and publishing annual reports. Today, chief sustainability officers are finding themselves at the heart of strategic business decisions—shaping everything from procurement and product design to value chain partnerships and growth strategies.
The game-changer? Scope 3 emissions.
Though harder to control, Scope 3 emissions often hold the greatest potential for business impact. Even if your company isn’t legally required to disclose Scope 3 today, chances are that your customers need to. That puts you squarely in their spotlight. If your operations or products represent a hotspot in your customers’ value chain, your ability to manage Scope 3 becomes a differentiator.
We spend too much time talking about the challenges of Scope 3, and not enough about the opportunities it creates.
Scope 3 emissions typically concentrate in a few major categories. Every industry is different, but take two common hotspots:
Purchased goods and services – the emissions embedded in everything your business buys, from raw materials to packaging. Addressing this means engaging your suppliers and rethinking sourcing strategies.
Use of sold products – the future emissions generated by customers using your products, such as fuel used by engines or energy consumed by appliances. These emissions are directly tied to revenue.
Understanding where your emissions lie is about uncovering insights that can transform procurement, product design, and customer value.
It’s easy to get distracted by well-meaning initiatives—like composting programs in the office cafeteria. But if you want to move the needle, focus on what really matters to your business.
Take, for example, an equipment manufacturer that discovered its biggest emissions hotspot was in the use of its machines after they were sold. That insight reframed Scope 3 from a reporting task to a product innovation opportunity. The sustainability team set out to work directly with product leaders to improve efficiency, align with climate targets, and deliver more value to customers.
When Scope 3 becomes a lens for strategic decision-making—especially in product and procurement—you unlock the potential to decarbonize and grow simultaneously.
Trying to tackle all 15 Scope 3 categories in detail is a fast track to becoming what one chief sustainability officer called a “busy fool.” You don’t need perfect data across the board to take action.
Instead, identify the 20% of categories responsible for 80% of your emissions, and focus your attention there.
In the food industry, for instance, upstream farming often accounts for the vast majority of emissions. Focusing on that area—and building the right tools and supplier engagement strategies—can deliver meaningful progress without overwhelming your team.
This focused approach also prepares you for upcoming regulations like the ISSB climate disclosures, without unnecessary analysis paralysis.
One of our large food industry customers discovered that a large portion of their emissions came from upstream agriculture. In response, they launched a supply chain finance program to help key suppliers reduce on-farm emissions—effectively lowering the carbon intensity of each unit of raw material.
But as sales increased, total emissions also went up. On paper, it looked like failure. But the chief sustainability officer understood that emissions intensity had improved, and that the program was working. They used the data to tell a richer story—about progress, impact, and the need for deeper transformation to meet future targets.
Your carbon data isn’t just for regulators. It’s a narrative tool for engaging boards, customers, and investors.
Meeting 2030 climate targets isn’t a side project. It’s a business imperative. And chief sustainability officers are no longer compliance officers—they’re strategic leaders who help their companies navigate risk, shape products, and win markets.
Scope 3 isn’t a burden. It’s a map of where you can create the most value.
Those who lean in now — focusing on material hotspots, building credible stories, and aligning sustainability with business growth — won’t just meet their goals. They’ll help define the future of sustainable business.