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Nick Brown
ESG Director,
Premier Foods
Moving from ambition to action on Scope 3
Ian Noble,
Vice President, R&D,
Mondelēz International
Patrick Asdaghi
CEO
Carbon Maps
Zoe Le Grand
Managing Director
Forum for the Future
Why aren't we moving faster?
The biggest barrier to decarbonisation in the F&D sector isn't a lack of ambition. Companies have targets. Boards are engaged. The language of net zero is everywhere. The problem is execution.
Scope 3 emissions — those produced across a company's wider supply chain, rather than its own operations — represent the vast majority of most F&D businesses' carbon footprints. They're generated by thousands of suppliers across dozens of geographies, at every stage from farming and processing to packaging and logistics. Measuring them, let alone reducing them, is an enormous undertaking.
Add to that the internal complexity: sustainability teams too often work in isolation, disconnected from the procurement, R&D and IT functions they need to make progress. And many suppliers — particularly smaller ones — simply don't have the capacity or expertise to provide robust carbon data.
Getting 80% of the picture is enough to start. The pursuit of perfect data has become a reason not to act — and that's a problem we can't afford.
Seven themes to define the discussion
One of the session's most consistent refrains was the danger of over-engineering the data question. Having 80% visibility into your supply chain is sufficient to identify hotspots, prioritise action and begin engaging suppliers meaningfully. Build your data systems now — ahead of regulatory deadlines — and accept that the first iteration won't be flawless. Transparency and a consistent methodology matter more than precision.
Decarbonising your supply chain is not a sustainability team problem — it's a whole-business problem. Speakers were emphatic that progress stalls when sustainability operates independently of procurement (which controls supplier relationships), R&D (which determines ingredients) and IT (which holds the data infrastructure). Bringing these functions together from day one is essential.
Many companies have impressive-sounding decarbonisation pilots. Fewer have managed to scale them. The webinar was direct about this gap: individual action — however well-intentioned — will not move the needle at the pace the climate requires. The industry needs shared frameworks, common standards and collective accountability.
If you're struggling to make the internal case for supply chain decarbonisation, try changing the language. "Carbon reduction" often struggles to cut through in boardrooms focused on margin and growth. "Resilience" — protecting ingredient security, reducing exposure to climate-related disruption, future-proofing the supply base — resonates far more strongly. The underlying work is the same; the framing makes all the difference.
No company can manually track carbon emissions across hundreds of suppliers and thousands of ingredients. Technology platforms are not optional extras — they're the infrastructure that makes systematic decarbonisation possible. The key is deploying them in service of action, not as a substitute for it.
The panel was consistent on supplier engagement: penalising suppliers who fall short on carbon reporting — particularly smaller ones who lack the resources to comply — is counterproductive. What works is building supplier capacity, offering support and creating financial incentives for emissions reductions. Walking away from a supplier should be the last resort, not the first response.
The session ended on a broader note. True decarbonisation of the F&D supply chain isn't just a corporate challenge — it's a societal one. The real cost of food production, including its environmental footprint, is rarely reflected in retail prices. Without a genuine revaluation of food — supported by policy, shaped by culture, and communicated honestly — the systemic transformation required will remain out of reach.
Key Takeaways:
- Embrace "Good Enough" Data to Start: 80% visibility is enough to begin. Don't let the pursuit of perfect data delay action.
- Break Down Internal Silos Early: Sustainability, procurement, R&D and IT must work together from the very beginning.
- Shift from Pilot Schemes to Systemic Change: Industry-wide adoption matters more than individual company action.
- Resilience is the Stronger Business Case for Decarbonisation: Reframe decarbonisation as supply chain resilience — it lands better internally.
- Technology Enables Decarbonisation at Scale: Digital platforms are essential infrastructure, not a nice-to-have.
- Incentivise Don't Punish Suppliers: Collaboration and financial incentives outperform penalties, especially for SMEs.
- Systemic Transition Requires Revaluing Food: True decarbonisation demands a cultural and economic shift in how society values food.