Carbon reporting, compliance and scope 3 decarbonisation
We will support your organisation to build robust GHG inventories and help leverage your data to drive meaningful change through strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and targeted actions to reduce emissions across your full value chain.
Robust carbon reporting underpins credible climate action.
Organisations face increasing pressure to disclose emissions transparently, meet regulatory and voluntary frameworks, and show progress toward net zero. We can support you to measure, disclose and reduce your emissions across scopes 1, 2 and 3. Our methodologies include assurance, align with the GHG Protocol and ISO standards, and support CDP disclosure and science-based targets.
Your Scope 3 emissions, which can often account for over 90% of an organisation's emissions demand targeted strategies across procurement, supply chains, and product life cycles.
We can work with you to tackle Scope 3 emissions as part of your net zero strategy, demonstrating sustainability leadership and building resilience to future climate and legislative challenges. Through sustainable procurement and supply chain engagement, we identify priority areas and embed solutions that deliver long-term benefits. We have helped hundreds of organisations understand the environmental impacts across their value chain and identify and implement the activities that have the greatest possible impact.
We support our clients develop solutions to specific challenges, answering questions such as:
- Are our disclosures compliant with relevant regulations and schemes, such as SECR, ESOS or CDP?
- How do we prepare for assurance or verification?
- What data do we need to collect from our own operations and across our value chain?
- What do we do if we don't have all the data?
- How do we improve data accuracy over time?
- How do we align carbon reporting with our net zero strategy?
- Where are our biggest emissions impacts / key hotspots?
- How do we engage suppliers in decarbonisation?
- How do we start to measure our scope 3 emissions?
- What procurement policies support net zero and help to reduce scope 3 emissions?
- Should we use a carbon reporting platform? Which one? How do we get the best value from it?
Keeping you compliant and leveraging strategic value
Ricardo supports clients in meeting their carbon reporting obligations with confidence, as well as with understanding their GHG emissions, key hotspots and prioritised actions to decarbonise.
We support you to develop robust GHG inventories across scopes 1, 2, 3. aligned with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and ISO 14064.
We support your compliance and voluntary reporting, across schemes such as:
- Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR)
- Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS)
- CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project)
- Article 8 of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive
- Emissions trading schemes
Robust evidence underpins successful strategies. We'll help you to measure and track your scope 3 emissions giving you clarity on the scale and complexity of your value chain emissions.
- Scope 3 emissions inventory development.
- Inventory data improvement strategies to move from estimates and spend-based data to more accurate supplier and product emissions.
- Hotspot analysis and portfolio sustainability assessments to identify the highest emitting parts of your value chain.
- Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Product Carbon Footprints to provide in-depth information on specific products from raw material to end of life.
- Data collation and management strategies including use of online platforms and tools.
Scope 3 reporting is necessary to meet certain regulatory or voluntary disclosure requirements but transparency also builds trust with stakeholders and demonstrates progress towards your decarbonisation ambitions.
- Disclosure preparation aligned to required standards such as SBTi, CSRD, IFRS S2.
- Target setting to support your application to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)
- Preparation of company annual sustainability report including scope 3 information.
- Incorporation of scope 3 information in your climate transition plan.
Your scope 3 emissions can account for more than 90% of your organisation's greenhouse gas impact. They are the most difficult to tackle, requiring collaboration with multiple stakeholders up and down your supply chain. But, reducing these emissions can create the biggest real world impact.
- Scope 3 reduction strategy.
- Supplier engagement and communication.
- Sustainable procurement strategies and implementation support.
- Support to adopt circular business models.
- Sustainable product development advice including LCA modelling, chemical regulations and packaging support.
- Sector wide scope 3 strategies through trade associations and industry groups. View example
Many of our customers are impacted by more than one regulation, often with overlapping requirements. In these instances we can develop a strategy for an effective route to cross compliance, saving both time and resources for your organisation.
We also provide end-to-end solutions from initial reporting and compliance all the way through implementation, review and continuous improvement. We work as a sustainability partner to clients, delivering work in a way and at a pace that works best for each individual organisation. This includes tailoring scopes of work and providing training, tools and capacity building to achieve the best outcomes for your individual circumstances.
A data set is not the end goal, it’s the starting point for action.
Ricardo helps clients use emissions data to inform decision-making, prioritise interventions, and track progress. Our support includes integration with net zero strategies, governance frameworks, and stakeholder reporting.
Reducing emissions is a key thread of your sustainability journey but it should not be seen in isolation. We take a holistic view where emissions reduction is interwoven with co-benefits such as robust circular business models, improved air quality, reduced pollution, energy efficiency, resilient supply chains, improved energy security, increased competitiveness and reduced impact on biodiversity.
Carbon reporting, compliance and scope 3 decarbonisation Resources
