The rise of mandatory carbon reporting

Singapore joins a growing list of countries including the EU (CSRD) and New Zealand, in mandating what is commonly known as ‘supply chain reporting’, with regulations being developed in many others, including the UK (SDS) and Australia. 

The impact of these regulatory changes extends beyond the borders of the countries where they are enforced, and beyond the corporations that are mandated to report. SMEs operating within the supply chains of larger corporations are under increasing pressure to disclose their emissions data and failure to meet these demands could result in losing business and investment opportunities. 

However, most SMEs simply don’t have the knowledge, resources, or time to dedicate to measuring and reporting emissions. Plus existing measurement tools are often tailored to larger corporations, leaving SMEs to navigate this complex regulatory landscape on their own. 

Scope 3 reporting - it doesn’t have to be so hard!

“Cogo removes all the barriers for anyone wanting to start measuring and improving their impact.” - Heather Donachie, Cogo BCM user, Export Logistics

In response to this pressing need, Cogo’s Business Carbon Manager (BCM) tool offers businesses an accurate way to measure their total carbon emissions by taking the financial cost of a product or service and multiplying it by an emissions factor (AKA the amount of emissions produced per dollar spent). 

The tool then analyses business spend across all categories, enabling SMEs to measure the majority of their total footprint, including for categories that are very hard to quantify using other methods. This approach requires less manual data than other approaches, making it faster, easier and cheaper to implement. SMEs can then add in more detailed energy and fuel use data over time to increase their reporting accuracy further.

Learn more about our hybrid spend-based method, here.

An easier way to request Scope 3 emissions from suppliers 

“Getting carbon emissions information from suppliers is never straightforward. Our Scope 3 emissions include inward freight, fabric supply and dying mills and we don’t have the direct relationships needed to assess these emissions accurately. At the same time, putting our head in the sand wasn’t an option and Cogo offered us a pathway to start this measurement journey immediately.” - Kylie Matthews, Cogo BCM user, Awwa Period Care

It is also possible for larger businesses to send Cogo’s BCM tool to their suppliers in order to work out their corporate supply chain emissions and accurately report on this. These suppliers will also be able to receive guidance and help on reducing their emissions. 

Reporting standards alignment

Importantly, Cogo provides Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP) aligned carbon footprint reporting for SMEs, which is the gold standard for business carbon accounting, so they can communicate status, targets, actions and progress to key stakeholders. 

As Ben Gleisner, Founder of Cogo summarises, “Scope 3 emissions constitute roughly 75% of corporate emissions; and this is as high as 95% for companies such as supermarkets. Besides being a legal imperative, carbon accounting is also a moral obligation for any business. Cogo is the fastest, smartest and most accurate way for companies to make this happen quickly,”. 

To learn more about our Business Carbon Manager and its transformative impact, read our case studies and explore how carbon management products can revolutionise your business's sustainability journey.

Learn more about how carbon management products can revolutionise business’ sustainability journeys.