Most of a product's environmental footprint isn't made by the company that sells it. It's in the materials, the suppliers' factories, the shipping and what happens when the product is thrown away. That's why companies that want to cut their emissions have to work on their supply chains.
Emissions are usually counted in three scopes. Scope 1 is what you burn yourself, like the fuel in your own trucks. Scope 2 is the electricity and heat you buy. Scope 3 is everything else up and down the chain: what your suppliers emit making your materials, the freight you pay others to move, and your products in use and when they're thrown away. For most companies Scope 3 is by far the largest.
Companies also answer for how their suppliers treat people. A supplier code of conduct sets the rules (no forced or child labour, safe workplaces, fair pay, no bribery), and audits check them. Several countries now have laws requiring big companies to look for these risks in their chains and report what they find.
Traceability is being able to say where something came from: which farm grew the cocoa, which mine dug the cobalt. It needs records at every step, which is hard in long chains with many small suppliers. Certifications and batch codes help.
A circular supply chain keeps materials in use instead of throwing them away: products designed to be repaired, parts taken back and remanufactured, packaging reused, materials recycled. It turns the return step from a cost into a source of materials.
The emissions from a supplier's factory making your packaging are in which scope?
| Scope 1 | Your own direct emissions (fuel you burn). |
|---|---|
| Scope 2 | Electricity and heat you buy. |
| Scope 3 | Everything else along the chain. |
| Code of conduct | The rules suppliers agree to follow. |
| Traceability | Knowing where each thing came from. |
| Circular | Repair, reuse, remanufacture, recycle. |