As part of Pulsant’s commitment to make a positive difference to our environment, we recently pushed ourselves forwards in value chain engagement and brought together a cohort of SME suppliers for a series of in-person decarbonisation workshops.
In association with sustainability specialists SLR Consulting, our investment in these sessions supported our suppliers in understanding the landscape of decarbonisation and establishing their own action plans.
Participants spanned a variety of industries that Pulsant rely upon to deliver our services, including consultancies, distributors and infrastructure maintenance. We engaged with senior representatives, and all those who participated have made commitments to implement the action plans they developed.
Feedback from the participating suppliers lauded the ‘immensely gratifying’ collaboration and positive action taken, as well as the ‘infectious’ enthusiasm.
One attending company said the workshop: “…helped to drive planning and implementation with ideas we wouldn’t have otherwise considered. These are the sort of sessions we want to now drive with our supply chain. These will hopefully benefit Pulsant and the wider industry on our collective journey to net zero."
Participating company
Elsewhere, another supplier called the sessions: “A great experience in which we have learnt a great deal on this subject. It has allowed us to identify the areas we should be focusing on as a business which will enable us to move forward with greater knowledge and understanding.”
Pulsant is committed to achieve Net Zero by 2050. As part of this, since 2019, Pulsant’s Scope 3 emissions have reduced by 23%, with 19% of its overall emissions are associated with purchased goods and services. These workshops are part of a promise to continually reduce the environmental impact of that activity.[1]
Helen Munro, Head of Environment and Sustainability at Pulsant explains: “Scope 3 is a tough nut to crack, and it’s not something we can achieve independently. We are chipping away at it from several angles, and this move to engage with smaller businesses is part of ensuring our efforts bring about real change. We understand that the participants will have to balance decarbonisation amongst conflicting priorities, and it’s clear they are already acutely aware of the value of efficiency. This programme accelerates decarbonisation by making it easier for those businesses to take the next steps. We cannot expect these companies to join us in our efforts without supporting them to do so.”
Despite representing diverse industries, attendees reported consistent issues: A lack of awareness around the available resources for SMEs, and difficulties in sourcing data from upstream services were particularly common.
However, equally consistent was a pledge to make change. Helen Munro continues: “We have had suppliers commit to publishing their carbon footprint and strategy, reducing air travel, exploring electrified fleet vehicles, and improving support to their clients in making more sustainable decisions, to step up efforts towards net zero."
Sarah Gillett, a director in the ESG Strategic Advisory practice within SLR Consulting explained: “These sessions have been really inspiring. Pulsant’s suppliers showed fantastic dedication despite other pressing priorities and the resourcing issues experienced by all small businesses. They all came away with actionable plans to embed sustainability into their businesses. Pulsant has also seen additional benefit from more personalised relationships forming a supportive network to discuss innovations in their sector, share knowledge and work on cross-sector challenges.”