New York Climate Week 2024: It’s Time to Get Serious About Carbon Accounting

Wow, what a week it was at Climate Week New York City! The world’s largest annual climate event brought together over 900 activities across the city with leaders from business, tech, politics, academia and civil society to drive climate action.

From inspiring talks to big ideas, there was one message that really stood out:

Carbon accounting is something every business needs to be doing - and It’s Time to start doing right now.

At Sumday, we had the privilege of hosting a breakfast panel with two incredible sustainability leaders: Cameron Adams, Co-Founder at Canva and Director of the Wedgetail Foundation, and Ash Hannig, former Microsoft Sustainability Manager focused on Scope 3 supplier engagement.

Cam has been a force for embedding sustainability at Canva from the very beginning and now through Wedgetail, a nature-focused fund driving regeneration, the team have provided nature-linked loans, grants, and investments across 14 countries. They’re not just financing, they’re also learning from their hands-on experience at The Quoin, a 5,000-hectare landscape in Tasmania, where they’re pioneering nature-positive solutions.

Ash is a sustainability leader with a passion for driving impact at the intersection of climate and technology. With a Master of Sustainability Leadership degree from Arizona State University, published co-authored Scope 3 reduction roadmap, and proven track record in corporate sustainability, Ash has been instrumental in pushing boundaries to reduce carbon emissions through innovative strategies.

Engaging Your Supply Chain: What We Learned from Cam and Ash

Canva has embedded sustainability at the core of their strategy from the very beginning as part of their Two-Step-Plan. To tackle their commitment to reduce Scope 3 emissions, they're focusing on their Canva Print operations and supporting their largest Canva Print suppliers by:

• Following on the success of decarbonising Canva’s Scope 2 emissions in Australia via Australian Power Purchase Agreements, they have decided to extend these benefits into their worldwide value chain.
• Co-funding and collaborating with print partners on a Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) to create a network of community solar projects in Illinois. The community solar model provides access to clean power for people unable to install rooftop solar panels, such as renters or low-income households.
• Offering loans to suppliers for sustainable projects

These initiatives not only aim to reduce Scope 3 emissions for Canva’s carbon footprint, it’s helping suppliers to access resources they need to be in a position to measure emissions, prioritise their hotspots, fund action, and report back on how they're going, while providing clean energy access to communities in need. This co-funding model serves as a unique approach to making progress on Net Zero targets, setting an example for others in the industry.

For more information on Canva's sustainability initiatives, visit their sustainability page

Ash shared about the importance of storytelling for influence. If you want to get your leadership team on board with your proposed sustainability initiative, you need to make the story compelling. Data is key, but how you present that data makes all the difference with influence. What is the capital required for this project? What are the metrics of success? What is the return on it? What are the impact financially, reputationally, environmentally, socially etc? If we don’t invest in this, what is the risks? And how does this impact the future of the business? It's about painting a picture of how sustainability isn’t just a "nice-to-have," but a business-critical decision. The pretty slides for a sustainability business case should come along with the financial models that assess the returns and risks (cue the management accountants!) 

Another takeaway from Ash was the current state of where suppliers are at on their sustainability journey - most still have a big knowledge gap as to what the purpose of all this is, what needs to be done to answer the survey questionnaires, and see the value beyond a tick box exercise to meet their big corporate customers demand. With suppliers at various maturity, how do we meet them at where they are at and still engage with them in a way that’s scalable? 

Here’s Why It Matters: Scope 3 and Supply Chain Engagement

There is definitely skepticism towards carbon accounting, and this was a big topic of discussion at our panel at Techonomy’s Climate Conference. There was questions around “Why should we invest resources to collect all this data and measure emissions when it’s all an estimate?”

The current state of carbon accounting doesn’t add value, yet. It’s high level, we have to use proxy data (industry average emission factors) to calculate a high level estimate of a business’ emissions, because not all businesses are able to tell you the emissions associated with the products and services they sell yet.

We need to reframe this thinking and look long-term.

Carbon accounting adds value when you are able to understand and use primary emissions data from your suppliers. That’s when you’re able to make purchasing decisions that aligns with your values and decarbonisation strategy, and work towards net zero. 

To get there however, the challenge still remains that most businesses have yet to fully measure their emissions. 

While Scope 1 and 2 emissions - those directly owned or controlled by a business - are relatively easier to track, Scope 3 (the largest share of most companies’ carbon footprint, often 80-90%!) requires deeper engagement with your entire value chain. 

This means working closely with your suppliers, partners, and even customers to measure, report, and reduce emissions. Offering support to suppliers - whether it’s education, access to clean energy or sustainability-linked loans - these are initiatives that can be used to transform and scale how business approaches sustainability. Deep engagement with suppliers needs to be collaborative, working with them in a way that adds value to them and moves towards decarbonisation for all. This collaborative approach ensures the ongoing collection of emissions data is both valuable and actionable, one that informs better decision-making on everyone’s path towards net zero. 

Interested to learn more? Check out the recent report by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) which found engaging with suppliers was one of the three statistically significant factors that mattered in managing Scope 3 and for climate action. And check out our 4 step guide for Scope 3 Engagement on how you can support your suppliers

What else did we learn?

From the talks we attended at NYCW, another big theme was making sure the data is reliable and "audit-ready." Just like financial data, carbon data needs to be high quality if it’s going to drive real change. With the growing trend of mandatory climate reporting around the world, such as Australia and California as most recent examples, and the publication of Sustainability Reporting Standards by Accounting Standard Bodies in those jurisdictions, the signal is clear there is a need for accountants, finance teams, and advisors to support businesses in measuring carbon emissions with the same rigour, transparency, and trust. 

The message is clear: whether you're based in the US, Europe, or the Asia-Pacific region, it’s time to get your carbon accounting in order and make it part of your BAU for reporting. 

A key theme from many other panels was the financial upside of decarbonisation. Not only are governments and regulatory bodies making carbon accounting mandatory, but financial institutions are offering clear incentives for early action. From discounted rates on green bonds to more favorable loan conditions for businesses with sustainability targets, there’s a growing financial case for getting this right.

So, where do you start? 

It begins with measuring your emissions. Getting your finance teams and advisors involved early is crucial in transitioning to a world where carbon accounting is part of business as usual. 

At Sumday, we’re making carbon accounting accessible and simple for businesses of all sizes. Whether you’re just getting started or navigating how to engage your supply chain, we’d be happy to chat over a call or get started with a 30 day free trial here.