Sustainability Steps to Take in 2026

In a review of sustainability issues last year,  Ecovadis and BCG issued a year-end report, Carbon Action 2025, and noted that weather-related disasters that hit the US caused at least $1 billion in the first six months of last year. 

The report states that corporations are facing headwinds from climate change, with up to 5% to 25% EBITDA at risk by 2050.

Despite these disasters, which included wildfires and hurricanes, 21% of companies have taken no steps to address climate-related supply chain risks.

Scope 3 Emissions

For several industries, Scope 3 supply chain emissions are the largest and least managed source of exposure.

The group notes that even with high cost, the majority of companies (90%) have not established upstream Scope 3 reduction targets. This is particularly concerning as the group says that upstream supply chain emissions are, on average, 21 times higher than a company’s direct emissions.

By 2030, transition risk from Scope 3 emissions could drive more than $500 billion in global annual liabilities from potential carbon pricing based on a sample of firms reporting Scope 3 emissions to EcoVadis.

They point to a BCG analysis that showed driving down 50% of supplier footprint could be achieved on a cost-neutral basis (at or below $76 per metric ton CO₂e, in line with the EU ETS benchmark), and one-third of emissions can be reduced at less than $12 per metric ton, delivering returns of up to 6x on investment.

Across industries, firms can reduce half of their emissions at a lower cost than potential carbon pricing at the EU ETS benchmark of $76 per metric ton of CO₂e,

Investing in climate action for the supply chain today could achieve up to 3-6x ROI through loss aversion, avoiding costs from future carbon-price regulation.

Establish a baseline for supplier emissions

The report concludes that supplier engagement is the most impactful action, saying that corporations engaging their suppliers are 9x more likely to deliver on Scope 3 targets. However, adoption of this driver remains low - only 1 in 3 engage with suppliers and 4 in 100 partner with suppliers.

The authors suggest the following plan of action:

• Segment and prioritize suppliers by emissions footprint and climate risk exposure to profit pools.
• Launch a holistic supplier engagement program and activate targeted levers by segment.
• Mobilize a lean climate team to set the climate agenda and ringfence a “seed” budget to kick-start action.
• Begin integrating Scope 3 into the wider business strategy to lay the foundation for low-carbon transformation.

"With mandatory disclosures gaining prominence and investors increasingly pricing in climate risk, corporates are under growing scrutiny and must act now to align with
a low-carbon future," the report says.