Do This One Thing BEFORE You Ask Suppliers for Sustainability Information

May 15, 2012 The SSC Team

Today, we showcase the third of four video clips with Kenton Harmer (you can read Part 1 and Part 2 in case you missed them), one of the lead researchers on the Agriculture Emissions Supply Chain Report by the Carbon Disclosure Project. In this video, Kenton reveals what companies should do BEFORE embarking on a data-gathering mission with their suppliers.

A Conversation with Kenton Harmer of Common Fields - Part 3 of 4

Thanks to Kenton for his insight -- and stay tuned for our next follow-up article with the final clip from our interview!

About Kenton Harmer

Kenton Harmer is the Senior Vice President of Milepost Consulting and Co-Director of Common Fields. Common Fields, the agriculture practice of Milepost Consulting, is an industry leader at creating and implementing evidence-based sustainability strategies for the agriculture sector. As one of the founding partners of Common Fields, Kenton’s experience is in developing methodologies and systems that measure the sustainability performance of agricultural operations and sectors. With an MBA in Sustainable Management, Kenton specializes in translating this technical data into strategies and lasting changes that improve an organization’s market position and long-term profitability. Contact him at kenton@common-fields.com.

Why Can't We Get Robust Supply Chain Emissions Data?

May 10, 2012 The SSC Team

In 2011, the Carbon Disclosure Project chose agriculture as the focus of their pilot study on carbon emissions and the supply chain. Using the examples of tomatoes and potatoes, the research team looked at how effective, robust, and accessible it was to gather data from agriculture suppliers. The results, compiled in Unearthed: Agricultural Emissions in the Corporate Supply Chain, are fascinating and offer lessons for companies in a variety of industries -- particularly those with major supply chain sustainability challenges.

Below, we showcase the second of four video clips with Kenton Harmer (you can read Part 1 here), one of the lead researchers on the CDP agriculture report and a great friend to Strategic Sustainability Consulting. In this clip, Kenton discusses the key obstacles to getting high-quality emissions data from producers and packages. There are great lessons here for ALL companies thinking about supply chain sustainability.

A Conversation with Kenton Harmer of Common Fields - Part 2 of 4

Thanks to Kenton for his insight -- and stay tuned for follow-up articles with the remaining two clips from our interview!

About Kenton Harmer

Lessons on Supplier Sustainability from the Agriculture Sector

May 8, 2012 The SSC Team

There are three things you need to know about the agriculture sector and sustainability:

The agriculture sector is responsible for about 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and about 8% of US greenhouse gas emissions.
Up to 80% (and sometimes more) of the emissions from agriculture products (food, feed, etc.) occur on the farm and during packaging.
It is also one of the sectors most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (shifting weather patterns, drought, extreme weather events, etc.).

It makes sense then, that the Carbon Disclosure Project would choose agriculture as the focus of their 2011 pilot study on carbon emissions and the supply chain. Using the examples of tomatoes and potatoes, the research team looked at how effective, robust, and accessible it was to gather data from agriculture suppliers. The results, compiled in Unearthed: Agricultural Emissions in the Corporate Supply Chain, are fascinating and offer lessons for companies in a variety of industries -- particularly those with major supply chain sustainability challenges.

Below, we showcase the first of four video clips with Kenton Harmer, one of the lead researchers on the CDP agriculture report (and a great friend to Strategic Sustainability Consulting). In this introduction, Kenton provides an overview of the report's findings and discusses some of the surprising discoveries uncovered in his research.