Sweep

Questel, a global provider of intellectual property solutions with 80 business units worldwide, was facing a challenge in managing their carbon emissions. They had already conducted a carbon footprint assessment of their French offices, but were looking for a solution to streamline data collection for all their business units across the world. The first step for most companies is to provide adequate tools and resources to team leaders so they know how to find relevant information on greenhouse gas emissions. For large global organizations like Questel, leveraging business intelligence is a no-brainer – to speed up data analysis, get an overview of global emissions, and implement a reduction strategy as soon as possible. This also helps meet the current and upcoming climate disclosure regulations that are becoming top-of-mind for investors and CEOs.

Shine, a French startup offering digital banking services to small businesses and self-employed individuals, faced a significant challenge in calculating their carbon footprint. This task was particularly daunting for smaller companies like Shine, which often lack the time, resources, and sustainability expertise required for such an endeavor. The challenge was further compounded by the difficulty in collecting information on indirect, scope 3 emissions. Solid data on these emissions, which typically constitute the largest part of a company's carbon footprint, was not readily available. This lack of data prevented Shine from effectively addressing this significant aspect of their environmental impact.

Withings, a French electronics manufacturer, is committed to designing durable and low-carbon products that improve people's health. However, eco-design, or the process of designing low-carbon products, is a complex task. It requires detailed information on each stage of a product's life cycle, from material sourcing to product disposal, and testing alternatives to minimize the carbon footprint. The challenge lies in obtaining accurate measurements, which require high-quality emission factors at each step of the product's journey. Finding these can be time-consuming and expensive, depending on the emission factor databases involved, which can be national or international, public or private, and vary in scope. Additionally, conducting a life cycle assessment can be beyond the company's immediate control, as it involves gathering data on suppliers, which may not always be available or of good quality.

Ubisoft, a leading video game publisher, was faced with the challenge of supporting climate projects in a meaningful and impactful way. The complexity of the carbon market, with its increasing size and variety of projects, traders, and emerging certification standards, posed significant hurdles. The company found it difficult to build a contribution portfolio that was consistent with its climate program. Additionally, there was confusion about how to incorporate these contributions into the company's climate program and align them with corporate values. This confusion could potentially deter the development of a coherent strategy and support for projects that could make a real difference in combating the climate crisis.

2050, a Paris-based venture capital firm, faced a significant challenge in managing and reducing the carbon footprint of their investment portfolio. As a financial organization, the majority of their carbon emissions, often over 90%, come from their investments. This is a common issue for venture capital and private equity funds. The challenge lies in coordinating the measurement and reduction of emissions across all the companies they've invested in. The difficulty is twofold: obtaining complete and consistent data from all investees and convincing these portfolio companies to regularly engage in carbon management work. Despite the resistance from many investment organizations to tackle their scope 3 emissions, the impending new regulations on carbon reporting and the low-carbon transition necessitate this hurdle to be overcome.

Balderton, a leading venture capital investor in Europe, was faced with the challenge of managing its carbon footprint and contributing to global net-zero targets. The firm had defined a set of values and Sustainable Future Goals (SFGs) in 2020, which were informed by the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The firm decided to track and grow its positive impact across internal operations, portfolio companies, and investment decision-making. This included initiatives such as diversity & inclusion practices, a startup guide to ESG, and carbon emission management. However, the process of carbon footprinting was a lengthy data collection exercise. Since the majority of their footprint came from investments, they needed to collect and track the emission data of each investee. This meant engaging over 115 companies of different sizes, industries, and at different stages of growth. The challenge was to tailor the measurement approach to each company's unique situation, taking into account factors such as team sizes and company stages.

Margo, an IT consulting group, is committed to sustainability and social responsibility. They have been actively involved in measuring and improving their environmental impact, training teams on the environmental footprint of digital activities, and taking steps to reduce their impact. However, they faced a challenge in understanding their environmental footprint, particularly their greenhouse gas emissions. They had little knowledge of carbon accounting and how to reduce their emissions, a problem common to many companies today. Additionally, Margo was seeking a collaborative solution to implement a climate program that would involve all their stakeholders in acting for the planet. They needed the right tools and resources to implement this program smoothly across their offices in Paris, London, and Warsaw.

Prose, a sustainable beauty brand, was facing challenges in accurately measuring and managing their carbon emissions. Traditionally, companies like Prose have relied on consulting firms to measure their emissions. However, this approach often left them with a static image of their carbon footprint, updated only once a year, and a lack of understanding of how the footprint was calculated or how to take action on it. This approach was particularly limiting when trying to calculate the precise carbon footprint of each product, which required looking at emissions at every stage of a product’s life-cycle, from material sourcing to product disposal after consumer use. Prose wanted to involve employees working on various product stages and use the data to develop low-carbon alternatives.

Swisscom, the largest telecommunications company in Switzerland, was facing a significant challenge in reducing its carbon footprint. The majority of the company's emissions were not direct but came from the components and devices they purchased from suppliers and manufacturers, known as scope 3 emissions. With a network of over 4,000 suppliers, coordinating efforts to reduce these emissions was a massive task. The challenge was further complicated by the fact that not all suppliers had the same level of carbon literacy or were at the same stage in their climate journey. Collecting data, ensuring its quality, and monitoring emissions in real-time was a daunting task. The use of spreadsheets for these tasks made the process even more difficult and inefficient.