Navigating the Complexity of Decarbonization in Consumer Goods
Sustainability is more than just a buzzword when it comes to CPG — companies are under increasing pressure to track and reduce their carbon emissions to meet decarbonization mandates and increased consumer demand for eco-friendly products.
Vishnu Nair, head of Zeigo Activate, shares his expertise on the biggest hurdles in sustainability tracking, the unique needs of small- and medium-sized businesses, and the misconceptions surrounding sustainability efforts in the consumer goods industry.
From talent shortages to the complexities of decarbonizing Scope 3 emissions, Vishnu offers insights into how technology and collaboration can drive meaningful climate action.
CGT: What are some of the biggest challenges today's CPGs face when it comes to tracking sustainability progress?
Vishnu Nair: One of the biggest challenges is talent. There has been a sudden demand for sustainability talent, but the few available are usually scooped up by larger companies with big climate programs. This leaves other smaller companies in the lurch to deal with a domain-specific challenge for which they don't have in-house expertise.
This is where purpose-built software can help. With the right design, carbon management can be simplified to the point that you wouldn't require a subject matter expert. Zeigo Activate is an action-based software where you can calculate your emissions baseline, set a target, and receive a customized roadmap that gives you specific actions to take that will help reduce your footprint.
CGT: How do SMB tech needs differ from large CPGs in this regard?
Nair: Larger companies tend to have ambitious, more complex sustainability programs that require an equally complex mesh of software solutions to set up and run. SMBs tend to find these complex software solutions to be very confusing.
SMBs would instead benefit from software that is optimized for their size and complexity, with plenty of guidance built in so they don't need to hire dedicated incremental sustainability headcount. Zeigo Activate is designed specifically for SMBs that are at any stage in their decarbonization journey by offering easy-to-use software to navigate the process of decarbonizing, which can be overwhelming at times.
CGT: What are some misconceptions surrounding sustainability tracking in consumer goods?
Nair: There's a common perception that sustainability in the consumer goods space is very product-focused and revolves around circularity. While definitely an important sustainability metric, it doesn't in any way negate the need for companies to also address their emissions.
CGT: Where would the industry benefit from more collaboration?
Nair: Decarbonizing Scope 3 emissions, whether on the customer side or the supplier side, could always benefit from strength in numbers. An example of this is Schneider Electric’s very own Energize Program — a collaboration with over 20 global pharmaceutical companies to engage hundreds of suppliers in bold climate action and decarbonization of the pharmaceutical value chain.
The program is a first-of-its-kind effort to leverage the scale of a single industry’s global supply chain in a pre-competitive fashion to drive system-level change.
