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The Scope 3 struggle – and what to do about it
‘Obstacles to Opportunities’ was the theme of Mitie’s latest decarbonisation breakfast briefing – and one obstacle received close scrutiny on the day.
The challenge of reducing indirect Scope 3 emissions – those that occur within an organisation’s supply chain – was a recurring theme at the packed event in Mitie HQ in The Shard.
Hosted by Mitie’s Director of Consulting and Energy Solutions, Alex Avila, the session brought together leaders from across the public and private sector to discuss the ongoing challenge of reaching net zero.
“Scope 3 is the elephant in the room.”
Alex summed up what many see as the biggest decarbonisation obstacle of all, stating: “Scope 3 is the elephant in the room. Organisations are really parking that problem given its scale and complexity. In Mitie’s Net Zero Navigator 2025, we reported that according to CDP, only 15% of business have a plan to reduce Scope 3 emissions.”
Growing pressure to decarbonise
The lack of such plans is concerning – particularly with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s COP29 commitment to cut UK CO2 emissions by 81% by 2035. This only adds to the pressure organisations face to rapidly accelerate decarbonisation efforts across Scope 1, 2 and 3.
While the challenge is clear, Mitie CEO, Phil Bentley, underlined that ultimately organisations and society have much to gain from reaching net zero.
He said: “Different forms of energy have transformed the world we live in. We understand the importance of what we’re each doing today – bringing a net zero society, lower global warming and heralding a sustainable energy future…Most CEOs are grappling with the challenge. Taking on this challenge starts with a vision and every organisation has to play their part.”
Now or never for sustainability
Director of Strategy and Policy at EDF, Josh Buckland, went on to give the keynote speech, which drew on the theme of decarbonisation’s obstacles and opportunities.
Having worked in energy and sustainability for Government, Josh helped establish the UK commitment to reach net zero by 2050 in law.
“Fundamentally we are in a really decisive year for sustainability.”
Even though the deadline remains 25 years away, Josh highlighted that to achieve the goal, action taken in the next year will be critical.
He said: “Fundamentally we are in a really decisive year for sustainability. To an extent it’s now or never…The pressure on businesses to make the green transition and take up green technologies is more stretching than we’ve ever seen…How can we be creative and use these new technologies to advance sustainability and see this as a positive business and economic opportunity?”
Josh’s advice for organisations was to do what they can to get ahead; this will not only achieve sustainability goals, but also bring added economic benefits by making the UK a beacon for eco-friendly business.
He said: “There’s an opportunity for us to identify areas where we can go beyond regulatory requirements and stretch what is possible. The more that businesses are ahead of the regulatory curve, the easier it is for governments to raise the bar…How do we show that sustainability is critical to the future businesses that we want to build in the UK? The green technologies, the power of AI, the opportunities around technology will make Britain a place where you can do business – and potentially an area of real strategic leadership.”
Data’s critical role
The briefing confirmed that while decarbonisation is high on many organisations’ agenda, they are often unsure about how to reach net zero.
Mitie’s Head of Data and Technology: Energy, Catherine Wheatley, made clear that data is essential to reduce emissions – particularly those that fall within Scope 3.
She said: “We’re seeing that Scope 3 counts for more than 80% of each organisation’s emissions. Mitie has committed to reducing Scope 3 emissions to zero by 2035 and we’re getting questions about how we are identifying what they are and where they are occurring. Data is critical – and because it is often all over the place across disparate sources, that can be a challenge. But it is needed to make key decarbonisation decisions.”
Big opportunity for AI
During the panel discussion, a line-up of experts answered questions about the obstacles and opportunities of net zero – and again Scope 3 cropped up.
Professor in Process Systems Engineering at Imperial College London, Nilay Shah, emphasised that artificial intelligence will be essential for any decarbonisation strategy that eventually leads to zero emissions.
“AI is going to be very helpful in demystifying Scope 3.”
Prof Shah said: “Scope 3 is probably the big thing over the next five to 10 years. I see a big opportunity for AI where people are starting to address it…In terms of technology, supply chain, procurement decisions and so on, I think AI is going to be very helpful in demystifying Scope 3 and reducing Scope 3 – but with confidence…You can start to look at your roadmap to decarbonisation in a much more sophisticated way.”
Get carbon reporting on track
The need for a smart carbon reporting solution prompted Mitie to partner with SalesForce in 2024, resulting in our Emissions Intelligence offer.
As part of the development team, Alex Avila explained it was designed to simplify the complexity of reducing Scope 3 emissions.
Attendees also heard how laws around emissions reporting are only going to get tighter as three significant UK decarbonisation deadlines approach:
- 68% compared to 1990 levels by 2030
- 81% compared to 1990 levels by 2035
- 100% compared to 1990 levels by 2050
Catherine said: “We’ve seen an increase in legislation – both in the UK and globally…There’s a move towards audit grade data, similar to that in the financial world…It’s vast amounts of data – and AI is quite good assimilating vast amounts of data and looking for patterns within it.”
So, while the challenge of net zero and Scope 3 reduction persists, the briefing made clear that the technology and means to get there exist – but the will to succeed is crucial.
Alex concluded: “This year is one for action. Hopefully we all keep progressing on this net zero journey together.”
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