WHAT THE DATA SHOWS
Unlocking The Scope 3 Maturity Benchmark data
Each element is scored on a 1-5 scale, relating to the maturity steps identified by the original architects of The Benchmark (comprising of Proxima plus a number of companies from The Scope 3 Peer Group). The steps relate to what these founding companies have done, are doing, and perceive that they will do in the future.
Overall, all the pillar scores have surpassed the initial pilot stage of the benchmark but have yet to exceed the 4.0 mark. This will reflect the size of the sample (going beyond an advanced few) and the fact that many organizations are still starting out or in the early stages of maturity, seeking to learn from others.
‘Strategy’ is the highest-performing area, averaging 3.7 for the leading organizations and 2.3 as a median. At the opposite end of the scale is ‘People,’ which has a median of 1.8, reflecting the biggest delta versus the leading organizations. ‘Process’ and ‘Performance Management' are lowest for the leaders at 3.1. The graphic illustrates that the leading organizations are one to two transformational phases ahead of the median.
Performance by pillar: Averages of median vs leaders
Reflecting on the maturity pillars, three notable elements are pulling down the overall pillar scores for Strategy, People, and Supplier Engagement. These elements are Net Zero Procurement Strategy, Talent Acquisition and Retention, and Net Zero Supplier Management Framework, respectively. It is possible to argue that these are three critical fundamentals without which organizations will struggle to make broader progress.When looking at the elements as a whole, in between the peaks and troughs, there continues to be consistently average performance across all organizations for some of the more “structural elements,” such as Sourcing and Contracting Processes, Procurement Policies, and Governance, Controls, and Risk. With 1-2 sourcing cycles left for many critical goods and services before 2030, it is a concern that many of the fundamentals required are lagging behind our ambitions and commitments. However, the benchmark model points to clear steps that can be taken in these areas and has been used by many of the group to plot their path and support their investment case. The Net Zero Procurement Strategy is emerging as a keystone for this maturity leap and is covered later in this report.
Performance by Benchmark Topic
All of the companies that have repeated the benchmark annually have seen an upward trend across all maturity pillars. The main area of improvement is within People, reflecting the need to embed knowledge and capability into their teams and the wider organization.
The People Effect: Anniversary Trends of Returning Companies
As was the case with the pilot sample, the four elements that returned the lowest scores are directly related to progress in embedding some of the fundamentals required to drive impact in Scope 3: People, Policy, Process, and Supplier Management. While Talent scores the lowest, the poor score may reflect still ill-defined careers in the sustainable procurement market. Looking elsewhere within People, Acceptance of the Decarbonization Transition and Carbon Literacy, Knowledge, and Expertise are high scoring (relatively). This may further suggest that part of the answer to the resourcing challenge must be improving capability by focusing on wider business education (in addition to upskilling internal teams and boosting partner capabilities).
The Strategic Disconnect: Highest and Lowest Scoring Elements by Median
