To address this, our –30 by 30 program aims to reduce the emissions from our most significant Scope 3 emission sources by 30% by 2030, compared to a 2018 baseline. Emission‑reduction measures taken by our suppliers together with own product and supplier choices play an essential role in achieving this target.
Carbon pricing can guide supplier and product choices
Two sourcing managers, Camiel Verhoofstad and Yuanliang Hu, are working to turn climate impact into a financial factor by piloting a hypothetical, “shadow” carbon price with products in their respective sourcing categories – external pulp and optical brighteners.
“In practice, when comparing suppliers and products, we assign a monetary value to carbon. While still hypothetical, this value will increasingly steer our commercial decisions toward low carbon alternatives in the future,” explains Camiel.
How does the calculation work?
“It’s actually quite simple,” Yuanliang says. “Alongside product prices, we list the carbon footprints of each supplier’s offering. The lowest footprint becomes our baseline. For every option that exceeds this baseline, we calculate a hypothetical additional cost based on the delta, meaning the difference in emissions.”
The calculation generally uses the carbon price applied in the EU Emission Trading System.
“This gives us a clear picture of how integrating a carbon price changes the total cost comparison. Even a supplier quoting an attractive price per ton of pulp may no longer be cost‑competitive once the carbon price is included.”
The table below illustrates how carbon pricing can affect total costs.
