Electricity networks must reduce their environmental impact by understanding current and future supply chain footprints. Following COP15 and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, businesses are required to disclose biodiversity risks. Accenture, a leading sustainability consultancy, is creating a bespoke, data-driven solution for the transmission sector to map supply chains and identify nature-related risks and opportunities.
The Challenge
To reach net zero sustainably, electricity networks must reduce their environmental impact, particularly across global supply chains. This means understanding both the current and future effects of their purchases and the environmental footprint of the products they use.
With this knowledge, they can make more responsible decisions and operate as sustainable businesses.
Following the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) and the approval of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) in December 2022, businesses must now assess and disclose:
• Their impact and dependence on biodiversity
• The risks to biodiversity from their operations and supply chains.
Currently, these risks in electricity network supply chains are not well understood. The network partners are working to improve engagement with suppliers to address this. The GBF has also led to the launch of the taskforce on nature-related financial disclosures (TNFD) and science-based targets for nature (SBTN), which aim to improve transparency. TNFD may become mandatory in the future.
The Innovator
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy and consulting, interactive, technology, and operations.
Accenture bring deep expertise in sustainability, nature, and utilities, and are ranked as the number one sustainability consultancy by IDC, Forbes, and the Financial Times.
What’s Next?
Accenture have an innovation-led approach to sustainability; data and AI capabilities can ensure insight generation, whilst protecting any commercially sensitive procurement/finance data across the network partners.
The project will involve several innovative elements, including:
- Co-creation of a first-of-its-kind, bespoke solution for the electricity transmission sector, consolidating relevant datasets and nature measurement frameworks into a streamlined output
- Mapping of the upstream supply chain for material focus areas, by bringing together leading-edge data sets or potentially using Accenture’s innovative supply chain mapping tool
- Expansion of Accenture’s collaborative nature risk and opportunity identification approach and innovation methods, to co-create a set of transmission sector risks and opportunities
- Extensive socialisation of the outcomes and learnings within National Grid Electricity Transmission, SP Energy Networks, Scottish & Southern Electricity Networks, plus the broader industry, catalysing broader innovation and nature action.