Tool which targets carbon emission hotspots in supply chains developed

Tool which targets carbon emission hotspots in supply chains developed

A management expert at the University of Sheffield has developed a tool to analyse supply chains in industry, enabling businesses to highlight waste hotspots and make their processes more environmentally friendly.

Professor Lenny Koh, of the University of Sheffield´s Management School, has created the Supply Chain Environmental Analysis Tool (SCEnAT) to help companies cut their carbon emissions.

The tool, which is already being used by a number of international companies and is being considered by aircraft engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce, creates a database of carbon usage, arming businesses with ways to reduce their carbon emissions and associated costs, providing interventions, as well as offering guidance and support.

"There was a need for a state-of-the-art tool for carbon emissions accounting and management across product supply chains," said Professor Koh, who is Director of the Logistics and Supply Chain Management (LSCM) Research Centre and Director of the Centre for Energy, Environment and Sustainability (CEES).

"SCEnAT was created by identifying shortcomings in existing tools and proposing a new framework to provide businesses with a holistic understanding of their supply chains. As well as ensuring partners within the networks have a shared understanding of their emissions.

"SCEnAT is a first step on the pathway in adopting a balanced, green, supply chain system approach. The main benefits of using it are that the visible process of strategic emission reduction allows firms to promote their green credentials to supply chain partners and customers, and it provides a single, easily accessible source of potential, low carbon, intervention solutions."

The carbon assessment and decision support tool looks at the whole supply chain, mapping out different tiers and identifying carbon hot-spots. It is a living system which is capable of updating itself with every application.

Nigel Davies, Manufacturing and Technical Director at Muntons plc, who make malt products, who has introduced the tool to the business, said: "The tool is a very practical and flexible system that Muntons plc has used to analyse and make real impacts on its supply chains."

The tool was presented at a conference hosted by DLA Piper LLP on The Business Strategy to Low Carbon Supply Chains targeting businesses and organisations interested in low carbon supply chain management.

Mark Tomlinson, Director of Operations at Sheffield Forgemasters International Ltd, said: "The model has been a handy tool which has assisted us in understanding our emissions profile. By engaging with the tool we have been able to identify carbon hotspots within our processes and the impacts of other supply chain inputs. "

Ian Shellard, Global Physical Logistics Director at Rolls-Royce plc, added: "Tools like SCEnAT can be used in a very creative way by Rolls-Royce for instance in assessing the total carbon impacts on different supply chain distribution options."

The research was led by the University of Sheffield, working in partnership with the Centre for Low Carbon Futures (CLCF), the University of York, the University of Hull, the Stockholm Environmental Institute, CEES, the LSCM Research Centre, and the CLCF Low Carbon Supply Chain Business Advisory Board.