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illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on World Economic Forum or enjoy below:
🗞️ Driving the news: The World Economic Forum has announced the four winners of its Downstream Solutions Challenge, spotlighting leading innovations that tackle downstream Scope 3 emissions—often the largest and most complex segment of corporate carbon footprints
• The selected companies — Schneider Electric, Vestas, DHL, and BBVA — demonstrated scalable impact across design, logistics, collaboration, and finance
🔭 The context: Scope 3 downstream emissions include those generated during product use, disposal, and distribution — areas often beyond direct corporate control
• For the 133 companies in the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, these emissions account for 67% of total value chain emissions, equivalent to 3.5 gigatonnes of CO₂e — comparable to India’s annual fossil fuel emissions
• The Challenge aims to showcase actionable strategies to reduce these emissions while building long-term competitiveness
🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Downstream emissions represent one of the most critical blind spots in global decarbonisation efforts
• These winning solutions demonstrate how targeted action — whether through redesigning products, decarbonising supply chains, or embedding sustainability into financial tools — can achieve tangible results
• Addressing Scope 3 is essential to reaching corporate net-zero targets and driving systemic climate solutions across sectors
⏭️ What's next: The four winners offer replicable models for other industries:
• Schneider Electric’s AirSeT switchgear replaces SF₆, a potent greenhouse gas, with clean alternatives, already avoiding 1.2 million tonnes of CO₂e
• Vestas is decarbonising wind turbines through low-emissions steel, cutting lifecycle tower emissions by up to 52%
• DHL’s GoGreen Plus reduced 1.6 million tonnes of CO₂e in 2024 using sustainable fuels and electric logistics
• BBVA’s Sustainable Ecosystems finance tools enable downstream clients to decarbonise operations, including solar deployment for SMEs
• The initiative provides a blueprint for how companies can transform downstream impact into opportunity while influencing policies, suppliers, and markets
💬 One quote: “Scope 3 is where the majority of emissions — and the biggest climate opportunities — lie. These solutions show that business can lead in shaping resilient, low-carbon value chains.” – World Economic Forum
📈 One stat: Scope 3 downstream emissions among Alliance members total 3.5 gigatonnes of CO₂e, equal to the annual fossil fuel emissions of India
See on illuminem's Data Hub™ the sustainability performance of Schneider Electric, Vestas, DHL, and BBVA and their peers Siemens, Ørsted, UPS, and Santander
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