Today, 70% of the world’s electricity comes from fossil fuels. As the planet faces extreme ramifications of climate change, Nexans is leading the charge in the decarbonization of electricity.

Nexans has an ambitious pledge to contribute to carbon neutrality by 2030, validated by Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) with targets to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 46.2 percent and its Scope 3 by 24 percent, by 2030 (vs the base year 2019). As part of the company's Carbon ambitions, Nexans actively engages its suppliers throughout the value chain to meet its targets.

This means working alongside suppliers to find innovative ways to reduce carbon emissions and reduce wastage of raw materials across the entire supply chain — from the extraction of copper and aluminum, production of raw materials, through the shipment up to the disposal of used products.

How Nexans onboards suppliers in the decarbonization journey

To actively onboard its suppliers in the decarbonization journey, Nexans exchanges regularly with them, share best practices, co-innovates, assess their Environmental performance, reward the best in class, and inspires them.

• Nexans reviews with its top suppliers during the business meetings (at least twice a year) their lower-carbon offers as well as their carbon reduction actions.
• Nexans co-innovates to develop disruptive low-carbon solutions in partnership with suppliers.
• The suppliers Best-in-class are awarded during the Nexans Suppliers Day, once a year, in 5 categories. There are especially the category “CSR & Environment” rewarding the best supplier with Carbon reduction actions as well as the category “Innovation and differentiation” also rewarding best-in-class supplier with an innovation project, which also impacts positively the carbon emissions. In addition, to inspire its suppliers, Nexans organized its first-ever Supplier Carbon roundtable with its top suppliers, during 2022 Nexans Suppliers Day.
• Nexans has put in place a survey to map its suppliers’ Carbon maturity, to define priorities in terms of carbon-reduction actions and take their Carbon maturity into account when awarding business. The Carbon survey is sent to Nexans top 100 direct suppliers, to understand their policy regarding global warming and circular economy, their offer in recycled materials, their EPD (Environmental Production Declaration, based on LCA, compliant to ISO 14040-44, using indicators of  EN 15804:2019+A2 and verified by an external independent company) and their transport CO2 reduction actions. Business is then awarded on TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) basis, including the suppliers’ CSR global performance (Nexans CSR Charter signed, Supplier’s CSR scorecard issued by Ecovadis or equivalent, CSR audit on site if any) as well as the suppliers’ Carbon maturity.

Examples of best practices in promoting sustainability across the value chain

Rexel’s innovative Partner4Planet program aims to reduce the company's overall carbon emissions, especially Scope 3, which represents up to 98% of its overall emissions.

Rexel provides a homogeneous and quantifiable approach to assess carbon impact throughout their supply chain and, in return, provide their customers with certified data. To accelerate the visibility to customers, Rexel needs its suppliers to be actively involved in these sustainability initiatives.

The Partner4Planet program, in which Nexans is the first of three suppliers to be included, is based on factual data and focuses on three key pillars: sustainable offer, supply chain optimization, and end-of-life recyclability. Nexans' innovative ULTRACKER drum and its copper recycling is one example of several initiatives helping to reduce Rexel's Scope 3 carbon emissions.

As part of the program, preferred suppliers need to offer low-carbon transportation and use recycled materials in their products and packaging while also signing Rexel's sustainable supplier charter.

Going further, Rexel will continue to extend its Partner4Planet and involve more suppliers in it, while continuing to build further with pioneers like Nexans.

Photo: ©Indigo

Alcoa has a corporate vision to reinvent the aluminum industry for a sustainable future, backed by mid-range and long-range sustainability goals. The company takes a comprehensive view of sustainability, beginning with responsible bauxite mining with a focus on biodiversity and then progressing with low-carbon technologies for alumina refining and aluminum smelting and casting.

Alcoa’s Sustana™ family of low-carbon products is the most comprehensive in the aluminum industry, and 81% of the Alcoa’s global smelting portfolio is powered by renewable energy. The company also has a roadmap of breakthrough research and development programs that have the potential to decarbonize the aluminum industry.

The forward-thinking approach taken by Alcoa exemplifies why suppliers must anticipate their customers' requirements for low-carbon products and services to ensure they are ready beforehand. And why it's important not to wait until customers ask or until imposed regulations — it's vital to act now and be prepared.

Photo: courtesy of Alcoa

Reducing carbon emissions increasingly relies on moving to transportation with reduced environmental footprint and localizing the supply chain. AllChiefs sees the multilayers of logistic outsourcing as the biggest challenge in tracking emissions for companies.

It starts with small pilot projects and building upon successes. It is about pushing transport suppliers to invest, for example, in low-carbon trucks (electric, biomass, compressed natural gas, or hybrid) before future regulations impose taxes on diesel engine transportation. Exactly what Nexans has already initiated in 2022 through 1st  Long-Term Agreements with some strategic transport partners in France.

AllChiefs foresees a day when regulations make it cheaper to use low-carbon transport. But there is no time to waste: practical ways to start now, according to AllChiefs, are to increase truck capacity loads and organize routes to avoid empty returns and shorter delivery routes.

Amplifying the journey to carbon neutrality

Rexel, Alcoa and AllChiefs exemplify the importance of building strong customer and supplier partnerships to develop innovative new technologies and solutions in reducing carbon emissions while ensuring market competitiveness.

Nexans is working with its suppliers to amplify the journey to carbon neutrality and highly values its suppliers’ drive to a sustainable future.