Our journey to reduce Scope 3 emissions

Scope 3 emissions are indirect emissions, meaning they are a result of activities not directly produced within our own operations. They also represent the largest portion of emissions, and require innovative, data-driven approaches and supplier collaborations to effectively mitigate them.

Recently, Bristol Myers Squibb had the opportunity to join like-minded sustainability leaders at this year’s GreenBiz24  conference. The annual event, which took place February 12-14 in Phoenix, Arizona, is considered the premier event for sustainable business leaders to discuss critical environmental sustainability challenges and solutions. One of the highlights was BMS’ participation in a “Scope 3 Bootcamp,” an interactive deep dive session in which we explored best practices in tackling Scope 3 emissions.

Unlike Scope 1 and 2 emissions, Scope 3 emissions can be difficult to track since they are produced outside of our company’s own operations. During the four-hour session, panelists shared best practices on data collection, aggregation and validation. At BMS, we have designed an end-to-end program which allows us to understand the nature of the data we are collecting. We have also been expanding our tracking and management of Scope 3 emissions to 10 categories and we go even further by having all our categories third party verified.

Panelists also explored topics around supplier engagement and the importance of industry partnerships and initiatives. At BMS, we understand the importance of these points well and are incredibly proud of being involved in critical programs such as Schneider Electric’s Energize, Manufacture 2030’s Project Activate and My Green Lab’s Converge program, all of which help bring solutions at scale to pharmaceutical supply chains. 
 

Working hand and hand with suppliers to achieve shared sustainability goals

We know supplier engagement can make a significant impact not only in how we serve our patients, but on our collective environmental footprint, specifically as it relates to emissions reduction.

We explored this topic during the panel and breakout sessions where we discussed the importance of evaluating suppliers’ sustainability practices to ensure they are aligned with our values and ESG commitments. Whether it is managing existing supplier relationships or forming new ones, it is critical that we review their environmental goals, targets and progress, just as we would evaluate their products and service quality, logistics, price and other characteristics.  

Our sustainable procurement team is expanding their collaboration with suppliers through BMS’ Responsible Sourcing Program to help them take steps to reduce their GHG emissions and set sustainability goals that are science led and externally verifiable.