Sweep

Questel, a global provider of intellectual property solutions with 80 business units worldwide, was facing a challenge in managing their carbon emissions. They had already conducted a carbon footprint assessment of their French offices, but were looking for a solution to streamline data collection for all their business units across the world. The first step for most companies is to provide adequate tools and resources to team leaders so they know how to find relevant information on greenhouse gas emissions. For large global organizations like Questel, leveraging business intelligence is a no-brainer – to speed up data analysis, get an overview of global emissions, and implement a reduction strategy as soon as possible. This also helps meet the current and upcoming climate disclosure regulations that are becoming top-of-mind for investors and CEOs.

Shine, a French startup offering digital banking services to small businesses and self-employed individuals, faced a significant challenge in calculating their carbon footprint. This task was particularly daunting for smaller companies like Shine, which often lack the time, resources, and sustainability expertise required for such an endeavor. The challenge was further compounded by the difficulty in collecting information on indirect, scope 3 emissions. Solid data on these emissions, which typically constitute the largest part of a company's carbon footprint, was not readily available. This lack of data prevented Shine from effectively addressing this significant aspect of their environmental impact.

Withings, a French electronics manufacturer, is committed to designing durable and low-carbon products that improve people's health. However, eco-design, or the process of designing low-carbon products, is a complex task. It requires detailed information on each stage of a product's life cycle, from material sourcing to product disposal, and testing alternatives to minimize the carbon footprint. The challenge lies in obtaining accurate measurements, which require high-quality emission factors at each step of the product's journey. Finding these can be time-consuming and expensive, depending on the emission factor databases involved, which can be national or international, public or private, and vary in scope. Additionally, conducting a life cycle assessment can be beyond the company's immediate control, as it involves gathering data on suppliers, which may not always be available or of good quality.