Accurate carbon tracking across the supply chain requires a decisive shift from high-level financial spend data to granular operational figures, supported by robust internal governance and collaborative supplier relationships.
The International Currency Association (ICA) Sustainability Committee, established in 2020, now brings together 14 member companies dedicated to driving environmental progress across our industry’s supply chain. A central part of our work involves investigating net-zero and other sustainability ambitions alongside suppliers and central banks, maintaining the ICA Sustainability Charter, and collaborating with the Mint Directors’ Working Group on research regarding the carbon footprint of cash payments.
Following clear demand from our previous feedback surveys, our recent members-only session tackled what is arguably the most daunting hurdle in corporate carbon accounting: navigating Scope 3 emissions. To guide us through this landscape, we invited Dr Toby Green, Co-founder and Commercial Director of My Carbon, to share his expertise in carbon quantification and net-zero strategies.
The Regulatory Landscape and the ‘Why’
Understanding supply chain emissions is no longer optional. Dr Green opened the session by outlining a shifting international regulatory framework. With critical compliance deadlines clustering around 2026 and 2027, companies face serious financial, legal, and reputational risks if their data fall short. Because sustainability legislation is notorious for last-minute revisions and shifting criteria, businesses must stay ahead of the curve through robust, proactive due diligence.
Moving Beyond Spend-Based Data
For many organisations, the financial purchase ledger serves as the initial single source of truth for carbon tracking. While calculating emissions based on financial spend is permitted under the GHG Protocol and works well for pinpointing high-level carbon hotspots, it is insufficient for a long-term net-zero strategy. If a business relies solely on spend data, its only lever for reducing emissions is to spend less money—an unrealistic constraint for companies looking to grow or purchase premium, lower-carbon materials.
The path forward requires transitioning to activity-based data (such as material weights) and, ultimately, supplier-specific data. Dr Green suggested implementing a data governance exercise within our firms. This means identifying specific data owners across corporate departments so that operational figures—like business travel miles, employee commuting surveys, and precise material grades for banknote or coin production—are systematically captured rather than scrambled for at year-end.
The Pitfalls of ‘Black Box’ Reporting
A major takeaway from the session was the danger of unquestioned software tools or consultants that promise ‘magic’ calculations. In carbon accounting, the basic arithmetic is simple, but the human judgement behind choosing the correct emission factors is incredibly complex. If you do not understand the inner mechanics of how your carbon footprint is calculated, the resulting figures become meaningless, leaving the business unable to make informed investments or defend its data during rigorous verification processes.
This baseline knowledge is especially critical when submitting targets to bodies like the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
Overcoming the Supplier Engagement Barrier
During our interactive breakout groups, members widely agreed that internal resource constraints and resistant suppliers are the primary bottlenecks to progress. Simply emailing a compliance form to a supplier with a cold deadline rarely yields accurate data. Instead, success lies in deeper collaboration. Hosting supplier days, explaining why supplier data are important to the organisation, building personal relationships, and demonstrating the shared commercial advantages of carbon tracking helps mature the supply chain together.
Ultimately, sustainability cannot be a siloed box-ticking exercise. True progress requires top-down accountability, with environmental targets tied directly to corporate strategy and financial incentives for key personnel. By mastering our data and fostering genuine industry collaboration, our sector can confidently navigate the path toward a low-carbon future.
