As 2026 unfolds, businesses worldwide are feeling the effects of a rapidly shifting landscape. Geopolitical instability, resource constraints, and accelerating regulatory pressures are transforming global trade and corporate climate expectations like never before.
Most companies are woven into complex, globally distributed value chains. Their climate impact does not stop at their own operations. It ripples across suppliers, partners and markets, extending far beyond their direct emissions. As this becomes increasingly visible through regulation, data transparency, and stakeholder expectations, reducing emissions across supply chains has shifted from a long‑term aspiration to a practical, strategic priority. Many organisations have already laid the foundation for this transition, building traceability systems, engaging suppliers, and rethinking materials and product design.
The 1.5 °C Supply Chain Leaders initiative continues to stand out as a platform for credible climate action. Since its launch, the group has defined what best practice value‑chain decarbonisation looks like, pioneering supplier‑engagement models, publishing practical action guides, and scaling global platforms such as the SME Climate Hub, which recently reached 10,000 commitments globally. This leadership has never been more essential: supply‑chain emissions can average more than eleven times those from a company’s own operations, making them the single largest driver of both climate risk and opportunity.
And the progress is now unmistakably quantifiable. Analysis of 2024 data shows that 88% of companies in the initiative with comprehensive Scope 3 reporting are on track to meet their near‑term emissions‑reduction targets. This stands in stark contrast to the global market, where many organisations still struggle to map Scope 3 data, set actionable supplier targets, or verify reductions. The results from this group show that the barriers often cited as reasons for inaction are no longer defensible. What was once considered too complex, or too distant, is now demonstrably achievable.
Who’s leading the charge?
The 1.5 C Supply Chain Leaders group consists of Apple, IKEA, Polestar, Telia, Unilever, Scan Global Logistics, and new members Speedy Hire and Icebug, each recognised under the Exponential Roadmap Initiative’s 5 Pillar Framework, specifically Pillar 2, for their leadership in decarbonising supply chains.
“We’re delighted to join the Supply Chain Leaders. As we continue to progress our own decarbonisation journey, we see effective communication and the sharing of best practice as critical. We look forward to contributing openly and helping build greater understanding across the value chain.”
Andy Connor, Innovation and Supply Chain Director, Speedy Hire
Examples from the 1.5 °C Supply Chain Leaders
Spanning technology, retail, telecoms, consumer goods and logistics, these companies apply a diverse range of strategies across their value chains, illustrating how collective ambition translates into measurable outcomes. Here are some examples of the work that has been done to date:
Polestar
Polestar, an electric vehicle manufacturer, has been focused on decoupling growth from Scope 3 emissions. Since 2020, it has reduced GHG emissions per vehicle sold by 24.7%, largely through supply‑chain action. This includes shifting to low carbon materials, improving battery production processes and using lower emission ocean freight. By switching to biofuels for shipping, the company has cut freight emissions by up to 25%.
Apple
Apple is operationalising circularity as a Scope 3 strategy. In 2024, 24% of the materials shipped in its products came from recycled sources, reducing upstream emissions and unlocking new material supply. By 2025, Apple cut total emissions by over 60% versus its 2015 baseline, driven largely by supplier energy transitions and lower‑carbon materials, and is working towards its 2030 emissions goals.
Telia
Telia is focusing on its biggest climate challenge – Scope 3 emission. Using advanced supplier‑level tracking tools to pinpoint hotspots and measure progress. Currently, 45% of its supply‑chain emissions are covered by science‑based targets, with another 14% awaiting validation, and a goal to reach 72% by 2025. Its net‑zero 2040 target, approved by the SBTi, is supported by a clear transition plan centered on strong supplier engagement.
Unilever
Unilever is focused on value‑chain decarbonisation, targeting a 42% reduction in Scope 3 energy and industrial emissions and a 30.3% reduction in Scope 3 Forest, Land, and Agriculture (FLAG) emissions by 2030. Progress is already underway. By the end of 2024 scope 3 FLAG emissions were down 14%, and energy/industrial emissions were down 8% vs 2021. Delivery is centred around partner engagement and system‑level change, from supporting key suppliers to switch to renewable energy to advocacy to accelerate the transition of the chemicals industry away from fossil fuels towards bio‑based alternatives.
Speedy hire
To drive Scope 3 reductions, Speedy Hire is the only hire company verified to PAS 2080, enabling it to support customers in decarbonising their projects. It is also aligned with ISO 20400 to deliver sustainable procurement and is piloting the industry’s first Net Zero Recognition Scheme. Together, these initiatives position Speedy Hire as a new benchmark for how a hire company can decarbonise its own operations, its supply chain, and its customers.
Icebug
Icebug is rapidly scaling supply‑chain decarbonisation by supporting key factories in Vietnam to adopt solar energy, expanding FSC‑certified natural rubber across its products, and improving emissions transparency through supplier data. The company has also, for example, shifted fully to sea freight for inbound transport, using lower‑emission shipping options. With strong partnerships and active work to align suppliers with science‑based targets, Icebug is embedding climate action across its entire value chain.
Across all leaders: A clear pattern emerges
Together, these achievements reveal a new global standard for supply‑chain climate leadership, one built on:
- credible, supplier‑level science‑based targets
- renewable electricity across manufacturing networks
- circular and low‑carbon material strategies
- transparent and verified emissions data
- low‑carbon logistics and modal shifts
These companies are demonstrating that deep, scalable value‑chain transformation isn’t theoretical. It is already being implemented and delivering measurable results.
A clear direction, with accelerating ambition ahead
The momentum behind the 1.5 °C Supply Chain Leaders initiative shows that real, scalable decarbonisation is no longer a distant ambition but an operational reality.
Looking ahead, the initiative will focus on supporting execution through strengthening peer learning, enabling companies to accelerate action across their supply chains. Stay tuned for new updates, success stories, and opportunities to engage as we move from commitments to high‑impact implementation.
