For a hotel business, Scope 3 is where the material emissions risk sits. Food, drink, and linen dominate supplier spend, and they dominate the emissions footprint. Most hotel groups are reporting against spend-based averages that bear little resemblance to what their actual suppliers are doing.

I was brought in to review the top ten suppliers by spend and close the gap between reported figures and reality. The first supplier-specific factor I obtained came in 77% below the spend-based figure the client had been using. That single data point reframed the entire conversation.

Working through the full top ten, I engaged each supplier to surface their own emissions data and the programmes sitting behind it. The client now has more accurate numbers, closer supplier relationships, and a procurement team actively connecting sustainability performance to commercial decision-making.