The landmark ruling in the Netherlands that Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) must reduce its CO2 emissions by 45% compared to 2019 levels, by 2030, will ripple through the entire energy sector. It is sure to cause significant alarm amongst fellow oil and gas giants who recognise – for perhaps the first time – that national courts can compel organisations to accelerate their reduction of harmful emissions under the Paris Agreement.

The importance of the wording in this ruling – that the reduction includes both Shell’s own CO2 emissions and those of its suppliers – cannot be overstated.

As organisations are increasingly considered responsible for the actions of their entire ecosystems, sustainability performance becomes contingent on supplier behaviour. The clearest example lies in Scope 3 ‘value chain’ emissions which, for many organisations, considerably exceed the CO2 they emit directly.

With rulings like the one made yesterday, it is clear that such collaboration is an urgent imperative: failure to improve across the supply chain will mean failure to meet sustainability targets. With every 5 weeks we lose 1% of the decade, and 2030 deadlines are looming.

To meet sustainability targets, it is critical that organisations work closely with stakeholders in the supply chain. Doing so with Supplier Collaboration & Innovation technology makes this infamously complex process simple by ensuring strategic alignment between buyer and supplier, providing comprehensive relationship governance and real-time performance visibility. This allows companies and their suppliers to work on sustainability initiatives more cohesively and develop innovative ideas through collaboration. Vizibl helps large enterprise organisations in the energy sector do just that.