Development of a data-driven framework for supplier decarbonization: the Decarbon Club Project at Sammontana Italia

The increasing relevance of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with supply chains has made Scope 3 emissions one of the main challenges for companies pursuing ambitious decarbonization strategies. Since upstream emissions often represent the largest share of a company’s carbon footprint, the active involvement of suppliers has become essential to achieve corporate sustainability objectives. This thesis, developed in collaboration with Sammontana Italia as part of the Decarbon Club Project, aims to design a data-driven framework to support supplier decarbonization and improve the accuracy of Scope 3 emissions accounting. The study highlights significant discrepancies between the emission factors initially estimated by the company and those calculated using primary data collected directly from suppliers, demonstrating the importance of supplier engagement in improving the reliability of Scope 3 inventories. Furthermore, several decarbonization levers were identified and their implementation was simulated to assess their potential impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Based on these analyses, a decision-support tool was developed to evaluate suppliers according to their level of decarbonization and sustainability performance, enabling a transparent comparison of suppliers based on objective environmental indicators. The Decarbon Club Project provides Sammontana Italia with a repeatable methodology for monitoring supplier emissions over time, fostering supplier engagement, and supporting strategic decision-making within the supply chain; by identifying suppliers with the greatest potential for emissions reduction and promoting the adoption of decarbonization actions, the proposed framework contributes to reducing Scope 3 emissions while strengthening the company’s long-term sustainability strategy. The proposed approach combines Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) principles, carbon footprint methodologies, supplier questionnaires, and primary data collection. Excel-based tools and SimaPro software were used to estimate carbon footprints, analyze supplier-specific emission factors, and evaluate decarbonization opportunities.