Redefining Business Strategy Through Scope 3 Decarbonization
David Stone Eady is Director of Industry Engagement at the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business in the Scheller College of Business at Georgia Institute of Technology and Drawdown Georgia Business Compact.
David leverages 30+ years of experience and expertise in sustainability management, stakeholder engagement and community development to accelerate the deployment of sustainable solutions across various sectors and industries.
Savannah Seydel is Vice President of Sustainability at Better Earth, an Atlanta-based B Corp providing compostable foodservice packaging. She is passionate about building regenerative circular systems through advocacy, innovation, and community engagement. Savannah furthers this mission at the industry- and local-level through board roles with BPI, the Georgia Compost Council, and Southface, and as founder of Atlanta Women in Sustainability.
As Global Sustainability Manager for Climate and Carbon at AGCO, Anne leads decarbonization across the enterprise. Her focus in strategic planning, risk management, data governance and sustainability programming supports AGCO's mission of “developing farmer-focused solutions to sustainably feed our world.”
Before joining AGCO, Anne established operational sustainability hub at Georgia Tech and integrated high-performance standards across prototype building delivery processes for clients at Southface Institute.
Charlotte has more than 20 years of experience in EHS consulting. She is an ISO 14001 lead auditor and focuses on management systems (EMS and EHSMS) implementation and optimization; compliance auditing; EHS training programs and improving corrective action programs.
Leaders from across sectors convened to tackle one of sustainability’s most complex challenges: decarbonizing the value chain. Moderated by Georgia Tech’s Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business, the panel featured David Eady of Drawdown Georgia, Savannah Seydel of Better Earth, Anne Rogers of AGCO and Charlotte Pugh of EY. These experts outlined a clear and urgent message—meaningful climate action must extend beyond internal operations to encompass supplier networks, product use and systemic change across entire ecosystems.
Scope 3: The Hidden Majority of Emissions
Panelists agreed that Scope 3 emissions, which stem from a company’s upstream suppliers and downstream product use, represent the largest share of their carbon footprints. Despite being the most impactful, these emissions are also the hardest to track and influence. One panelist emphasized that for companies operating across complex global supply chains, upstream emissions require both technical systems and relational strategies. Their supplier sustainability program includes not just data collection but explicit expectations around tracking and performance improvement.
Another speaker offered a complementary view from the packaging industry, where their team conducts life cycle assessments and cultivates deep supplier relationships to collect accurate data.
They noted that building trust is essential—technical solutions like carbon modeling only work when supported by long-term collaboration.
Across industries, the clear takeaway was that Scope 3 decarbonizing cannot succeed without embedded partnerships and aligned incentives.
Tackling Downstream Impact with Ecosystem Thinking
Reducing emissions from the use and disposal of products demands a broader systems approach. One speaker highlighted that designing compostable packaging isn’t enough—if local composting infrastructure is absent, the sustainability benefits are lost. To address this, their organization has invested directly in composting facilities and subsidized applications of compost on farmland, effectively closing the loop.
Another panelist described their company’s commitment to reducing emissions through the use phase by advancing precision agriculture technologies, offering fuel-flexible machines and expanding remanufacturing programs. These downstream interventions reflect a fundamental shift from product design to ecosystem support, requiring alignment with customer practices, regulatory environments and regional infrastructure. Panelists made it clear that this work takes time and trust, not just innovation.
The broader goal is decarbonizing product lifecycles—from design and usage to end-of-life—by embedding climate thinking into every stage of development and distribution.
Data-Driven Strategy Must Be Human-Centered
Decarbonization depends on good data—but as the panel stressed, data must be contextual and actionable. One speaker described their company’s long-range modeling using marginal abatement cost curves to guide decisions decades into the future. At the same time, companies are integrating qualitative insights from customer interviews, stakeholder engagement and local partnerships. Another panelist emphasized that effective sustainability strategies integrate cross-functional insights—from finance to procurement to R&D—into governance systems. This ensures emissions reduction isn’t siloed but woven into core business processes.
Crucially, the panel rejected the notion that reporting alone drives transformation. One speaker noted that while regulations like the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive are essential, they must be accompanied by incentives, narratives and internal champions to inspire real change. Data without direction, they argued, results in compliance—not innovation.
Circularity, Localization and Trust as Pathways Forward
The discussion closed with a focus on operational strategies that hold promise for Scope 3 reduction. One panelist highlighted their company’s remanufacturing program, where reusing components like engines and electronics extends equipment life and reduces emissions. Though often overlooked, these technical backend processes can have major sustainability impacts.
Another speaker added that local sourcing isn’t just about reducing transportation emissions—it strengthens supply chain resilience and deepens relationships with farmers. By providing long-term contracts and integrating compost back into the soil of feedstock producers, they build regenerative cycles that benefit both the climate and the community. A panelist also noted that social trust—often developed through informal community channels—can be as vital as any technical tool in securing farmer engagement.
The panelists were unified in their call for businesses to move beyond carbon accounting and toward value creation. Climate strategy, they argued, must be integrated into product development, customer engagement and strategic planning. The path to decarbonizing lies not only in measuring impact but in designing systems, relationships and narratives that make emissions reduction a shared endeavor.
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