The Missing Commercial Link in Scope 3: Turning Carbon Data into Better Business Decisions

Q1. Many companies have spent years building carbon inventories and setting climate targets. What needs to happen next?

For many companies, the first phase of the climate journey was understanding emissions. The next phase is making better business decisions with that information.

The companies making the most progress are using carbon data to inform business decisions, not just sustainability reporting. They're asking different questions: How should this influence procurement? Where should we invest? Which technologies will create the biggest impact? How do we build more resilient supply chains?

That's a shift I hear consistently in conversations with customers and industry leaders this year. Climate is increasingly being discussed alongside growth, resilience and competitiveness rather than as a standalone sustainability initiative. Businesses want to know how they can reduce emissions while strengthening their operations for the long term.

At Dow, we see the same evolution. Sustainability has to compete for investment like every other business priority. That means demonstrating value, managing risk and helping customers succeed. The conversation is moving beyond "How do we measure emissions?" to "How do we use this information to make better business decisions?"

Q2. Why is trusted product-level carbon data becoming increasingly important?

As companies move from setting targets to delivering against them, confidence in the underlying data becomes even more important.

Product-level carbon data helps companies understand where emissions occur and which decisions will have the greatest impact. It creates a common language between suppliers and customers, allowing them to work together on practical emissions reductions rather than relying on broad estimates.

Just as importantly, trusted data builds confidence. Stakeholders, from customers and investors to regulators, want to understand what progress is being made and credibility increasingly depends on transparency, traceability and using recognized accounting methodologies.

That's why we've developed Dow's Carbon Footprint Ledger. It provides customers with verified carbon footprint information based on established GHG Protocol and ISO methodologies, helping them make more informed purchasing decisions and supports their own Scope 3 data.

As expectations continue to rise, trusted carbon data won't simply support reporting. It will help companies make faster, better-informed decisions across their businesses. Ultimately, carbon data is only valuable if it helps companies choose the right materials, technologies and investments.

Q3. One of the biggest questions companies face is how to connect sustainability with commercial value. What does that look like in practice?

One of the biggest lessons we've learned is that sustainability scales when it solves a business challenge as well as an environmental one.

Customers rarely choose a material simply because it has a lower carbon footprint. They're looking for performance, reliability, security of supply and solutions that help prepare them for future market and regulatory expectations. Carbon is becoming part of that value proposition, not the entire story.

We're already seeing that shift in the marketplace. One large consumer goods company has committed to sourcing lower-GHG materials from Dow, with the potential to reduce approximately several million metric tons of CO₂ across its supply chain. That's a strategic business decision made years ahead of implementation because they see long-term value in securing lower-carbon materials.

Those conversations are becoming more common. Companies recognize that lower-carbon materials may become more constrained over time, and they're making decisions today that position them for tomorrow's market.

That's where I think commercial opportunities lie. Sustainability is becoming part of how companies think about growth, innovation and competitive advantage, not separate from it.

Q4. Dow sits upstream in many industrial value chains. How can materials innovation help companies reduce emissions at scale?

Materials are often one of the most overlooked opportunities in the climate transition because they influence so many products and industries downstream.

As an upstream materials company, the investments we make can create impact well beyond our own operations. When a lower-carbon material becomes available at scale, it has the potential to reduce emissions across packaging, consumer goods, mobility, infrastructure and many other sectors.

No single technology will solve Scope 3 emissions. It will require lower-carbon manufacturing, circular feedstocks, advanced recycling, bio-based feedstocks and product innovation working together. A good example is Dow's investment in the world's first net-zero carbon emissions ethylene cracker in Alberta, Canada. It's a major industrial investment designed to produce lower-carbon materials at scale while maintaining the performance customers expect. That combination is critical because companies shouldn't have to choose between sustainability and business performance.

What's encouraging is that customers aren't waiting until these materials are fully available before planning for them. Many are incorporating them into their long-term decarbonization strategies today because they recognize the business value they'll create over time.

Innovation has always been about solving problems. Today, one of the biggest opportunities is solving for both emissions reduction and business performance at the same time.

Q5. Looking ahead, what will separate companies that successfully reduce Scope 3 emissions from those that struggle?

No company can solve Scope 3 emissions on its own. By definition, they're shared across value chains, which means progress depends on collaboration.

The leading companies will be the ones building strong partnerships - with suppliers, customers, technology providers, financiers and policymakers - to scale solutions together. They'll move beyond individual pilot projects and focus on creating systems that deliver value faster for everyone involved.

One of the strongest themes I've seen recently is the growing emphasis on implementation. The question is no longer whether climate action is important; it's how to deliver it at scale in a way that strengthens businesses and supply chains.

That requires trust. It requires credible data. And it requires organizations that are willing to work together to reduce risk, share investment and accelerate adoption.

I'm optimistic because we're already seeing those partnerships take shape. Companies are making longer-term commitments, investing earlier and looking across value chains rather than within organizational boundaries.

Success won't be defined by who makes the boldest commitments. It will be defined by who can scale solutions through better materials, stronger partnerships and the confidence to invest before the path is fully defined.