Greengage partnered with Workspace Group to create a bespoke supply chain decarbonisation strategy, engaging their top suppliers to support ambitious science-based targets.
Workspace is one of the largest providers of flexible office space in London. They have been a signatory to the Better Buildings Partnership’s (BBP) Climate Commitment since 2019 and published their first net zero carbon pathway the following year. This pathway was underpinned by science-based targets (SBTs).
For several years Workspace has been electrifying their assets and procuring high-quality renewable energy, thus reducing scope 1 and 2 emissions at the required pace for achieving their science-based targets. In 2025, Workspace set and validated new science-based targets in line with the Buildings Criteria and the Net Zero Criteria which widened their decarbonisation pathway to all scope 3 emissions.
The business has committed to achieve 42% reduction by 2030 and 90% reduction by 2040 in scope 3 emissions. As supply chain emissions account for 28% of Workspace’s total emissions, supply chain engagement was deemed essential to achieve these targets.
Greengage designed a bespoke supplier engagement strategy to bring their most strategic and carbon intensive partners on their net zero journey. Workspace has over 800 suppliers providing them goods and services, not only for their business operations, but also for the development and maintenance of their assets. Engaging with the supply chain to start carbon accounting, set targets and reduce emissions, is crucial for Workspace to reduce their supply chain emissions.
Greengage worked closely with Workspace on the following, where we:
- Conducted an analysis of supply chain emissions and identified top ranking suppliers contributing the most to Workspace’s supply chain emissions. Out of 800 suppliers, 50 accounted for 60% of total supplier emissions.
- Developed a target specifically for supply chain emissions for Workspace to achieve the science-based target.
- Developed a Supply Chain Emissions Reductions Roadmap for supply chain decarbonisation with a timeline between 2025-2050, with actions for Workspace to implement and progress monitoring. The top 50 suppliers were requested to report on their carbon data by 2027 and set net zero targets by 2028 as part of this roadmap.
- Conducted scenario testing to assess how many suppliers Workspace should target for engagement and the probability of achieving the required reduction in supply chain emissions.
- Developed a supplier survey to assess their readiness for carbon emissions reporting, target setting and developing a carbon reduction plan.
- Analysed the survey responses to categorise them based on their ESG maturity levels and probability of them decarbonising.
- Engaged with the target cohort of suppliers through a workshop to assess their readiness to support Workspace, presenting the roadmap and stating Workspace’s expectations from its suppliers. Overall, 20 partners attended the workshop, accounting for 40% of supply chain emissions. Importantly, it fostered collaboration and openness by enabling attendees to discuss their organisations’ maturity on the topic and provide peer-to-peer learning through feedback on the strengths and challenges of Workspace’s roadmap.
The workshop was successful and Workspace received positive feedback from its suppliers to support its plans for supply chain decarbonisation. 75% of attendees reported feeling confident or very confident about taking the next steps in their sustainability journey. Suppliers’ current progress and challenges were discussed with Workspace so solutions can be developed collaboratively to aid their decarbonisation without negatively impacting their business operations.
As an outcome of the workshop, Workspace will be regularly collaborating with their top 50 suppliers and encouraging them to develop their carbon footprints and carbon reduction plans. Workspace also intends to collect supplier data to calculate their carbon footprint and move away from using spend based methods for calculating supply chain emissions. The supply chain decarbonisation strategy provided Workspace with a clear direction in which to work towards reducing their supply chain emissions and achieving their science-based targets.
Testimonial
“Our partnership with Greengage has been instrumental to not only validate our science-based targets through SBTi’s Buildings Sector Guidance, but also kick start our scope 3 reduction plan through focusing on supply chain decarbonisation. Their strategic advice and workshop-led approach enabled us to meaningfully engage with our suppliers on decarbonisation challenges, address their concerns, provide practical guidance, and foster collaboration and peer learning – a great first step towards a robust and ambitious supplier decarbonisation programme.“
– Ariane Ephraim, Senior Sustainability Manager, Workspace
