Dive Brief:
- A coalition of major companies launched the Clean Energy Procurement Academy last week, which aims to curb supply chain emissions by providing businesses with the technical skills and knowledge required to transition toward clean energy.
- Apple and Nike are spearheading the project with the Clean Energy Buyers Institute, or CEBI, a nonprofit focused on solving market and policy barriers to achieve carbon-free energy systems. Amazon, Meta, PepsiCo and REI Co-op are also founding members of the new academy.
- The goal of the new initiative is to rapidly advance clean energy procurement, address scope 3 emissions and decarbonize global supply chains through the collaborative efforts of these corporations and suppliers.
Dive Insight:
The coalition of companies launched the academy to help build the “capacity of select supply chain partners in energy markets that contribute material volumes of greenhouse gas emissions,” according to an Oct. 25 press release from CEBI. The founding organizations will pool their collective expertise and internal training resources to design a shared training curriculum and delivery processes that “enable trainees to rapidly mature as clean energy customers.”
“The Clean Energy Procurement Academy is key to breaking down barriers to clean energy adoption, while also helping us demonstrate demand and advocate for clean energy solutions in essential regions,” Nike’s chief sustainability officer, Noel Kinder, said in a press release. “Collaborating cross-industry helps us tackle systemic challenges together.”
Apple’s vice president of environment and supply chain innovation, Sarah Chandler, echoed Kinder and said businesses “need to act quickly to expand access to clean energy around the world” to address the climate crisis. Chandler said Apple would continue to work closely with its global suppliers to support their transition to renewable energy.
The curriculum for the new academy will include in-person and online training, in addition to comprehensive educational sources. The academy will give supply chain companies increased data accessibility and encourage them to escalate their renewable energy goals and commitments to boost their capacity to invest in renewable energy.
The group also said the effort aims to build collaboration among different industries tackling the same challenges with their supply chain and establish new communities that buy renewable energy within certain manufacturing regions.
The Clean Energy Procurement Academy is also supported by the climate-focused We Mean Business Coalition, which recently sponsored a “Fossil to Clean” letter signed by 131 companies urging governments to phase out burning fossil fuels and scale up the production of clean energy ahead of the COP28 climate change summit. The letter was backed by businesses generating nearly $1 trillion in global annual revenue collectively, including Nestlé, Ikea, eBay, Unilever and Volvo Cars.
