Companies relying on low-reliability supplier carbon data risk underestimating their true Scope 3 emissions by up to three times, according to the 2026 Carbon Action Report published by EcoVadis and Kearney.
Evaluating carbon performance data from more than 56,000 businesses globally, the report indicates that only 4 per cent of assessed organisations utilise primary supplier data to compute their Scope 3 footprint. The vast majority rely on industry averages or omit Scope 3 disclosures entirely, creating what the authors define as a “Fragility Gap”—a disparity between perceived supply chain resilience and actual physical and regulatory exposure.
The report highlights that adopting verified, supplier-specific carbon data can deliver estimated savings of $5 per metric tonne of carbon across a typical supply chain by 2030. For a large enterprise generating 1 million tonnes of operational emissions—with an average upstream multiplier of 27 times—closing this data gap represents an estimated $135 million annual risk mitigation opportunity.
Key analytical findings from the report include:
- Supplier engagement metrics: Only 7 per cent of companies actively engage suppliers on carbon reduction. However, firms holding verified Scope 1 and Scope 2 data are eight times more likely to engage vendors and six times more likely to meet science-based climate targets.
- Emissions reduction acceleration: Top-performing carbon leaders (representing approximately 3 per cent of the network) reduced operational emissions by 6.4 per cent annually, cutting carbon up to seven times faster than the 58 per cent of companies at the lowest maturity tiers.
- Commercial transparency benefits: Businesses sharing verified Scope 1 and 2 metrics average 31 commercial buyer connections via EcoVadis Sector Initiatives, compared with 11 connections for firms using unverified data.
- High-impact supplier concentration: The top 10 per cent of emitting suppliers account for 95 per cent of total emissions across the network, with each high-impact vendor linked to an average of 72 buyers.
- Regulatory timelines: Disclosures are increasingly underpinned by mandatory measures, including the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) certificate requirements commencing in 2027 and California’s SB 253, which mandates operational reporting in 2026 followed by Scope 3 disclosures in 2027.
Pierre-François Thaler, Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer at EcoVadis, stated: “Companies are making capital and sourcing decisions on carbon numbers they can’t actually trust. This is a real blind spot in how a company manages risk, and the ones addressing it now are using verified data to decide who they buy from before a disruption, a regulator, or a competitor forces the decision for them.”
Angela Hultberg, Global Head of Sustainability at Kearney, commented: “This report shows exactly where companies fall short: not on ambition, but on the data behind it. The businesses that invest in real data now will spend the next five years making better decisions than everyone is still guessing. The fastest results come from focusing on your highest-emitting suppliers first, backed by contractual requirements and real incentives, rather than trying to fix your entire supply chain at once.”
Dexter Galvin, Senior Vice-President and Climate Ambassador at EcoVadis, added: “While better data may initially expand a company’s footprint, it provides the critical foundation for making better decisions, driving measurable reductions, and demonstrating ROI on investment.”
