New data from Secaro (formerly Manufacture 2030) found that 90% of the 43,652 supply chain decarbonization actions recorded by member businesses between 2020-2025 focused on optimization and energy efficiency.
These 43,652 actions were reported by 2,552 businesses within the pharmaceutical, automotive, consumer goods, and retail sectors and across 89 countries and 4,086 facilities. The most popular actions were related to lighting (16%), compressor systems (10%) general energy management (8%), space conditioning (7%), and water management (6%).
“The climate and sustainability market has been characterized by change and uncertainty this year. There’s been big politically motivated change, last minute delays to regulation, and increasing complexity,” says Toby Newman, CEO, Secaro. “Hundreds and thousands of companies around the world have been left unsure how to respond, plan, and forecast. So, it’s not surprising that businesses have exercised some caution around supply chain decarbonization – prioritizing optimization and efficiency over actions with higher CAPEX costs.”
Key takeaways:
· Data also showed a surge in supply chain decarbonization activity in 2022-2023 with over half (56.3%) of actions completed across the six-year timeframe completed in these two years. 73% of renewable energy actions were also completed in this two-year period, with a strong focus on photovoltaics (solar).
· However, data shared this year (2025) shows a 53% decrease in completed decarbonization actions in 2024, bringing activity back down to nearly 2021 levels as businesses faced inflationary pressures and increased costs.
· Despite the challenging market conditions, businesses are still committing to, and pursuing, decarbonization targets. 70% of 2,500 companies surveyed have emissions reduction targets. This is most prevalent in the pharmaceuticals sector with 33% of companies having targets already approved by the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi), and an additional 33% expecting targets to be approved by SBTi within the next two years.
· Data for the other sectors showed an escalating trend with 12% of retail, 10% of FMCG and 9% of automotive companies with targets already approved by SBTi, and 17% of retail, 17% of FMCG, and 11% of automotive companies expecting targets to be approved within two years.
· Data shared in 2025 demonstrates this increased focus on supply chain risk. 50% of surveyed suppliers had undertaken water risk assessments and, in the automotive sector, water availability was identified as a risk at 163 different facilities. In food and beverage supply chains, the data found that 20% of water withdrawal by volume was from areas of very high to extreme water scarcity risk, and 60% of the facilities in these areas had undertaken a water risk assessment. Escalating extreme weather events as a result of climate change also proved a concern with 25% of assessed automakers at risk of drought and 33% at risk of floods.
· In 2026, businesses will face higher insured losses related to natural disasters, with costs rising between 5-7% a year, and certain goods could face taxes of €100 per tCo2e when they arrive in the EU in 2026 as a result of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The WEF also predicted that up to 30% of earnings (EBITDA) will be at risk by 2030 due to carbon pricing in the report.
· Supply chain transparency will also become obligatory with the EU Deforestation Regulation, requiring commodity tracing back to origin, human rights laws (such as the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection action) requiring proof that materials are not sourced from regions or suppliers associated with forced labour, and digital product passports requiring businesses to disclose detailed information about product composition, sourcing, and lifecycle impacts.
“Businesses are still under regulatory and consumer pressure to decarbonize their supply chains,” adds Newman. “The reality is that the uncertainty around upcoming regulations is – in itself – a business risk that companies need to tackle, and the focus is rapidly shifting from decarbonizing supply chains to derisking them. These challenges must be addressed at the same time as sustainability targets, with businesses left with only five years to act to meet 2030 goals. This can only be done by consolidating and simplifying supply chain data and reporting, and through collective action on emissions reduction.”
