Combient Pure’s annual State of Value Chain Decarbonization survey for the Combient Associated Companies gathered a record 27 answers this year. The results highlight that overall, value chain decarbonization work is maturing - away from simple data gathering to ensuring decarbonization efforts drive commercial success with low carbon products and offerings.
Mind the gap: The growing divide between Scope 3 emission progress
Continuing the trend from previous years, the largest contributors to Scope 3 emissions in the Combient network are purchased goods and services, logistics, and the use of sold products. Companies struggle most with reducing emissions in these large categories. For companies utilizing materials, steel and aluminum remain the primary sources of emissions, with plastics continuing to increase in impact.
With an average near term Scope 3 target of -42%, 24 out of 37 Combient Associated companies now have validated SBTi targets for value chain emissions. 87% of these are absolute emission reduction targets, often complemented with supplier engagement targets.
However, as near term target deadlines draw closer, the contrast between opposite extremes of Scope 3 work begins to show. Although the ratio between companies who are on track or behind on their targets has remained relatively unchanged, the share of companies exceeding or considerably behind on their targets has grown at both ends of the spectrum.
Answers in 2026 to the question "Would you say that your company is currently… " (Combient Pure State of Value Chain Decarbonization survey)
Companies exceeding or on track with their targets are more likely to engage with a wider range of emission reduction practices, including business model transformation, supplier training and audits, and rewarding suppliers for climate action. These companies more commonly embed Scope 3 targets into top management performance targets as well as across multiple organizational levels. While more and more companies in the network are embedding Scope 3 targets into top management incentives, these incentives have yet to trickle down to the operational level - highlighting a major gap in effectively driving decarbonization efforts forward.
New Scope 3 focus areas require new skills in effective collaboration
Companies in the network are slowly shifting focus towards more advanced Scope 3 emission reduction practices. Internal policies, employee training, operational efficiency improvements, and low carbon and circular product design remain the most utilized methods in Scope 3 work. At the same time, more high-effort emission reduction practices requiring complex stakeholder collaboration and tangible financial investments grew the most in 2026, such as investing in low carbon technologies and co-innovation with suppliers and customers.
Future Scope 3 investment plans follow the same pattern, with a shift away from reporting and training to areas like product and service offering development, electrification, and production conversion and transformation.
Despite this maturing of Scope 3 practices, decarbonization barriers have remained largely the same in the past three years: high and unclear costs and competing priorities have topped the list each year between 2024 and 2026. Encouragingly, the business case for Scope 3 decarbonization seems to getting clearer, dropping in the rankings of top barriers year by year. Organization alignment, as measured by organizational culture, insufficient top management support, and lack of strategy, were also not seen as barriers to value chain decarbonization.
The 2030 countdown has started: investment appetite needs to be matched with climate ambition
The investment decisions being financed today are what will dictate a company's carbon trajectory for near-term targets. Across the network, we are seeing that Scope 3 work can be a part of building long-term business value.
The work starts with understanding customers and their needs, engaging in cross-functional work to tie existing processes to emission reduction potential, and showcasing that decarbonization is as much about market opportunities as it is about risk management.
With 2030 targets just four years away, now is the time to make investments and place bets on which initiatives will turn ambitious Scope 3 targets into reality.
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The full results and recording of the State of Value Chain Decarbonization 2026 webinar are available to Combient Associated Companies on Combient Twin.
