Guiding Suppliers Towards Renewable Energy

Our annual Corporate Responsibility Report highlights the ways that we are living out our purpose to create a more sustainable future. In 2022, we introduced our first Scope 3 emissions reduction commitment. We set a goal to achieve 30% absolute reduction of our value chain emissions by 2032. Our environmental sustainability team has since launched a pilot project with Chinese suppliers and expanded it internationally.

"To help drive significant reductions in emissions in our value chain, we’ve leveraged our internal experience and results over the past three years. We are sharing that with suppliers and could see a lot of early success during a pilot project in China,” says Tim Shen, manager of strategic sourcing in China. “We contacted suppliers and asked that they obtain at least 25% of their electricity from renewable sources such as wind, hydro or solar. We then encouraged them to purchase International Renewable Energy Certificates – I-RECs – for the energy required to do business with TE, ensuring better sustainability in our value chain.”

When selecting suppliers to work with, the environmental sustainability team focused on companies that are characterized by higher energy consumption, in the metal or resin industry for example, to achieve the greatest impact. During the pilot project, more than 70% of the suppliers the team contacted accepted the offer and have started purchasing renewable energy with I-RECs. “Our pilot project in China has made it clear how much potential there is in working with our suppliers to reduce our Scope 3 emissions. We have therefore expanded the project to other regions and are talking to suppliers around the globe about purchasing I-RECs for renewable energy”, adds Tim.

Our Scope 3 emissions reduction commitment for our value chain is aligned with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). It is in addition to our plan to reduce the absolute Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions, the direct and energy-indirect emissions of our business, by more than 70% in 2030, compared to 2020. But a sustainable supply chain is about more than environmental impact. In 2023, we were honored with a Silver Level Supplier Diversity Champion award from WEConnect International, recognizing our progress in inclusive sourcing and sustainability. On top of our emissions reduction, TE pays attention to the environmental and social impacts of our supply chain through our Supplier Social Responsibility Program, and we strive to achieve increased diversity of our suppliers.

"Sustainability is something that drives our business every day and is shaping how we work with our suppliers," said Holly Webdale, vice president of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) supply chain. "We are seeing sustainability is revolutionizing our entire value chain. This makes our work even more significant and shows that we really are at the forefront when it comes to putting sustainability into practice."