Start to engage with your suppliers to improve your business, your supplier’s business and the planet

“In the modern interconnected world, you suppliers risks are your risks, and engagement is no longer optional.”

In today’s interconnected world, businesses are only as strong and sustainable as their supply chains. Engaging with suppliers isn’t just about procurement and contracts, it’s about building meaningful partnerships that support long-term success. Whether you’re aiming to reduce environmental impact, ensure ethical sourcing, or improve resilience, your suppliers play a critical role.

Supplier engagement, particularly around sustainability, is no longer optional. It’s a business imperative that can unlock innovation, reduce risk, and build trust with customers, investors, and stakeholders. In this blog post, we’ll explore why supplier engagement matters, the benefits it brings, and how you can practically and effectively work with your suppliers to create shared value. We will also discuss real world examples of companies that Nexio Projects has helped effectively engage with their suppliers.

Benefits of engaging with suppliers for you and the supplier

Engaging with suppliers can deliver wide ranging benefits for both your organisation and your suppliers.

For your business:

Improved sustainability performance: gain better insights into Scope 3 emissions, reduce environmental risks, and meet reporting standards.
Reduced risk: proactively address risks such as labor violations, climate disruptions, or material shortages.
Cost efficiency and innovation: collaborating can lead to cost-saving ideas and innovations that improve products or processes.
Stronger resilience: better supplier relationships mean faster problem-solving and less disruption in times of crisis.

For your suppliers:

Increased support: suppliers receive guidance, training, and resources that help them improve practices and meet your expectations.
Stronger business relationships: a collaborative relationship can lead to long-term contracts and business growth.
Capacity building: engagement often includes training and tools that help suppliers improve their own operations and sustainability efforts.
Market differentiation: suppliers who improve sustainability performance can attract more clients and stand out in a competitive market.

Practical ways to engage with suppliers

When exploring supplier engagement, it’s important to ensure that practical and realistic steps are taken. Such programs can be large and involve many different stakeholders across the world. Therefore, it’s important to take the following tips into consideration:

Best practices

To ensure that your supplier engagement is as effective as possible we recommend that you consider the following best practices:

Start with key suppliers: focus on those that have the biggest impact on your business or environmental footprint.
Tailor your approach: different suppliers have different capacities. Small businesses may need more support than large multinationals.
Build long-term relationships: engagement is ongoing. Schedule regular check-ins, share progress updates, and celebrate successes together.
Be transparent: share your goals, challenges, and expectations openly. Transparency builds trust and accountability.
Track and measure progress: set KPIs for supplier engagement and monitor changes over time. Use tools to quantify impact when possible.

Case example

Our sustainability experts support organisations across industries in strengthening their climate action strategies, particularly when it comes to Scope 3 emissions and supplier engagement. One recent engagement involved a leading digital services provider for the banking sector.

To reinforce its near- and long-term Scope 3 emission reduction goals, the company partnered with Nexio Projects to evaluate the climate maturity of its suppliers and engage them in targeted decarbonisation efforts. This initiative enabled the company to better understand its supply chain’s climate readiness and prioritise improvements in emissions data collection as a precursor to more strategic decarbonisation planning.

Central to this process were Nexio Projects’ proprietary Supplier Engagement Framework and Climate Maturity Framework. These tools formed the backbone of a twofold supplier outreach strategy. First, suppliers were categorised based on their climate strategies and carbon accounting maturity. Second, this categorisation informed the development of tailored training materials and defined the level of supplier engagement required.

The Climate Maturity Framework serves as a structured tool to assess where suppliers stand on key climate action dimensions. It guided how data was collected, which questions to ask, and when and how to engage with suppliers. This was supported by the Climate Maturity Survey, which was customised for the company’s supplier base to introduce the engagement programme.

The engagement process consisted of three key steps:

Survey customisation – to introduce the company’s supply chain to the engagement programme.
Response analysis – combining supplier survey data with desk research, focusing on five critical areas: Motivation, Strategy, Reporting, Ratings or Certifications, and Targets.
Climate maturity mapping – illustrating a maturity curve that visualised supplier performance across the value chain.

This analysis provided valuable insight into the diversity of sustainability practices across the supply chain. With these insights, the company was able to tailor its support and engagement efforts to the specific needs of its suppliers.

What was the outcome?

As a result of the climate maturity curve of the company’s suppliers, the company initiated a series of measures which included two comprehensive training sessions in collaboration with Nexio Projects. These sessions focused on educating suppliers on carbon accounting practices and articulating the company’s expectations regarding data sharing, target establishment, and emissions reduction strategies. Through collaborative efforts and informed action, the company endeavoured to foster a more sustainable supply chain ecosystem, which will subsequently benefit all.

Curious for more? Read our client testimonials that highlight more collaborations for impact!

Nexio Projects expertise

Nexio Projects is an international ESG advisory and sustainability consultancy supporting organisations across 25 plus sectors including shipping and logistics, manufacturing, chemicals, and consumer goods in advancing their ESG and climate goals.

Recognised by Verdantix as one of the top 10 boutique ESG consultancies globally, we help clients move from compliance to purpose through tailored services in sustainability strategy, reporting, and climate action.

As supply chain emissions become increasingly critical, we offer sustainability services dedicated supplier engagement training programmes that empower companies to navigate the complexity of Scope 3 data, improve supplier collaboration, and drive emissions reductions across the value chain.

Download our factsheet, tailored for data collection throughout the supply chain. Consisting of the perspectives of both the buyers and the suppliers, it provides specialised tips for each scenario.