By Alex Liu
ESG Manager, Americas Region
Because climate change is a shared challenge across global value chains, organizations need to work beyond their own boundaries to get results—reduced emissions, improved transparency, faster and more complete decarbonization—that would be difficult, if not impossible, for them to achieve independently.
Suppliers and Customers Need a Common Data Language
Suppliers and customers share the same environmental goals but most lack a common way to exchange the sustainability data that both enables and proves progress on climate goals. The result: suppliers spend time reformatting numbers instead of reducing them, and customers make sourcing decisions based on estimates rather than evidence.
When I attended Climate Week NYC 2026, business partners, customers, suppliers, and standards builders all highlighted their need for a trusted and efficient way to share sustainability data to bridge data gaps. Today, fragmented reporting requirements and inconsistent methodologies create friction between organizations, increase complexity, and, ultimately, handicap climate progress.
That friction concentrates at the handoff between suppliers and customers. Consider that a component supplier may field sustainability questionnaires from multiple customers each with their own format, reporting boundary, and emissions factors. Customers, in turn, confront supplier data built on different assumptions, so many simply fall back on industry averages that may mask their own real improvements.
New Disclosure Rules Raise the Stakes
Regulation is turning up the heat, and even suppliers beyond the reach of mandates feel the pull: when a customer discloses Scope 3 emissions, its suppliers become the source for that data.
Under California’s SB 253, companies with more than $1 billion in annual revenues that do business in California must report Scope 1 and Scope 2 (direct and indirect/purchased) emissions by Nov. 10, 2026, with Scope 3 (anywhere in the value chain) reporting to follow in 2027.
In Europe, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive requires companies with 1,000+ employees and €450+ million in annual turnover to report emissions data from across their value chains; non-EU groups with more than €450 million in EU turnover fall under the rules too. As of mid-2026, 35 jurisdictions had adopted the International Sustainability Standards Board’s disclosure standards.
Shared Standards Already Deliver Results
Existing shared frameworks point toward a future where suppliers calculate one robust, verified footprint and share it with all customers.
For example, Catena-X, an open data ecosystem for the automotive industry, enables companies to securely share product carbon footprint, material, and sustainability information across the value chain, reducing reporting complexity, improving transparency, and accelerating decarbonization. The initiative’s standardized data models and interoperable platforms make collective action possible.
The Catena-X model now reaches deep into the electronics supply chain. In one pilot, Micron, a semiconductor supplier, is sending primary product carbon footprint data to Flex, a manufacturer, which folds those values into its own calculations and passes the results to Ford. The data flows between them because all three follow the same rulebook even though each company runs a different certified software platform. Similarly, an LG pilot links six organizations—from raw materials through processing, components, and vehicle assembly—with measured manufacturing data in place of industry averages.
The Partnership for Carbon Transparency (PACT) is another shared framework that applies the same principles across industries. It publishes a common methodology for calculating cradle-to-gate product carbon footprints as well as open technical specifications for exchanging them. More than 180 companies now exchange data through the PACT Network, which connects 5,000+ suppliers and supports 50+ software solutions.
At Delta, Innovation Drives Efficiency That Cuts Emissions
Shared data, of course, is only part of the equation; suppliers also need to deliver products that shrink the footprint their customers report.
Delta’s high-efficiency equipment cut emissions for Delta and its customers at the same time, proof that product innovation pays off across the value chain. Delta’s newest power supplies achieve up to 97.5% peak efficiency, compared with approximately 92% for a typical enterprise-grade power supply. This reduces energy losses by about 61 kW for every 1 MW of delivered power, which, over a year, equates to approximately 534 MWh of electricity savings, keeping roughly 214 metric tons of CO₂ out of the atmosphere.
With these efficiency improvements, Delta not only reduces its own Scope 3 Category 11 (use of sold products) emissions but also cuts customers’ operational emissions: Scope 2 for data center operators and Scope 3 Category 11 for server makers that incorporate Delta power supplies.
Collaboration Speeds Progress
Stronger collaboration, especially through better data sharing, leads to faster, more impactful sustainability progress. From trusted data-sharing frameworks such as Catena-X to energy-efficient technologies that reduce emissions across value chains, collaboration enables all stakeholders to propagate best practices and scale innovative solutions, to see beyond their own operational emissions to the climate impact that exists upstream and downstream in the value chain.
Take the Next Step
To learn more about Delta’s ESG contributions and how we’ll support your organization in this effort,
visit our Sustainability page.
Q&A
Q: Why do suppliers and customers need a shared data standard?
A: Without one, emissions numbers don’t line up from one company to the next. Each customer asks for data in its own format and uses its own reporting boundary and emissions factors. Suppliers end up reformatting numbers instead of reducing them, and customers fall back on industry averages that may hide real improvements.
Q: How do new disclosure rules affect suppliers that aren’t regulated?
A:The rules reach them through their customers. When a customer reports Scope 3 emissions, its suppliers become the source for that data. California’s SB 253 requires companies with more than $1 billion in annual revenue that do business in the state to report Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by Nov. 10, 2026, with Scope 3 to follow in 2027. In Europe, the CSRD requires large companies, including non-EU groups with more than €450 million in EU turnover, to report emissions across their value chains.
Q: What does a shared data framework look like in practice?
A: A supplier calculates one verified footprint and shares it with every customer. In a Catena-X pilot, Micron sends primary product carbon footprint data to Flex. Flex folds those values into its own calculations and passes the results to Ford, even though each company runs a different certified software platform. PACT uses the same approach across industries: more than 180 companies exchange data through its network, which connects 5,000+ suppliers.
Q: How do more efficient power supplies cut customers’ emissions?
A: Customers buy less electricity because less energy goes to waste. Delta’s newest power supplies reach up to 97.5% peak efficiency, compared with about 92% for a typical enterprise-grade unit. That saves roughly 534 MWh and 214 metric tons of CO₂ each year for every 1 MW of delivered power. The savings lower Scope 2 emissions for data center operators and Scope 3 Category 11 emissions for server makers. They also lower Delta’s own Scope 3 Category 11 emissions.