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Boeing shareholders vote in support of Scope 3 emissions disclosure

Published May 16, 2022

Nearly all of Boeing’s shareholders have voted in favour of a motion calling on the company to report greenhouse gas emissions not only from its operations, but also from its supply chain and use of products.

Shareholder advocacy organisation, As You Sow, had filed a resolution asking the world’s largest aerospace company to develop greenhouse gas reduction goals and a climate transition plan for its Scope 1-3 greenhouse gas emissions. These goals would be aligned with those set out in the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The resolution was backed by 91% of Boeing shareholders. The shareholders would like to see Boeing expand its current GHG reduction goals beyond those it has set for Scope 1 and Scope 2 operational emissions at certain core sites.

While Boeing has publicly supported the commercial aviation sector’s ambition to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the company has not set GHG emissions reduction goals for Scope 3 (indirect) emissions from the supply chain and from product use. These account for the vast majority of the company’s emissions footprint. Boeing management supported the resolution and intends to issue a report detailing its net zero strategy.

“Traditionally the aviation sector has been involved with several digitisation/digitalisation initiatives, particularly in the area of supply chain integration. You could say the issue is built into the nature of the sector itself: you might have up to 50 companies scattered across the globe involved in the manufacturing of components for a single aircraft. As such, the very best modern supply chain  systems could assist manufacturers in making the transition towards digital net zero operations platforms to map and trace production capacity and the movements of components. In other words, manufacturers in this sector are able to have access to reliable online primary data on the cost and emissions of materials and manufacturing processes, which could be used to make informed decision making on climate-related risks and opportunities. As there are few global players, such a move by As You Sow to call out one of them effectively puts the entire sector on notice.”

As You Sow have mounted similar campaigns with the same result: resolutions calling for net-zero action were met with 98% support at General Electric and 92% at Sysco.