The opportunity

As major economies increasingly prioritize GHG emission reductions, the focus of large retailers and corporations has shifted beyond direct emissions to include Scope 3 emissions. This has driven higher scrutiny of their full supply chains including agricultural suppliers based in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.  

A major agricultural producer in Sub-Saharan Africa looking to decarbonize engaged Portico’s Managing Partner to evaluate regional operations and prepare a multi-year strategy to reduce their GHG emissions.

The solution

Portico’s Managing Partner performed a detailed review and on-site assessments of the client’s production and processing facilities, including a development of a bespoke GHG inventory using 5 years of past data. 

He identified emission ‘hot spots’ and recommended immediate and easily implementable energy efficiency improvements, which not only led to double-digit emission reductions, but also achieved a positive return on investment in less than two years.  

After agreeing medium- and long-term reduction targets with the client, Portico’s Managing Partner prepared a technology assessment of ten different potential solutions to integrate renewable energy and new technologies into the client’s processing facilities.  

The client’s processing method includes specific and stringent requirements, which if not met would have a significant detrimental effect on end product quality—a huge risk to the client’s business.  

To ensure the proposed solution would meet the client’s needs, Portico’s Managing Partner conducted in-person interviews with all processing facility managers as well as Key Informant Interviews across the industry. This exercise revealed that several commonly used renewable technologies were not viable for the client’s operation. 

His final recommendations to the client included a phased implementation plan to achieve a 97% emission reduction, supported by detailed economic analysis for each investment option to enable informed decision-making that balanced environmental impact with financial viability.