Case Study

Fulfilling a Major Customer’s Sustainability Requirements to Keep a Key Contract

SUMMARY/OVERVIEW

How BDO Helped a Hospitality Company Satisfy Customer Climate Expectations

More and more companies are fielding requests from current and prospective customers for sustainability data and action, and those who fail to deliver put valuable business relationships and revenue at risk.

Committed to maintaining a preferred supplier status with an important customer, one hospitality company turned to BDO for help fulfilling annual climate-related requirements in its customer’s supplier code of conduct.

Key Takeaways

Maintained compliance with supplier code of conduct, protecting an important customer relationship and related revenue

Calculated company’s first GHG inventory and annual updates — including expanded Scope 3 data over time

Designed decarbonization strategy aligned with customer needs and company business goals 

Image of a person looking at reporting.
The Challenge

Facing New GHG Reporting and Reduction Strategy Requirements

The company, which manages hotels and provides long-term lodging solutions, was required to provide annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data to a key customer and create a decarbonization strategy to reduce emissions for services delivered to that customer. 

For the initial request, the company needed to report Scope 1, Scope 2, and limited Scope 3 emissions data for its purchased goods and services, business travel, and employee commuting. In addition to total emissions data encompassing all its properties, the company needed to disclose services-level data specific to the housing solutions it provided the customer. Data was required for the most recent reporting year at the time, along with data from a baseline year. Insights from the emissions inventory also needed to inform the design of a decarbonization strategy that aligned with the customer’s goals.

The company had never measured its emissions or formalized any strategies for emissions reduction, but the stakes were high. If our client did not deliver, it would be out of compliance with the customer’s supplier code of conduct — a red flag that would put the company’s contract at risk.

Seeking a trusted advisor experienced in calculating GHG emissions and creating decarbonization strategies aligned with business goals, the company sought BDO’s help. The company would continue to engage BDO’s support to fulfill subsequent annual requests for emissions data, along with an updated decarbonization plan. 

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The Approach

Assessing Materiality and Sourcing Data to Calculate GHG Emissions 

Establishing an initial GHG inventory is a complicated endeavor and was particularly challenging for the company due to its diverse management models and housing options.

When BDO began working with the company in 2022 to calculate its first-ever GHG inventory, we started by helping assess which assets were under its operational control and would need to be included in the inventory, in alignment with GHG Protocol standards. We also helped the company identify the data it would need to calculate its emissions, then determine what data was available and where estimates were needed to address gaps. 

For example, to calculate Scope 1 and 2 emissions, an important step was to determine the amount of square footage the company operates in total and for its customer. For the Scope 3 employee commuting category, we used a mix of available company data — such as the number of hybrid workers — and averages from the U.S. Department of Transportation. We drew upon insights into the company’s operations gained through the GHG inventory to identify opportunities for emissions reduction and create a decarbonization strategy aligned with the customer’s requirements.  

In 2025, the customer expanded the number of categories included in its Scope 3 data request. Instead of limiting Scope 3 data to three of the GHG Protocol’s categories, the customer requested that the company analyze the materiality of all eight upstream Scope 3 categories and report relevant data.

To address the change, we conducted a materiality assessment and helped the company calculate data for the additional categories identified as relevant. For example, to determine the emissions from the transport and distribution of purchased goods, we utilized company spend data and an industry study that estimated the percentage of the total cost of a good that can be attributed to shipping — and therefore used in a spend-based emissions estimate.

We also helped the company rebaseline to reflect the methodology changes, work through necessary adjustments to its reporting year, and evaluate its decarbonization strategy.

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The Results

Maintaining a Strong Customer Relationship and Code of Conduct Compliance

Our work resulted in the company protecting commercial value through the fulfillment of its customer’s compliance obligations. Notable outcomes included:

  • Safeguarding an Important Business Relationship

    Our ongoing support helped the company preserve a key customer relationship and protect revenue tied to the account. 

  • Upholding Customer Compliance

    We helped the company establish and maintain annual compliance with the customer’s supplier code of conduct. 

  • Establishing a GHG Inventory

    The company gained insight into its emissions footprint by obtaining a detailed GHG emissions inventory that aligns with its customer’s requirements.

  • Deepening Scope 3 Analysis

    To respond to increasing customer expectations for Scope 3 data, we helped the company assess the materiality of and source data for additional categories.

  • Providing Required Third-party Compliance

    We provide the company with an annual third-party letter needed for compliance that details data reporting methodology and results.  

  • Developing a Decarbonization Strategy

    The decarbonization strategy we helped design aligns with the customer’s requirements and the company’s business goals.

  • Informing Additional Communications and Decision-Making

    Information on climate impact and mitigation efforts can now be leveraged in other company activities and communications.

Responsible and transparent operations have become fundamental prerequisites to many successful supplier-customer relationships. We helped our client respond in a timely and thorough manner to requests from one of its major customers for emissions data and a reduction plan. Guiding the client through the process from start to finish, our work helped the company calculate its first-ever GHG emissions inventory and leverage those insights to develop a decarbonization strategy. Our support resulted in the company maintaining compliance with the customer’s supplier code of conduct and keeping its key business contract.
Aurora Bardoneschi
Director, Sustainability Services BDO USA

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