The GCI Platform: An Essential Strategic Tool
๐ฌ Interview with Thierry Lescuyer, business consultant at Kongsulting
Could you please introduce yourself and describe your business?
I have been a GCI expert since the company was foundedโabout 18 months agoโand my specialty is providing consulting services in logistics, as I have extensive experience in that field. I was the logistics manager at Technicolor, and I am currently applying that expertise to calculate CO2 impacts in logistics and the supply chain.
I shipped 10,000 containers a year from Asia to Europe and the Americas by ship, plane, train, and truck, and we needed to measure the environmental impacts. And since this is extremely complicatedโgiven the vast amount of multimodal transport involvedโwe used TKโBlue to perform our calculations, and GCI offers the same service.
How does a carbon footprint assessment contribute to a companyโs โCSRโ strategy?
Carbon footprint analysis leads to cost savings. Let me give you an example: I have 10,000 containers leaving Asia. If I ship them by air, thatโs 1,000 grams of CO2 per metric ton-kilometer; if I ship them by sea, itโs 60 grams. This results in a significant reductionโnot only in costs, which is drastic, but also in CO2 emissions. If I take a small businessโs fleet of cars or trucks that switch from diesel to ethanol, the company will cut its costs in half since diesel is twice as expensive as ethanol, and CO2 emissions will be cut in half as well. Thatโs where we see real savings.
The second benefit of carbon accounting is, of course, to advance our global goal of protecting the planet and to meet the targets weโve set for ourselves globallyโan 80% reduction by 2030 and a 100% reduction by 2050โin our carbon footprint. Itโs also the companyโs responsibility to provide our customersโwho will ask for this information, whether in requests for proposals or on a day-to-day basisโwith the specific details relevant to individual customers. If we donโt have our own carbon footprint assessment, how can we tell a customer the CO2 impact of the product weโre delivering?
Why did you choose the GCI platform?
I chose GCI primarily because we had worked with the group in the past to prepare our carbon footprint assessments, and because using an outside firm avoids the need to figure out which parameters or indicators are standard and which are not. Weโre working with a rating agency that has a measured, reliable, and recognized carbon footprint.
Second, itโs an easy-to-use platform; you fill it out as you go along, adding your knowledge, and you can provide detailed information on the most important areas where you have the greatest CO2 impact. Plus, itโs very affordable, costing between 500 and 2,500 eurosโa price thatโs unbeatable on the market.
What advice do you give entrepreneurs to help them successfully assess their carbon footprint?
To successfully conduct a carbon assessment, the company that comes to us must organize its teams. It must ensure that these teams will be able to contribute data from across the entire organization.
Itโs not complicated data to obtain, but they just need to be prepared to provide information about their electricity costs, internal expenses, travel, and purchasesโand once they do, theyโll be able to fill it out very easily. theyโll go to the website and fill in the required fields in a straightforward manner, and within an hour or two theyโll already have a complete picture of their business and what needs to be addressed as they go along.
The advantage is that they can do it gradually.
How much does a carbon assessment cost?
For a TPI companyโa business with 20 employeesโit will cost 500 euros to prepare its financial statements and register on the platform; and if it has all the data within an hour, it can already fill out a large portion of its questionnaire. After that, there will still be a number of items for which they may need invoices and year-to-date totals to complete the data and get a more detailed picture of their balance sheet.
Next, we step in as certified expertsโeither at the clientโs request or as a recommendation we offerโto spend two hours with them, explaining all the parameters that need to be filled out and helping them enter the information so that they can become self-sufficient as quickly as possible and obtain relevant information promptly. Then, if they wish, we begin a process of setting goals and providing support to guide the reduction efforts alongside their teams.