How do you monitor GHG emissions by your suppliers in China and India?

China talks a good game on clean tech right now, but in reality they are decades behind the Europe and the United States when it comes to energy efficiency. A Chinese factory is on average five times less efficient than an American factory. Having said that, the cost to modernize a factory in China is substantially less than the cost to do so in a developed nation. So your question is a good one.

There are a handful of GHG monitoring options out there, but none is perfect, particularly given that most rely on the goodwill of the greenhouse gas emitter. A couple to make note of are the Carbon Disclosure Project and the China Climate Registry. Some start ups, like Picarro, are bringing products to market that enable more automated monitoring. And Picarro actually has a deal with China's emissions agency to use the company's GHG analyzers. But even then, you will then face the challenge of getting suppliers to provide access to these systems. Perhaps the most effective tactic to use for emissions monitoring is to negotiate compliance with agreed upon standards during the supplier negotiation process. Walmart is targeting a 20% reduction over 5 years with a number of suppliers. Just make sure that your suppliers believe they can hit the targets and that compliance is critical to winning your business.