2 September 2010 | Lindsay Clark

Six out of 10 procurement managers say they will not be ready to measure and influence carbon emissions in their supply chain in the next year, the SM100 poll has found.

One buyer summed up the mood when he said: “In my organisation, no we won’t. It’s not viewed as a business priority in the present climate and we wouldn’t have access to the necessary data.”

In July, the UK government supported a proposal by France and Germany to have the EU carbon emission target changed to a 30 per cent reduction on 1990 levels by 2020, up from the current 20 per cent target.

Although the majority (61 per cent) of procurement professionals and consultants polled believe they will not be ready to measure supplier emissions within a year,

37 per cent were more optimistic. Two per cent were uncertain.

Lee Wilkinson, civils buyer with engineering firm J N Bentley, said: “We will have some influence on the emissions of our supply chain partners, however, I think it will be minimal.”