Enabling Vietnam-based suppliers’ transition from coal to biomass
Supporting: Decathlon
The Company
Decathlon is one of the largest sporting goods retailers in the world, with over 1,700 stores in 60 countries.
The company is committed to sustainability and corporate responsibility, and has ambitious targets for its carbon reduction, including an approved Science Based Target aligned with the 1.5-degree pathway for 2026. Decathlon has a net zero commitment and is expanding the scope of its action by encouraging its supplier portfolio to set Science-based targets by 2026, and to phase out coal.
The Challenge
Decathlon has committed to phasing-out the use of coal by its Tier 1 suppliers by 2025 and its Tier 2 suppliers by 2030. To fulfil this commitment, Decathlon supported its Vietnam suppliers to undertake boiler feasibility studies to determine their capacity to substitute coal with biomass, as the main alternative in the region.
To ensure a successful transition, suppliers need a reliable procurement stream for biomass, from credible and responsible sources at a stable and competitive market price. To tackle this challenge, Decathlon took the initiative support its suppliers map out the opportunities for responsible biomass procurement in Vietnam to support its Vietnamese suppliers to phase-out coal by switching to sustainably sourced biomass.
Our Expertise
Our in-country experts supported Decathlon Vietnam with a detailed mapping of biomass sourcing options. Drawing from our market expertise and network within the biomass market, we identified reputable vendors with potential to match Decathlon suppliers’ needs. We conducted assessments to determine price and availability within a given radius of Decathlon suppliers’ sites.
Additionally, the act renewable team developed structured selection criteria to support suppliers’ contract with a vendor fitting to their needs.
Process & Roadmap
The process consisted in streamlining the biomass sourcing in Vietnam in the following steps:
1. Assessment: identification of key challenges and priorities related to biomass sourcing for Decathlon and its suppliers in Vietnam.
2. Evaluation: deep biomass sourcing market research for 7 specific Decathlon suppliers’ sites in 4 provinces, carried out by act renewable’s in-country market experts.
3. Solution: Based on the findings of the evaluation, we identified several suitable vendors, providing Decathlon’s suppliers with the best options available. These vendors were carefully selected based on responsible biomass sourcing criteria, stable market conditions, and competitive prices.
Decathlon Factory
Key Outcomes
Shortlist of vendors along with their key information, selected with the sustainable biomass sourcing criteria as designed for Decathlon suppliers’ needs. Our recommendations included the price and potential risks associated with each type of biomass available, as well as per vendor. This enables Decathlon’s suppliers in Vietnam to make informed and responsible decisions regarding the sourcing of sustainable biomass.
In addition, a summary on Vietnam biomass price forecast and climate change impact on the agriculture sector, allowing Decathlon and its suppliers to have an informed view on the future direction of the market and act accordingly.
To read more on Decathalon’s journey towards accelerating the corporate transition, check out their page:
https://sustainability.decathlon.com/support-our-suppliers-with-the-decarbonisation-of-production