In Conversation with Bristol Myers Squibb

Trio recently sat down with the Sustainable Procurement team at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) to discuss their joint partnership in launching the Supplier Decarbonization Accelerator, which provides complimentary resources and support to key suppliers who are being asked by BMS to set science-based targets by 2028. 

The program is focused on supplier engagement and education designed to inform suppliers on BMS’s climate goals and provide tailored resources to support suppliers wherever they are on their sustainability journey. 

Trio: Can you walk us through the BMS Supplier Decarbonization Accelerator – what it is, when it launched, how it works, and the program’s offerings and broader objectives? 

BMS: BMS had its Science Based Targets approved in 2024. These targets make up an important part of BMS’s larger environmental sustainability agenda. With ~80% of emissions coming from the value chain (Scope 3), BMS set a supplier engagement target to address 75% of its supplier emissions through suppliers setting their own science-based or science-aligned target by 2028.  

Given suppliers’ outsized impact on the BMS emission profile, it became critical to develop an understanding of who these suppliers are to BMS and how to support them in their journey to reaching this target. One of our solutions was the development of the BMS Supplier Decarbonization Accelerator, a program designed to reach BMS’s top-emitting suppliers through awareness, information, resources and direct support to ensure BMS suppliers reached the 2028 goal.  

The program was launched in September 2024 and offers multiple channels to support suppliers, including webinars on core subjects, roundtables for peer-to-peer exchange, and office hours for 1:1 consultation, as well as a bevy of resources through an online resource library.  

While the intent of the program is to support our suppliers, BMS benefits by:   

• Having our suppliers set goals and be on the journey to reduce emissions
• Providing BMS with visibility as to where our suppliers are in this process and what they need to have approved targets in place
• Laying the groundwork for our longer term decarbonization agenda – on the road to Net Zero.  

 

“Meeting our emissions reduction targets requires innovation and partnership. Helping to build the capabilities of our suppliers is a critical component of this.”  

Karin Shanahan, executive vice president of Global Product Development & Supply, Bristol Myers Squibb

 

Trio: What were some of the drivers behind launching the program? 

BMS: Most notably, the approval of our science-based supplier engagement target became a driver behind the program. The realization that many of BMS’s top-emitting suppliers would need support and guidance also became a driver. It became apparent that if we expected to see transformational change, we would have to be critical enablers. Having suppliers set science-based or aligned targets is just the beginning. Decarbonization will take a more integrated, hands-on approach with suppliers moving forward, and this program begins to address that.  

Trio: What has the response and engagement been like from your suppliers since the program’s launch? 

BMS: The response since the program launched has been overwhelmingly positive. While suppliers are responsive to our asks, they really appreciate the resources and tools that are provided to support these requests. Many suppliers know this program will put those building blocks in place to get started. BMS knows there is more to be done to bring in more suppliers to this program and to deepen the understanding and expectations of this initiative to the supply base to accelerate the desired outcomes.  

 

“We are setting a path to ensure we have an engaged supplier base that shares our commitments and are prepared for a more sustainable future. We’ll continue to look for ways to drive impact in our supply chain to help us deliver on a Net Zero future.” 

Karin Shanahan, executive vice president of Global Product Development & Supply, Bristol Myers Squibb

 

Trio: The Accelerator is focused on three key components - supplier engagement, education, and tailored resources. Can you talk about what these look like and how they help drive supply chain decarbonization? 

BMS: Sustainability topics, including target setting and decarbonization, is a large change management initiative. The Accelerator leverages multiple channels to get in front of suppliers to build awareness and education – no matter where the suppliers’ capabilities are. We really worked to bring a tailored approach to their needs.  

From an awareness perspective, there are newsletters that go out monthly with program updates, supplier testimonials, and regulatory news designed to keep suppliers in the know. There are recorded webinars on building the business case for science-based targets, how to conduct an inventory, instructions for setting targets, and the like. There are roundtables to deepen suppliers’ understanding of specific decarbonization levers like renewable energy procurement, energy efficiency, and EV adoption.  

There is also a resource library with things like a target-setting white paper that provides technical guidance for suppliers to understand each step of the journey. If you are a supplier with a specific challenge that needs talking through, there are also office hours with experts designed to overcome those challenges, too.  

Trio: Can you talk about your partnership with Trio and how you’ve been working together to find solutions, address challenges, and achieve the program’s objectives? 

BMS: BMS and Trio have been working together closely for months to design, build, and manage the program to lay an important foundation of supplier engagement in BMS’s climate agenda. Both teams keep a close pulse on supplier feedback, or put differently, what we are not hearing from suppliers, that we think could signal a need for iteration and improvement.  

The partnership is committed to delivering the 2028 supplier engagement goal and is amenable to adapting the ‘how’ based on what suppliers and other partners are telling us is needed to get there. We may have great content and good hypotheses about what gets suppliers to the goal, but without continuous feedback and iteration, we may miss the mark. 

 

"We want to be at the forefront of sustainable change and that will require advanced capabilities that are truly embedded in the business and everyone doing their part to lead this agenda.” 

Karin Shanahan, executive vice president of Global Product Development & Supply, Bristol Myers Squibb

 

BMS: Looking ahead, how do you envision the program’s growth and evolution over time? What are the longer-term goals of the program and partnership? 

The program should continue to evolve and, hopefully, up the ante on what is expected of suppliers as this work becomes more familiar. Suppliers should be actively embedding this agenda into their business priorities - not just for BMS, but for being competitive in the pharmaceutical industry where we know dozens of large pharma and biotech companies are expecting their suppliers to share similar climate goals. The program can steward this expectation forward and begin addressing what the longer-term trajectory of supply chain decarbonization looks like. 

Trio: What would you like suppliers to know about BMS’s expectations for working sustainably? 

BMS: Our commitment to environmental sustainability is core to BMS and will only grow in importance over time. It is crucial that we understand the suppliers who are on this journey with us and how we can build toward a more resilient future together. We are prioritizing those suppliers that see opportunity in a more sustainable future and will be taking decisive actions towards realizing that future.