How Rabobank is working with commodity traders to build transparent supply chains for a net-zero future

To take data-led, science-based
climate action, Rabobank needs
high-quality carbon accounting for
its financed emissions.

Through CarbonChain’s platform,
Rabobank collects Scope 3 carbon
data for its commodity trade
finance portfolio, supporting its
clients to address climate risk and
build transparent, low-carbon
supply chains.
!

“
Banks have the power to catalyze action on
climate change. We’re harnessing this potential
by quantifying our commodity trade finance
emissions, to strengthen our climate strategy,
and help our clients understand and tackle their
Scope 3 carbon risk.

THE CLIENT

Rabobank

Rabobank is a cooperative bank. There are almost
ninety local Rabobanks in the Netherlands, which
each operate with a high degree of independence
so they can better serve their customers and
local communities. Rabobank also has sizeable
international banking operations. The Trade and
Commodity Finance business unit combines
Rabobank’s long-term expertise in agricultural
commodities, energy and metals finance.

THE CHALLENGE

Uncovering carbon hotspots in complex supply chains

To meet the urgency of the climate challenge,
Rabobank is committed to taking action on
its financed emissions and carbon risks. Since
2020, Rabobank has been working with clients
to address the high-emitting supply chains in its
commodity trade finance portfolio. For example,
Rabobank implemented a pilot scheme offering
metal commodity traders incentives for meeting
sustainability targets, and a template for clients
to develop a climate action plan to decarbonize
their trade flows. In order to strengthen its green
finance schemes and set quantified targets
with measurable progress, Rabobank needed to

address a major barrier: the lack of high-quality
emissions data for clients’ supply chains.

Rabobank recognized that through collaboration
with traders and by using CarbonChain’s carbon
accounting software, they could accelerate action
towards three key goals:

1. Setting emissions reduction targets, including
Scope 3 (supply chains)

2. Advising clients on carbon risk reduction

3. Reducing the carbon footprint of Rabobank’s
trade commodity finance portfolio

THE PROCESS

Measuring, tracking and benchmarking

Using CarbonChain’s carbon accounting platform, Rabobank
is running a pilot for carbon intensity supply chain data
collection. CarbonChain’s platform is linked with the
Rabo Trace portal (Rabobank’s infrastructure to connect
information such as carbon data to its financed trade flows).
As part of this integration, Rabobank’s clients can easily
extract and share raw data.

CarbonChain’s AI-powered technology then quickly and
automatically calculates each trade’s overall carbon
footprint and carbon intensity, across the entire supply
chain, alongside granular breakdowns. This allows both
financier and trader to identify key carbon hotspots and
opportunities for emissions reductions, via the platform and
through downloadable reports.

• To help inform green sourcing strategies, CarbonChain
rates suppliers, assets, and trades according to their carbon
performance, enabling KPI-setting and progress tracking.

CarbonChain calculated the emissions of a sample of the
copper and aluminum trades of one of Rabobank’s key trade
finance clients, Concord Resources Limited, producing a
comprehensive carbon footprint and intensity report, with
actionable insights. For example:

• CarbonChain reveals the alignment of vessels in a trade
against the Sea Cargo Charter (the global standard for
assessing the climate impact of chartering activities).

• CarbonChain benchmarks the performance of key
activities and assets against industry averages, which
uncovers potential emissions reduction opportunities at
key stages in the supply chain.

For Rabobank, it was important for their carbon accounting
to align with global carbon reporting standards such
as the GHG Protocol and CDP disclosure. CarbonChain
provides Rabobank and its trading clients with the accuracy,
completeness and itemization required to follow these
frameworks, through granular, auditable, asset-level
emissions tracking.

THE RESULTS

Towards lower-carbon, transparent supply chains

“

Rabobank is committed to accelerating the
transition to low-carbon commodity trading.
CarbonChain helps us align with global
sustainability and reporting standards and
work with our clients to de-risk and decarbonize
high-polluting supply chains.

!

Richard Piechocki

Head Sustainability Trade & Commodity Finance
(TCF) Global, Rabobank

CarbonChain provided four key benefits for Rabobank:

01 Data for the net-zero

Data for the net-zero transition

As Rabobank onboards more
traders to its pilot, the bank is
uncovering carbon hotspots across
the entire supply chain of financed
trades. This provides insights to
understand risk, manage emissions,
advise on climate plans, and
develop innovative green finance
strategies to catalyze action among
traders and suppliers.

02 Client support

With shared visibility and clarity on
the carbon performance of trades,
Rabobank and their clients can
collaborate on KPIs and emissions
reductions.

As more trading clients join
Rabobank’s pilot, the wealth of
data will help them explore how
to work with clients on target-setting and how to follow the
recommendations of the Science
Based Targets initiative (SBTi) Net-Zero Standard.

03 Low-cost solution

CarbonChain’s platform integrates
smoothly into Rabobank’s workflow
and systems, and comes with low
overheads due to the cloud-based
software, providing automated, fast
emissions calculations.

04 Journey to leadership

Rabobank is demonstrating
transparency and commitment
to decarbonization, as well
as preparing for legislative,
reputational and financial risks in
the net-zero transition. This brings
a range of potential reputational
benefits and opportunities for ESG
leadership recognition.

“ The importance of resilient and transparent
supply chains is clear. CarbonChain’s platform
lets us, together with our trade finance provider
– Rabobank – tame the complexity of supply
chain emissions, prepare for ESG regulation,
and mitigate carbon risks early.

Vikram Rajvanshy
Treasurer, Concord Resources Limited
!