Supply Chain

Groundbreaking Digital Platform Helps Businesses Identify Climate Risks Across the Value Chain

A new digital transparency tool is making it easier than ever for businesses to pinpoint climate change risks along their supply chains. Launched by data specialists Everycs, the open-source data platform Makersite is the first of its kind and allows users to map carbon footprints and assess environmental impacts at different stages of the value chain.

By Sustainable Brands | Published 7 years ago | About a 3 minute read

A new digital transparency tool is making it easier than ever for businesses to pinpoint climate change risks along their supply chains.

Launched by data specialists Everycs, the open-source data platform Makersite is the first of its kind and allows users to map carbon footprints and assess environmental impacts at different stages of the value chain.

With millions of data points, it is the largest database on how products are made and the impacts, costs and risks of making them. Data is constantly updated to reflect changes in regulations and product evolutions. Users can customize thousands of available product models or configure their own products to discover and analyze risks or impacts across value chain and life cycle.

“Combined risk, hazard and environmental data is a breakthrough. Open data can be used, improved and reviewed by the world community and dedicated experts,” said Neil D’Souza, co-founder of Everycs. “Policymakers and the wider community will benefit from this collective work.”

Calculations are done using open as well as third-party commercial data to ensure dependable results. The ability to compute across private and public data, while protecting intellectual property at a granular level, removes an important barrier to supply chain collaboration and product stewardship.

The first release of the tool will focus on three main areas — substance and chemical risk, environmental footprints for buyers and suppliers and material or processing alternatives.

Regulated Substance Risk and Chemical Risk

Makersite is designed to help companies identify where chemicals may be entering a supply chain, as well as which jurisdiction and regulation restrict them. The model is automatically updated with regulatory changes and users get notified when those are made. The potential impact of proposed restrictions can be revealed not just for the product, but for its entire supply chain.

Everycs has also created a simple way to visualize risk when a chemical is used in a range of products, called the RCR Matrix. For a given chemical, the matrix lists the concentrations in which it is safe to use for selected product groups using the ECETOC methodology. The site provides fully automated risk calculation for millions of chemicals. Using the tool, manufacturers and buyers can quickly identify if a chemical ingredient poses a risk to the consumer.

Environmental Footprints for buyers and suppliers

Makersite allows buyers and sellers to calculate footprints easily, reliably and with granular security to protect Intellectual Property. Users can calculate, analyze, and share the environmental performance of their products using the same background models and methods, without having to reveal confidential information. That way data is comparable, reliable and avoids conflicting interests.

Material or Processing Alternatives

Currently, there is no way to simultaneously model all the impacts of material, supplier, and/or technology changes in a single platform. With Makersite users can now evaluate such alternatives, even across their supply chain. For instance, a user can model how a change of material may affect costs, environmental performance or compliance.

“It is incredibly challenging for firms to keep on top of product data across complex value chains and comply with an ever-changing mosaic of demands,” said Christoph Wilfert, Co-Founder and CEO of Everycs. “Our unique platform solves this problem with accuracy and speed.”