ERM, Secaro, and AstraZeneca partner for Clean Heat Program for supply chain heat decarbonisation

ERM, a sustainability consultancy, in collaboration with supply chain intelligence platform Secaro and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, has launched the Clean Heat Program. This initiative aims to tackle one of the most significant challenges in industrial decarbonisation – transitioning to low-carbon heat across complex global supply chains.

Addressing the challenge of industrial process heat

Industrial process heat accounts for approximately 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions and remains a major barrier to achieving climate targets. Despite increasing regulatory scrutiny, volatile energy prices, and growing pressure from customers and investors, efforts to decarbonise heat often stall due to limited data availability, technical complexity, and financing challenges.

Jon Hughes, Partner at ERM, said, “By combining Secaro’s data and ERM’s technical expertise, we can accelerate the delivery of heat decarbonization projects that have historically struggled to move beyond preliminary assessment. The Clean Heat Program will provide clients with the practical implementation support required to decarbonise industrial heat while strengthening resilience, reducing risk, and unlocking value across supply chains.”

Combining data and expertise for solutions

The Clean Heat Program integrates Secaro’s global supply chain intelligence platform with ERM’s technical and advisory expertise to provide practical, implementation-focused support. Secaro contributes environmental supply chain data, heat-specific insights, analytics, and solution recommendation tools, leveraging its network of over 8,000 buyers, suppliers, and solution providers.

ERM applies these insights to conduct detailed heat assessments and guides companies and their suppliers through solution identification, business case development, investment pathways, and site-level implementation.

Emily Prior, Chief Growth Officer at Secaro, said, “Decarbonising heat is now business critical. It is an essential way to protect revenue, reduce exposure to energy price shocks, and stay ahead of regulation and investor and customer expectations.”

She further added, “Many organisations are looking at heat in isolation, comparing the current gas bill to a full switch to biomethane for example. In order to succeed in decarbonising supply chain heat, businesses need to take a more holistic approach that starts with efficiency, and then moves to decarbonised fuels, so that the economics work.” 

“As part of this program, businesses will have access to a range of financing solutions, including access to the EU-based heat decarbonization fund and off-balance-sheet financing partners.”

AstraZeneca’s role

AstraZeneca has joined the program as a founding partner, collaborating with peers and suppliers to prioritise heat as a key emissions hotspot. The company will contribute to program development, shared learning, and cross-industry collaboration.

Rob Williams, Senior Director of Sustainable Procurement at AstraZeneca, quoted,
“It’s clear that a program like this is the fastest and most effective way to decarbonise heat in our supply chain. We are long-term partners with Secaro and ERM, and now we’re expanding relationships with peers, buyers from other industries, and suppliers to plan, fund, and launch the projects that will make heat decarbonization a reality. This level of collaboration is essential.”

Building on existing industry collaborations

The Clean Heat Program builds on existing industry efforts such as the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI), which maintains an active working group focused on supplier education and heat decarbonization. It will also collaborate closely with initiatives led by the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative (PSCI) and the Scope 3 Peer Group.

Organisations interested in joining the first cohort of founding members are invited to register their intent by 31 March.