UNH Sustainability Fellowship: Wyman’s Scope 3 Carbon Emissions
Wyman’s
Wyman’s Scope 3 Carbon Emissions
Milbridge, Maine
Remote
About the Host Organization:
Founded in Maine in 1874, Wyman’s remains family-owned and is the largest retail brand of frozen fruit in the U.S. Wyman’s raises wild blueberries on over 13,000 acres across Maine, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island and sources wild blueberries from over 450 grower partners. Wyman’s maintains manufacturing operations in Maine and Prince Edward Island, with co-pack manufacturing operations across the U.S. and South America. Although Wyman’s featured product offerings revolve around wild blueberries, we also offer a broad array of fruits from Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America. Sustainability is a core value at Wyman’s, which is made clear in their slogan “We are on a mission to help the world eat more fruit.” This slogan refers to both the human health benefits of fruit and the benefits to pollinators from flowering plants like fruits.
About the Fellowship:
Greenhouse gas emissions across the food supply chain must be reduced to meet climate targets. One way to calculate and reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions is by first calculating a food organization’s complete upstream, on-site, and downstream carbon footprint. The Fellow will conduct a scope 3 greenhouse gas inventory for international frozen fruit company Wyman’s to complement their scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas inventory.
Wyman’s calculated a portion of their carbon footprint as part of the fall 2022 UNH Carbon Clinic. This effort focused on their direct on-site emissions (scope 1) and indirect purchased electricity emissions (scope 2), and it identified key opportunities for on-site reductions. The most promising strategies include installing solar panels and updating refrigeration systems. As a multi-national food producer with a complex supply chain, Wyman’s next wants to calculate and reduce their upstream and downstream carbon emissions (scope 3).
Wyman’s is seeking to establish a baseline upstream and downstream (scope 3) carbon emissions analysis which includes, but is not limited to, international and domestic shipping, warehousing, packaging, and co-pack manufacturing operations. The first phase of the Fellowship will involve identifying which scope 3 categories are both relevant to Wyman’s and feasible to calculate. This scope 3 analysis will complement the scope 1 & 2 carbon emission analyses already completed and will provide visibility to Wyman’s complete carbon accounting.
Wyman’s seeks to incorporate emissions data and modeling into everyday business decisions to enhance our sustainability and reduce our overall contribution to climate change.
Outcomes:
The key goal for this Fellowship is to calculate Wyman’s scope 3 carbon footprint. The deliverables for this overarching goal are:
- Scope 3 greenhouse gas inventory report. This technical report will summarize the methodology, any assumptions, the results, and recommendations.
- Scenario analysis. As time allows, the Fellow will conduct scenario analysis for the scope 3 emissions to identify feasible and effective scenarios.
- Footprint reduction recommendations. Based on the footprint results and scenario analysis, the Fellow will prepare a list of recommendations for Wyman’s to most effectively reduce their scope 3 carbon emissions.
The Fellow should also prepare clearly documented data sets and calculation files. The greenhouse gas inventory tool SIMAP (unhsimap.org) will be used for the footprint calculation itself, but any supporting materials should be submitted as well.
Impact:
The Fellow will develop a skill set for the full process of calculating an international organization’s scope 3 carbon footprint. Greenhouse gas accounting is becoming an increasingly marketable skill, and scope 3 is of growing interest to organizations that want to address their full climate impact. The Fellow will also gain experience working with a value-added food producer and will gain familiarity with the full food supply chain.
With their full greenhouse gas inventory and the Fellow’s recommendations, Wyman’s will be able to incorporate greenhouse gas reduction into all aspects of their business operations. Wyman’s already values sustainability initiatives and would like to reduce their climate impact – the Fellow’s work will provide Wyman’s with the knowledge and tools to do .
Desired Qualifications:
- Strong data analysis and data management skills are essential, including experience with software like Excel.
- Experience with technical report writing and presenting.
- Experience with carbon footprint accounting.
- General / Soft Skills – Possess a positive proactive approach, highly organized, detailed oriented, effective verbal and written communicator.
Location:
Wyman’s
P.O. Box 100
Milbridge, ME 04658
Work will be performed online.
Mentor:
Bruce Hall, Director of Agroecology