Verizon – Shuvya Arakali – 2017

Goals 

Verizon, one of the country’s leading broadband and telecommunication companies, has set a goal of cutting its carbon intensity in half by 2020 to reduce both costs and environmental footprint. The company has also set a supply chain-specific goal of having 75% of assessed suppliers achieve Verizon’s minimum CSR standards and increase supplier outreach. EDF Climate Corps fellow Shuvya Arakali was hired to engage to improve the CSR performance of assessed suppliers and invite new suppliers to participate. 

Solutions

Arakali found that motivating suppliers to improve their CSR performance was most effective through direct 1-on-1 conversations and webinars. She developed educational materials on Verizon’s supplier code of conduct and the CSR assessment, and delivered customized action plans that highlighted quick wins and future opportunities for suppliers to act upon. Arakali used a webinar platform to engage with a larger audience of suppliers and build motivation surrounding high CSR performance. She conducted a comprehensive spend analysis to invite new suppliers to participate in the assessment program, and detailed a follow-up plan.

Potential Impact

By the end of her fellowship, Arakali had engaged with 15% of Verizon’s assessed suppliers, invited more to participate in the supplier assessments and developed a follow-up plan to help Verizon make progress towards hitting its 2020 supplier goal. Moving forward, Verizon now has a list of future supply chain goals to pursue, as well as multiple carbon emission goals, based on industry benchmarking.