Microsoft: Mondra AI Chatbot to Reduce Scope 3 Emissions

Scope 3 emissions are tricky to track, with only 10% of companies comprehensively measuring and reporting emissions across all scopes according to Boston Consulting Group. 

Mondra aims to change this using Microsoft Azure OpenAI’s secure servers.

The company’s new chatbot, named Sherpa, aims to support retailers in calculating how much CO2 is produced in the making of their products down to the ingredient level.

Jason Barrett, CEO at Mondra, says: “Mondra’s approach to collaborative decarbonisation is ground-breaking.

“We are essentially giving retailers the platform and tools to support planet-positive category evolution, while de-risking their business and taking advantage of the commercial opportunity presented by the net zero economy.”

How Mondra can help emissions reductions

Mondra’s platform automates Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) at scale, supporting retailers to understand the environmental impact of products.

Providing this transparency gives companies an opportunity to identify problem areas in their supply chain emissions and take action. 

One Mondra customer reformulated a lasagne with its data, reducing the carbon emitted in its production by 18%. 

Sherpa can also support retailers to build resilience in their supply chains, showing emissions if ingredients are sourced from other parts of the world in the event of disruption from climate change, natural disasters or political conflicts. 

Alison Wright, Small Business Lead at Microsoft UK, says: “Mondra’s groundbreaking chatbot Sherpa – built using Microsoft AI technology – will be a powerful tool in the fight against climate change.

“Being able to map food supply chain carbon emissions, then make data-driven decisions on how to reduce them, will radically improve the retail food industry’s ability to meet its net zero targets.”

Where Mondra is making a difference in supply chains

Mondra is working with NGOs, the UK Government and the British Retail Consortium to build a unified standard to measure product level performance and farm data alongside ensuring accurate, comparable data is collected efficiently. 

Marco De Sanctis, Chief Technical Officer at Mondra, explains: “The overlay of Sherpa onto the Mondra platform is game-changing for the industry.

“Its querying ability will empower businesses to make data-driven decisions, reducing their environmental impact and improving operational efficiency.”

Microsoft Azure’s sustainability efforts

Microsoft Azure has committed to focus on four key areas of environmental impact alongside using its AI capabilities to improve efficiency in sustainability.

Azure is also actively engaged in more than 40 projects around the world to make a local impact on environmental outcomes.

In Dublin, Ireland it has started a community engagement project to improve energy efficiency and energy savings at a local college. 

It is also partnering with renewable energy projects, such as preparing skilled workers to take advantage of solar jobs at colleges in Virginia, USA. 

Graduates of this training programme will be qualified for well-paying jobs, having economic development impacts in the communities where they live and work.

In South Africa, Azure is using smart water metres to support regional hospitals to mitigate a water crisis. 

Microsoft Sustainability awarded US$100,000 to the Western Cape Provincial Department of Health to install smart metres at 53 public hospitals in Cape Town. 

Receive the next edition of ClimateTech Digital by signing up for its newsletter. 

As part of this portfolio, make sure you check out Sustainability Magazine and Energy Digital and also sign up to our global conference series - Sustainability LIVE. 

ClimateTech Digital is a BizClik brand