Sustainability advisory firm ERM, supply chain intelligence platform Secaro, and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca announced the launch of the Clean Heat Program, a new initiative aimed at reducing emissions from industrial heat across global supply chains.

Industrial process heat remains a major obstacle to corporate decarbonization efforts, accounting for approximately 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Despite increasing regulatory pressure, energy price volatility, and growing demands from customers and investors, companies have struggled to address emissions from heat due to data gaps, technical complexity, and financing challenges.

The program combines Secaro’s environmental supply chain data, heat-specific insights, analytics, and solution recommendation tools with ERM’s technical expertise to provide detailed heat assessments and implementation support. The initiative is designed to guide companies through solution identification, business case development, investment planning, and site-level deployment.

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 decarbonize industrial heat while strengthening resilience, reducing risk, and unlocking value across supply chains.”

AstraZeneca has joined the program as a founding partner and will work to mobilize suppliers and industry peers to prioritize industrial heat as a key emissions hotspot and accelerate the adoption of low-carbon heat solutions.

Rob Williams, Senior Director of Sustainable Procurement at AstraZeneca, said:

“It’s clear that a program like this is the fastest and most effective way to decarbonize 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.