AstraZeneca, Secaro and ERM have launched the Clean Heat Program, a new initiative aimed at helping companies cut emissions from industrial heat across global supply chains. The programme is designed to address a part of decarbonisation that remains difficult for many businesses despite wider progress on renewable electricity and corporate climate target-setting. ERM said the initiative combines Secaro’s supply chain intelligence platform with technical and advisory support to help companies move from analysis into implementation.

Industrial process heat accounts for around 18 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, making it a major emissions source that has often received less attention than power generation or transport. The challenge is especially acute because many manufacturing processes still depend on fossil-fuel-based heat, while lower-carbon alternatives such as electrification, hydrogen and biomethane can require substantial site upgrades, capital spending and operational redesign.

 

Moving Beyond Assessment to Delivery

 

The central aim of the Clean Heat Program is to close the gap between identifying decarbonisation opportunities and actually financing and deploying projects. According to ERM, Secaro will contribute environmental supply chain data, heat-specific analytics and solution recommendation tools, supported by a network of more than 8,000 buyers, suppliers and solution providers. ERM will use those insights to carry out detailed heat assessments and support companies and suppliers with solution selection, business case development, investment pathways and site-level implementation.

That execution focus is important. Industrial heat projects often stall because companies can identify the emissions issue but struggle to decide which technologies are commercially viable, how to sequence efficiency upgrades against fuel switching, and how to manage upfront capital costs. The programme is therefore structured less as a reporting exercise and more as a practical delivery model for companies trying to convert climate ambition into operational change.

 

Read more: PepsiCo Expands On-Site Renewable Energy With Large Solar Installation at Leicester Logistics Hub

 

Why Heat Is Becoming a Strategic Business Issue

 

The launch reflects a broader shift in how companies are viewing industrial heat. Rather than treating it only as a technical sustainability issue, many are starting to see it as a source of business risk tied to fuel price volatility, regulation, investor scrutiny and supply chain resilience. Secaro’s Chief Growth Officer Emily Prior said heat decarbonisation is now business critical, linking it directly to revenue protection, energy price exposure and evolving stakeholder expectations.

That framing matters because industrial heat sits at the intersection of climate and energy security. Companies that remain dependent on gas or other fossil fuels for thermal processes are exposed not only to emissions pressure but also to input cost swings and supply disruption. In sectors such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food processing and manufacturing, that can turn heat decarbonisation into an operational and procurement priority rather than a longer-term climate aspiration.

 

AstraZeneca’s Role and Supply Chain Relevance

 

AstraZeneca has joined as a founding partner, giving the initiative an anchor company with a large and complex global supply chain. ERM said the programme builds on existing collaboration efforts including work linked to the Sustainable Markets Initiative, the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative and the Scope 3 Peer Group. AstraZeneca’s involvement suggests the programme is aimed not just at direct site emissions but at supplier-level transition, where many large multinationals face the greatest share of their carbon footprint.

For companies with major Scope 3 exposure, industrial heat is becoming more important because suppliers often rely on energy-intensive production processes that are difficult to decarbonise quickly. A collaborative model that combines buyers, suppliers, technical advisers and financing channels may therefore be more effective than asking suppliers to solve the issue individually. That appears to be the underlying logic behind the Clean Heat Program.

 

Explore OneStop ESG Marketplace: Corporate ESG consulting

 

What the Launch Signals

 

The programme signals that industrial heat is moving higher on the corporate decarbonisation agenda. Renewable electricity has been the easier entry point for many companies, but deeper emissions cuts increasingly require action in harder-to-abate operational areas. By combining data, engineering support and financing pathways, AstraZeneca, Secaro and ERM are positioning the Clean Heat Program as a mechanism to unlock projects that have historically remained stuck in the assessment phase.

If the model proves effective, it could become a useful template for companies trying to reduce supply chain emissions in sectors where heat is a major operational input. The real test, however, will be whether the initiative can deliver commercially workable projects at scale. That is the point where many industrial decarbonisation efforts still face their greatest challenge.