(Yicai) Oct. 30 -- Product carbon footprint is becoming a common currency, or language, across global supply chains as more customers request relevant data from their suppliers, according to the China president at German adhesive tape maker tesa.

“We need a common currency, or I would even say a language, with our customers, but also with our suppliers,” Stephen Hauber told Yicai at tesa’s Sustainability Open Day in Suzhou on Oct. 14. “Having the carbon footprint, that’s the language to work with.”

Customer requirements are sometimes even tougher than regulation, Hauber said. Speed and cost used to define competitiveness, but companies now recognize sustainability as a competitive element, he said. “If you’re not in sustainability, you’re out of business.”

At tesa’s Suzhou site, which Hauber described as a competence center of R&D, manufacturing and innovation, 100% of the energy used has been renewable since 2021, and CO₂ emissions are down around 30% from the 2018 baseline, equal to around 2,700 tons, he said.