Scope 3 emissions data has long been the bane of corporate sustainability teams, a slog of manual emails, spreadsheets, and weeks of chasing suppliers for responses. Western Digital, the data storage giant, now offers a practical blueprint for turning that pain point into a machine learning win. By deploying an AI-powered email agent from startup Sluicebox, the company boosted primary carbon data collection from its largest suppliers from 30% to 90% while slashing the collection timeline from five to six months down to just four weeks. This is the kind of real-world efficiency gain that makes AI’s role in sustainability more than theoretical.
The pilot, rolled out late last year, focused on key components such as device housings, baseplates, and motors. Instead of asking suppliers to navigate a portal or fill out a form, the Sluicebox AI agent handles the entire request, answers follow-up questions, and synthesises raw data into a product carbon footprint aligned with ISO standards. The result is a dramatic reduction in the manual ‘chasing’ and data wrangling that typically consumes sustainability teams. As Mrinalini Iyer, Western Digital’s program manager for sustainability operations, explained at the recent Trellis Impact 26 event, the goal is not just speed but “usable, traceable and defensible data.”
Importantly, Western Digital framed the shift as a redistribution of labour rather than a replacement of human roles. Iyer stressed that “keeping people at the centre is an important part of Western Digital’s AI approach.” Team members still review outputs and validate methodologies, ensuring trust in the data. The AI frees sustainability professionals to focus on quality review, supplier engagement, and decision-making rather than administrative drudgery. This distinction matters in an industry where corporate leaders may be tempted to view AI as a cost-cutting tool for headcount reduction. The real value, as this case shows, lies in repurposing human expertise toward higher-value analytical work.
The implications for broader Scope 3 reporting are significant. Many companies struggle to gather primary emissions data from their supply chains, relying instead on spend-based estimates that are less accurate. Western Digital’s approach offers a scalable model that could be adapted by other electronics manufacturers and beyond. The company is already planning to extend the system by estimating gaps for non-responders using available inputs like bills of materials, and cross-checking product carbon footprints against supplier disclosures. This hybrid approach — combining AI-driven collection with intelligent estimation — could become a standard practice.
As regulators and investors increasingly demand validated, granular emissions data, solutions that reduce both the time and friction of data collection will be essential. Western Digital’s pilot is a practical, early-stage demonstration that AI can deliver tangible results in a notoriously difficult area of sustainability reporting. It is not a silver bullet, but it is a welcome step toward making Scope 3 data something that is actively collected rather than passively estimated.
Read the full report at Trellis.