Greening Up the Supply Chain

#wwusustainability

As time goes by, people are becoming more and more environmentally conscious. With that, they are becoming less and less tolerant of companies that are not making sustainability one of their core goals. The supply chain of a company is usually the main contributor to problematic corporate behaviors but is also the place where most improvements can be made. This article by Richard Howells from Forbes lays out five steps towards greening up a supply chain. 

• The first step is to establish a sustainable business strategy. Businesses must make sustainability a central part of their overall strategy. They can do this by doing things like creating measurable goals that have a timeframe and specificity. 

• Next is to embed sustainable data into business processes and networks. This helps keep companies accountable, as it is easily visible to shareholders, regulators, and customers. This data can be used to look at and refine operations within the supply chain.

• Managing carbon and climate exposure throughout the supply chain is necessary for managing climate-related emissions across all parts of their supply chain. Usually, a lack of visibility within a supply chain is the reason that a company struggles to keep their overall carbon footprint down.

• Next, a company can embrace circularity and become more regenerative. They must design products with their end of life in mind. Researchers and developers should ask themselves questions like: "how will this product be refurbished when its life is over?", "How will we make sure that it or its packaging doesn't end up in a landfill or the ocean?", etc.

• Finally, a company must prioritize people across the supply chain. This starts with respecting the workforce, creating a diverse and safe workspace, providing professional development opportunities, and putting an emphasis on safety, environmental health, equality, and human rights. 

It will take many companies working together to make positive changes to their supply chains to make a difference in the environment but the effects of this could be huge. As said earlier, the supply chain is one of the most vital parts of a company's efforts to being environmentally friendly and is the perfect place to start becoming more sustainable.

Source:

Howells, R. (2022, April 11). SAP brandvoice: 5 actions for a Sustainable Supply Chain. Forbes. Retrieved May 18, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2022/04/06/5-actions-for-a-sustainable-supply-chain/?sh=1ddd47866b39