New Supply Chains

Challenges in achieving supply chain sustainability goals[edit]

Despite companies being increasingly focused on working with suppliers that help them achieve their sustainability goals, challenges continue to persist.[31] Suppliers further up the supply chain generally lack the maturity, tools, and capabilities to manage and drive environmental and social improvements.[31][32] When faced with workplace issues such as sexual harassment, retaliation by superiors, and a hazardous environment, lower tiered suppliers typically have a poor response plan, or no plan at all. In cases where a plan is established, suppliers are unable to implement it and train their employees accordingly due to a workforce consisting of nearly 50% temporary workers. As you move further upstream in the supply chain, a company loses more oversight over suppliers. Companies do not directly operate with lower tiered suppliers, and there is generally no contractual relationship in place between the two. This makes it increasingly difficult for companies to manage sustainability upstream. Additionally, lower tiered suppliers operate in relative obscurity compared to the companies they supply, so they tend not to face the same level of scrutiny if failing to meet sustainability standards.[31]

Many companies have thousands of suppliers, making it difficult for those in charge of driving supply chain sustainability to know where to begin and focus their efforts. They may not have access to the right data or may lack the authority to effect real change. Additionally, in striving to be more socially responsible, a company can inadvertently make it harder for smaller, diverse suppliers to compete with the larger, more established ones. Generally, the larger suppliers are better equipped to drive sustainability improvements compared with smaller ones. In rewarding the larger suppliers with larger contracts and reducing business or even severing ties with the smaller ones to achieve sustainability goals, companies make their supplier base less diverse and put the smaller suppliers at a disadvantage.[32]

See also[edit]

• Fair Stone standard
• Sustainable procurement

References[edit]

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3. ^ Samper, Luis; Giovannucci, Daniele; Marques Vieira, Luciana (2017). "The powerful role of intangibles in the coffee value chain. Economic Research Working Paper No. 39". World Intellectual Property Organization. Geneva.
4. ^ Supply Chain Management
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6. ^ Weir Total Supply Chain Sustainbility
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11. ^ "Child Labour". www.ilo.org. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
12. ^ Georges, Salwan; Whoriskey, Peter (December 30, 2019). "The children who harvest cocoa". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
13. ^ "What is forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking (Forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking)". www.ilo.org. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
14. ^ "ICT Companies Need to Address Forced Labor Risks in Lower Tier of Their Supply Chains". KnowTheChain. 2021-03-15. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
15. ^ h. t. g., Jr (May 1966). "The Role of the Securities and Exchange Commission under Section 16(b)". Virginia Law Review. 52 (4): 668–689. doi:10.2307/1071539. ISSN 0042-6601. JSTOR 1071539.
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19. ^ Airships float back to the futures
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21. ^ Sorkin, Andrew Ross (2021-01-26). "BlackRock Chief Pushes a Big New Climate Goal for the Corporate World". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
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25. ^ Kumar, Sameer; Teichman, Steve; Timpernagel, Tobias (2012). "A green supply chain is a requirement for profitability". International Journal of Production Research. 50 (5): 1278–1296. doi:10.1080/00207543.2011.571924. S2CID 111128704.
26. ^ COSA. 2013. The COSA Measuring Sustainability Report: Coffee and Cocoa in 12 Countries. Philadelphia, PA: The Committee on Sustainability Assessment
27. ^ Goncalves, Andre (19 March 2019). "Supply Chains Cause 90% Of Companies' Environmental Impacts. How Can They Be Improved?". Retrieved 4 June 2021.
28. ^ "Starting at the source: Sustainability in supply chains | McKinsey". www.mckinsey.com. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
29. ^ "How data can help build a sustainable supply chain". 15 November 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
30. ^ Cohen, Ronald. "How to Measure a Company's Real Impact". Harvard Business Review.
31. ^ Jump up to:a b c Villena, Verónica H.; Gioia, Dennis A. (2020-03-01). "A More Sustainable Supply Chain". Harvard Business Review. ISSN 0017-8012. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
32. ^ Jump up to:a b "Challenges in Supply Chain Sustainability | WSP". www.wsp.com. Retrieved 2022-06-24.

• Supply chain management