5 Early Actions for Stronger & More Sustainable Supply Chains
In the last few years, we’ve seen disruptions to global and regional supply chains caused by the pandemic, extreme weather, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Some companies have seen the writing on the wall and started to innovate for reliability - like piloting a “dual” supply chain that is two-pronged and intentionally redundant.
As companies bolster their supply chains, it is also the perfect time to integrate sustainability into key decisions and processes. Each node in a supply chain is a decision point and provides an opportunity for improvement - not simply by shifting to new suppliers, but by authentically engaging with those who already know you well. Why engage? Because your suppliers’ challenges and impacts are your own challenges and impacts. And these can be addressed best with collaborative, creative problem-solving.
But first, what information do you need before you schedule those video calls?
To get started, here are a few initial steps:
Understand Your Network. Map Your Supply Chain:
The first step to strengthening your supply chain is to map it out with a sustainability lens so you can identify risks and impacts. Key data for mapping include: the materials/services being procured, the supplier’s location, mode of transport, and their ESG profiles - carbon emission disclosures, environmental and human rights commitments, and 14001 certification, to name a few.
Identify Hotspots:
Expand your supply chain map to include evidence-based estimates of emissions, water use, toxic chemicals releases and exposures, and human rights abuses. “Hotspots” describe the most problematic in severity and also the most likely to occur. Make sure to analyze both upstream and downstream business activities in your supply chain.
Deep Dive into Your Distribution Emissions:
Identify low-carbon distribution options. Companies have started to set annual targets for reducing air shipments and are shifting from trucking to rail, all of which require careful planning to account for longer lead times. Electrifying your contracted fleets can help achieve two benefits simultaneously: reducing your supply chain carbon footprint while also protecting the respiratory health of workers and local community members via reduced emissions of the nitrogen oxides (NOx) produced by diesel engines.
Identify Opportunities to Procure Greener Materials:
Your product design team and facilities procurement teams can help to create a wishlist for sustainable sourcing, which can later be turned into a procurement policy. Where is it possible to eliminate plastic and shift to more natural, fiber-based materials? Identify options that might include recycled content. Identify biodegradable and nontoxic options for coatings, additives, and other processing chemicals.
Plan to Support Your Suppliers:
Suppliers will appreciate clarity, simplicity, and flexibility. Plan discussions to be bi-directional. Be prepared to provide a context for these discussions - what is the basis for this work and what are the possible intended outcomes? If you’re collecting data from your suppliers, align your data survey templates with existing and widely used standards such as Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project).
These steps will help you as you build out a meaningful and feasible sustainable supply chain roadmap and can provide directional clarity for starting critical discussions with suppliers.
Are you ready to transform your supply chain? We can help.
The Uplift Agency
Uplift builds strategies, programs, and communication campaigns that advance ESG in workplaces, supply chains and communities.
We know how to navigate the road ahead because we’ve already been down it – 90 percent of our team has led environmental or social programs in corporations or nonprofits. Because ESG is all we do, our services are more comprehensive and integrated than most firms.
