Explain ‘Greening’ and ‘Ethical Supply Chain’ for supply chain strategies in future.
Answers
Stakeholder pressure from investors, shareholders, customers and nonprofits to push sustainability into the supply chain has significantly increased in recent years, with a record number of shareholder resolutions on supply chains issued during the past two proxy seasons. The recently launched Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G4 Guidelines also requires an increased focus on sustainability throughout the supply chain.
By managing and improving environmental, social and economic performance throughout supply chains, companies can conserve resources, optimize processes, uncover product innovations, save costs, increase productivity and promote corporate values. Research shows the business case for supply chain sustainability is growing.
While more companies expand their sustainability programs to include suppliers, they struggle with implementation. The UN Global Compact's 2013 Global Corporate Sustainability Report finds that companies are increasingly talking about supply chain sustainability and making solid progress on setting expectations for suppliers. However, they are not yet supporting expectations with concrete actions that drive sustainability performance in their supply chain. Incidents such as the factory collapse and fires in Bangladesh last year highlight the need for increased and urgent actions in this area.