Looks at the importance of sustainable packaging in achieving a sustainable supply chain. Many factors ranging from form factor, packaging weight, to recyclable post consumer content and so forth acting in concert go into green packaging, which can lead to significant cost savings throughout the supply chain, at each single step where packaged materials are used, including consumer packaging itself. The post goes on to list important considerations and attributes related to green packaging.
The Federal government recently issues a new rule that requires that 95 percent of new contract actions be green.This sounds great. But there are some underlying systemic issues related to the timing of the FARC interim ruling. Industry groups and procurement agencies are scratching their heads. Several industry associations requested that the government stop issuing rules that change federal procurement policy without first considering public comment.
Once you determine which products pose the greatest asset value in terms of recoverability, you should then look for potential ways to reprocess or reuse waste byproducts or other manufacturers that may be turn your waste into their product feedstock. Your company, your customers and the environment will benefit tremendously.
ISO 26000, the global Guidance on Social Responsibility was recently launched. Large to small organizations can strive to be ISO 26000-compliant, stay ahead of the curve and grab the “leader” advantage. Or conversely, companies can risk being a “laggard” and lose vital business opportunities.
Logistics and supply chain professionals need to keep in mind that there is a bottom line angle to towing the “green” line. Dave Meyer presents some definitions of reverse logistics from a traditional versus sustainability focused mindset, and extended product responsibility.
cop 16 supply chainCountries need to take ownership of their entire life-cycle emissions and when such agreements are based on data that attributes emissions fairly. But companies are not waiting around for any unlikely agreement that may come out of COP 16. Many are starting to see a sustainable supply chain as a way to not only cut costs, but also create new products that are less impacting to the environment and expand in developing-world markets that are likely to be hit hard by global warming.
The keys to unlocking value through implementing sustainability initiatives require positioning through: identifying marketplace trends that reward innovation toward sustainability; optimizing the linkage between sustainability, environmental and business objectives; creating a systematic process and internal champions that can drive the system from the inside out; establishing a manageable performance measurement system that demonstrates ‘triple bottom line’ results; and building assurance systems for compliance and credible and transparent public disclosure.
There is an increasing emphasis of supply chain management in creating the proper ingredients of a successful business strategy. The concept of a Green Supply Chain is gaining interest among operations practitioners as a sustainable and profitable undertaking. A Green Supply Chain can be thought of as a supply chain that has integrated environmental thinking into core operations from material sourcing through product design, manufacturing, distribution, delivery, and end-of-life recycling.
