Sustainable Supply Management

Buy it Ethically: Embedding CSR in The Procurement Function

Buy it Ethically: Embedding CSR in The Procurement Function

Elaine reviews the procurement section of the Ethical Corporation’s latest research publication on How to embed Corporate Responsibility across different parts of your Company and how issues of sustainability and ethics are embedded in the supply chain.

Sustainability Risk Elevating the Role of the Supply Chain

A recent post, Exploring Sustainability Risk Management, we discussed how current market forces are affecting business sustainability. The post, in particular, focused on business reputation as a component of sustainability risk. To further build on the discussion, today’s leaders are also focusing greater attention on supply chain risks as a key factor in business sustainability.

Sustainability, Its More than Just a Pretty Face

The movement to adopt sustainability practices in the corporate world can trace its roots back to the environmental movement; however it is not just a synonym for or re-branding of environmentalism. Sustainability is best understood as being its own thing; grasped in its own terms. What sets it apart is the growing realization within the executive decision making centers of corporations, governmental, educational and other organizational bodies across the world is that there is a powerful win-win dynamic that can be harnessed by adopting sustainable practices and that sustainability is not a zero sum game with winners and losers. The public wins, the environment wins, those cute animals win, but shareholders also win as well because sustainability makes excellent sense purely from a bottom line perspective.

Sustainability is a Key Driver of Innovation

In the September issue of Harvard Business Review, authors Ram Nidumolu, C.K. Prahalad, and M.R. Rangaswami provide a framework for adopting sustainable practices to bring about technological and organizational innovations that will ultimately yield top-line and bottom-line returns, providing a competitive advantage when the recession ends. They feel that sustainable companies will emerge from the recession ahead of their competitors, who will face difficulties trying to catch up.

Supply Chain Managers Are Not Addressing Sustainability Issues

Despite the enthusiasm regarding sustainability expressed by the global business community, these organizations have been slow to address these issues when it comes to sustainable supply chain management, says a new study by the Business Performance Management (BPM) Forum and E2open that was conducted in the second quarter of this year. Operations, logistics and supply chain executives also lack the understanding of how to go green and save green across complex, global, multi-tiered supply and distribution networks. The study, titled “Acceleration of ECO-Operation: Achieving Success & Sustainability in the Supply Chain,” gained insights from more than 125 supply chain, operations, finance, and executive professionals around the world across multiple industries. It set out to measure and quantify how companies are managing the complexities of supply chain demands, distribution costs and environmental concerns. The study has major implications for supply chain, finance, operations, logistics, and procurement professionals and underscores the need for better ECO-Operation, sustainability measurement, and operations insight into multi-tiered supply chain networks.

University Purchasing Survey Reveals Growing Role of Sustainability Programs

National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP) and SciQuest, Inc., a procurement automation organization recently announced the findings of “The Current State of Green Procurement Trends within Higher Education” survey. The survey, which garnered responses from procurement professionals at more than 100 colleges and universities in the U.S., sought to provide a benchmark from which the profession can gauge the growing role of procurement organizations within sustainability efforts, from the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment–an effort to address global warming by garnering institutional commitments to neutralize greenhouse gas emissions–to higher education’s efforts to contain costs and do more with less. This is the first year the survey was conducted.

Center for a New American Dream Responsible Purchasing Fellowships

The Center for a New American Dream seeks two, one-year paid Fellows for the Responsible Purchasing Network (RPN). RPN develops cutting edge strategies and resources to assist large institutions, including state and local governments, universities, and corporations, in purchasing socially and environmentally responsible products and services. Two fellowship positions are available – one starting immediately, one starting August 2009.

Internship Spotlight: Center for a New American Dream Responsible Purchasing Network Intern

Responsible Purchasing Network (RPN) develops cutting edge strategies and resources to assist large institutions; including state and local governments, universities, and corporations, in purchasing socially and environmentally responsible products and services. Interns will work with the RPN Manager in one or more of the following areas: 1. Researching and indexing environmentally preferable purchasing policies 2. Keeping track of RPN-related developments via news sources, new legislation, environmental blogs, etc… 3. Building and linking a RPN glossary of procurement and environmental terms 4. Assisting with membership renewals and prospecting for new members.

Who are The Top 50 U.S. Green Power Purchasers?

EPA today released a list of the nation’s top green power purchasers. These organizations are all participants in the EPA’s Green Power Partnership. The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that encourages organizations to buy green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with purchased electricity use. The Partnership currently has hundreds of Partner organizations voluntarily purchasing billions of kilowatt-hours of green power annually. Partners include a wide variety of leading organizations such as Fortune 500 companies, small and medium sized businesses, local, state, and federal governments, and colleges and universities. The list this year’s top green power purchasers is led by Intel Corporation, PepsiCo, Kohl’s Department Stores, Dell Inc., Whole Foods Market, The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, U.S. Air Force, Cisco Systems, Inc. and the City of Houston.