Throughout a global pandemic and unprecedented disruptions, this year’s Green Supply Chain award winners not only kept up green initiatives, but also made them a priority.
Even just a few years ago, the notion of a sustainable or “green” supply chain didn’t even exist. Frequently referred to as “The Supply Chain Crisis”, the disruptions in the supply chain have prompted companies and consumers to rethink their values. There is a lot of conversation circulating among supply chain professionals right now about reform and resilience, where sustainability plays an important role. The Supply and Demand Chain Executive’s Green Supply Chain award for 2022 honors companies that not only kept up with green initiatives in the face of a pandemic and unprecedented disruptions, but made them a priority. Apart from shutdowns, backlogs, and the shortage of workers, natural disasters further disrupted the supply chain last year, a problem that can be solved with green initiatives, like those that our winners established.
Every individual, company and organization plays a role in the environment, but when it comes to sustainability, the supply chain is a critical component. It is a great relief that supply chain members recognize this and develop new, modern strategies to improve sustainability. In the past year, executive values have increasingly focused on labor welfare, waste reduction, and renewable energy. The CSCMP and MIT study found that 59% of supply chain companies made investments in sustainability during 2020. The top three concerns related to sustainability cited by companies are employee welfare & safety, human rights protection, and energy savings/renewable energy.