Is Sustainable Supply Chain A Green Myth

1. Is Sustainable Supply Chain A Green Myth? Let’s first understand what is supply chain sustainability? SCS or Supply Chain Sustainability is a comprehensive approach to supply chain operations, logistics, and technology that influence the components' social, economic, legal and environmental standing. Identifying the source of raw materials, maintaining safe working conditions for employees, and lowering carbon footprint are typical sustainability measures. Following supply chain activities, the industrial and transportation sectors account for over sixty per cent of the US carbon emissions, according to a review by the U.S. Department of Energy's Annual Energy. This shows that there are significant changes for improvement when energy use is carefully examined across the supply chain. Volatile energy prices significantly deplete a company's resources. Companies must reduce their energy use or face fines under new government laws. Customers, shareholders, and advocacy organisations continue to put pressure on businesses to cut back on their energy use and carbon emissions. KEY TAKEAWAYS •What’s green sustainability? •What are the main challenges in sustainable supply chains? •What drives sustainable supply chain operations? •The missing link is not missing. •Best practices for sustainable supply chains. •The conclusion A Green Sustainability Businesses are using words like organic, environmentally friendly, green, energy-saving, non-polluting, and fuel-efficient frequently in everything. These marketing clichés may sound very good, but sustainability is about more than just being kind to the environment and everyone who lives there. Sustainability is also an opportunity for international businesses to show environmental and social

2. responsibilities in more significant and open ways. Governments require it, consumers expect it, and markets reward it. In turn, operating expenses decline and revenue growth accelerate. Sustainability-related actions in supply chains enable a business to safeguard its future and preserve a good brand reputation when wisely adopted and implemented. Profits rise and expenditure fall. Even customers, employees and stakeholders experience improvement. Greater engagement, customers’ longer loyalty and a decrease in accidents at work are witnessed by businesses around the world after adapting environment-friendly supply chain sustainability. Great things come with greater challenges What are the challenges in supply chain sustainability? The research and development team at AWL India which is the leading logistics and warehouse management company has investigated three supply networks to comprehend the predicament and come up with solutions. One in the healthcare and pharmaceutical logistics companies, one in electronics, and one in energy supply chain management. They have looked at a sample of suppliers from numerous MNCs, including both top- tier and lower-tier suppliers with locations in countries like the US, Japan and India. They found that many were not upholding the criteria that the MNCs required them to. Rarely did the desired cascade effect take place. All the three countries they looked at had some problems and challenges in their sustainable supply chains. They found out that almost all businesses lacked environmental management systems. That’s not all, they also lacked in adhering to the protocols for dealing with social issues that can happen with an employee during work that should raise red flags, like boss retribution, sexual harassment, and dangerous working conditions. In all the three countries, AWL India found that on average only 50% of workers are permanent and the rest half are temporary workers or worked on daily wages. This becomes challenging to execute effective environmental, health, and safety programmes in an organization. The companies that they visited had poor environmental practices, hazardous working conditions, and ongoing overtime difficulties because of an inadequate workforce. They also witnessed lower-tier American suppliers and discovered that many of them lacked systematic accident reporting and had excessive airborne chemical concentrations. So, what are the threats to Supply Chain? What drives sustainable supply chain management? For the organisation and its stakeholders, a business plan for supply chain environmental performance can result in quantifiable environmental advantages. By 2024, a great proportion of businesses will view supply chain sustainability as a strategic issue. A sustainable sourcing strategy positions the business for increased disclosure requirements, rising investor scrutiny, resource scarcity and environmentally conscious consumers. Supply chain sustainability is raised on the agenda thanks to the influence of powerful supply chain solution companies like AWL India, and thanks to trends like socially responsible investing. As the result, investors are increasingly concerned about sustainable procurement. As part of the expanding ethical consumerism movement, consumers also demand- supply chain accountability and sustainability from businesses because it directly affects the cost of the product and its supply chain management. Where is the missing link? A consumer company can handle two different sustainability-related risks if its supply chain wing and energy providers involved in producing and transporting goods are in high functional condition. One sort of risk relates to how providing customers with goods and services will affect sustainability. The typical consumer company's supply chain is responsible for more than eighty per cent of greenhouse gas emissions and more than ninety per cent of the effect on air, land, water, biodiversity, and geological resources, causing significantly greater social and environmental costs than its activities. Thus, by concentrating on their supply chains, consumer corporations can drastically cut those expenses. 3PL management companies like AWL India have streamlined their approach toward green supply chain solutions that help not just the environment but business as well because of low logistics and warehousing costs.

3. Because sustainability impacts can disrupt the supply chains of consumer companies, the second form of risk develops. Due to rising food prices brought on by increased water scarcity and diminishing agricultural productivity, Unilever estimates that it loses over three hundred million euros annually. Despite the sustainability risks in supply chains, only a small number of businesses around the world collaborate with their suppliers to mitigate these risks. Best Practices for a greatly sustainable supply chain 1.To monitor development and identify weak points, use supply chain management and measurement technologies. Guidelines and Key Performance Indicators have been developed by 3Pl and 4PL logistics consultancies like, AWL India to assist businesses in achieving their environmental objectives. 2.Each stage of the production and operating process contributes to the supply chain's environmental impact. So, determine the most pressing problems and need for improvement within the whole supply chain. And, to improve, businesses should be aware of the areas with the highest levels of emissions and dangers. 3.Selecting and working with other environmentally friendly supply chain management companies like AWL India Businesses can decrease waste, costs, and environmental hazards. For instance, eco-friendly packaging, storing and delivery can cut down on emissions. 4.To have the biggest impact on the global sustainability agenda and to advance toward carbon neutrality, businesses should base their actions on the scientific advice of logistics consultancy companies and governmental legislation. Supply chain sustainability targets should align with overall sustainability targets. 5.Companies can also consider purchasing carbon offsets if they have limited control over their supply chain or want to see the impact immediately. These are credits that assist in reducing an organization's carbon emissions by funding green projects. Investing in carbon offsets is the mantra ahead. 6.Routine audits, the deployment of sustainability programmes and teams, customer- facing goals, impact-tracking software tools, and progress reporting are all processes that can be put in place to ensure liability. Remaining responsible during the procedure is the key. Conclusion Transparency throughout the whole supply chain is essential; sustainability measures must cover everything from sourcing raw materials to last-mile logistics to product returns and recycling procedures. Supply chain sustainability is evolving, in large part due to digital transformation and the more sophisticated nature of digital supply chain technologies. Modern supply chains now have unprecedented visibility and accountability because of sophisticated analytics, big data management, and security solutions like blockchain and artificial intelligence. Companies now have greater responsibility and ability to share best practices for environmentally friendly supply chains and sustainable logistics. 10 criteria have been established by the UN Global Compact to gauge supply chain sustainability. Compliance objectives and sustainability benchmarks are becoming increasingly standardised as firms place a higher and more urgent focus on ethical supply chain operations. These criteria include corruption, labour standards, human rights, and environmental responsibility. These guiding principles

4. are based on the understanding that socially conscious behaviours and purchases benefit not only individuals and the environment but also businesses' capacity to compete effectively and achieve long- term financial success. A supply chain that fully incorporates moral behaviour and consideration for the environment into a competitive and fruitful model is said to be sustainable.