How leading companies, NGOs and solution providers are working to address the myriad issues that can arise in any supply chain.
In an effort to accelerate improvement on ethical social and environmental performance throughout the beauty supply chain, Clarins, Coty, Groupe Rocher, L’Oréal and EcoVadis have launched the Responsible Beauty Initiative (RBI).
Over the past two years, as more organizations have linked their supply chains into the platform, we’ve seen the positive benefit of Smart-Mapped questions continue to grow.
PR and communications agency Sustainability Consult has published the results of the #WhatBrandsWant survey, projecting considerable growth in the biomaterials market as consumer demand and stakeholder pressure drive brand investment towards the development of bio-based products. Sustainability Consult’s findings reveal a growing commitment towards renewable materials and a shift away from fossil-based products.
As part of its CanopyStyle initiative, environmental NGO Canopy has released an updated and expanded edition of its Hot Button Report, a ranking of eleven viscose and rayon producers that represent 70 percent of global viscose production.
Companies operating in the apparel industry could be missing out on new opportunities for growth by not digitizing data on leftovers from garment factories, says a new report by H&M Foundation Global Change Award winner Reverse Resources.
The issue of worker exploitation and forced labor continues to gain global attention, as more and more companies rise to the challenge to align their operations with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
More and more companies are making public commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions outside of their own operations. Why? Because compared to scope 1 and 2 emissions (from direct activities), avoiding scope 3 emissions can have the greatest impact on a corporate footprint. The numbers are clear: The majority of GHG emissions come from indirect activities, both upstream and downstream, in the supply chain. In fact, for most of consumer goods products manufacturing, scope 3 emissions account for over 70 percent of overall GHG emissions. Included is everything from purchasing raw materials to end of life treatment.
Soy and beef production have played significant roles in the exploitation of the Amazonian rainforest, but the rollout of regulations to protect these precious natural resources have had unexpected consequences, driving these activities into regions that have largely been left untouched, such as Brazil’s Cerrado, a vast tropical savanna ecoregion of 2 million square kilometers.
Luxury fashion label Stella McCartney has released the results of a new Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) comparing the environmental performance of ten raw material sources of manmade cellulose fiber (MMCF).
The Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN), a project of the nonprofit organization As You Sow dedicated to ending human rights abuses associated with raw materials, has released a new report analyzing 206 companies’ due diligence regarding the use of conflict materials in their supply chains. In a year-on-year comparison, almost all participants decreased their scores, despite demonstrating strong initiative to mitigate risks.
British supermarket giants Asda and The Co-operative, together with leading sustainable business and supply chain platform 2degrees, are paving the way for the future of supply chain collaboration by enabling mutual suppliers to submit aggregated data on waste, water and ener
A coalition of businesses, international organizations and NGOs have banded together to put an end to the social and environmental impacts driving the growing trade in batteries for smartphones, gadgets, electric vehicles and renewable energy storage systems. Launched at the World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Impact Summit 2017, the Global Battery Alliance aims to create a responsible value chain for the battery market powering the technology and clean energy revolution.
Blockchain technology is quickly emerging as a vital tool in tackling critical environmental and social issues. IBM recently touted the technology’s potential address challenges along the global food supply chain and is working with partners to identify new areas where it can in positively impact food traceability.
UL, a US-based safety consulting and certification company, has unveiled two new initiatives aimed at driving environmental and social responsibility throughout the global supply chain.
We are transitioning to a low-carbon, circular and inclusive economy. The latest arrival to the party is the procurement department — and none too soon, given the mammoth challenge ahead to make global supply chains sustainable and ethical. If you’re looking to fill your procurement cart with insights on tackling the challenges, read on for information about two tools and a city with a supply chain vision.
Control Union, a global network of inspection operations and dedicated laboratories, in partnership with H&M has created a new tool to help the apparel industry meet its commitments to supply chain transparency and responsible sourcing. A unique supply chain traceability and data service, CONNECTED is designed specifically for apparel industry supply chains that are complex, distributed over several tiers and countries.
EcoVadis, a pioneering platform providing sustainability ratings and performance improvement tools for global supply chains, has published the first annual edition of its Global CSR Risk and Performance Index.
From fields to factories, companies are making considerable strides incorporating sustainable strategies across individual stages in their supply chain. But a key part of the supply chain that often gets overlooked is how goods are getting from point A to point B. It might seem obvious to focus on warehouses or office spaces, but because freight acts as the connective tissue between each of these stationary points in the supply chain, ‘greening’ your freight moves may just be the biggest sustainability secret hidden in plain sight.
Sustainability consulting group Quantis, in conjunction with a pre-competitive consortium of over 40 private companies, NGOs, governments and scientific institutions, has released the Land Use Change Guidance: Accounting for Emissions in the Supply Chain.
Water scarcity affects more than 40 percent of the global population, a number which is projected to rise. While about 2.5 percent of the world’s water is freshwater, only 0.5 percent of that is made available to satisfy society’s needs.