Supply Chain
How leading companies, NGOs and solution providers are working to address the myriad issues that can arise in any supply chain.
NGOs Challenge Asia Pulp and Paper to Prove It Has Turned Over a New Leaf
Global environmental organisation WWF is urging Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) — the largest paper company in Indonesia and one of the largest in the world — to agree to a list of performance targets in order to improve its current status as one of the world’s most notorious deforesters and back up its commitment to become an environmentally and socially responsible company, the NGO announced today. The performance targets, released by the European and North American Environmental Paper Network today, provide guidance for the assessment of APP’s implementation of its 2020 Sustainability Roadmap and Forest Conservation Policy (FCP).
M&S Establishing Link to Workers Throughout Its South Asian Supply Chain
Cross-Posted from Marketing and Comms. Marks & Spencer (M&S) has signed a one-year deal to work with social enterprise technology provider Good World Solutions to facilitate direct communications with workers in its clothing supply chain via mobile technology.M&S will use Labor Link, technology that returns anonymous, quantitative survey results to M&S direct from supply chain workers. Workers listen to questions on their mobile phones in Hindi, Sinhalese, or another local language, and respond using their touch-tone keypad.
Flint and Tinder on a Mission to Revive the American Cut-and-Sew Industry
It seems that starting a successful business can happen at any time and to anyone. All it took for Jake Bronstein was a look at where all his underwear was manufactured. Once he realized that 99% of all men’s underwear sold in the U.S. was produced in developing nations, he organized a Kickstarter campaign in April 2012 with a mission to change that, build a better product, and help revive the American cut-and-sew industry (a mission shared by like-minded clothing manufacturers SustainU and Manufacture NY).
Walmart Considers Cutting Alaskan Salmon Processors After 40 Drop MSC Label
Alaska officials last week lobbied Walmart to continue selling the state's wild-caught salmon, as the retail giant considers dropping some 40 of the state’s salmon processors that stopped pursuing the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) label.Reuters reports that the issue emerged last year when processors of wild-caught salmon decided to halt use of the internationally accepted blue ecolabel awarded by MSC, claiming it was too expensive and eroded their brand. The processors argued that their own control systems were adequate, and they would consider the Ireland-based Global Trust Certification (GTC) as an alternative.
Adidas Helps Indonesian Suppliers Save Nearly 5,000 Tons of CO2
Suppliers in Indonesia have saved up to 4,715 tons of carbon dioxide since 2011, thanks to an energy efficiency program initiated by Adidas Group and the German Organization for International Cooperation — ‘Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit’ (GIZ).Launched in 2011, “Greening Global Supply Chains — Focus on Energy in Indonesia” aimed to build internal capacities within factories so that they would be able to monitor energy use consistently and analyze the data, propose cost-saving measures and identify and review energy management options and the impact of actions taken.Adidas undertook a road show with GIZ to meet with four clusters of suppliers in Indonesia, and all of the 16 targeted suppliers joined the project.
General Mills Launches $1.1 Million Sustainable Sourcing Program in Peru
As part of General Mills’ long-term sustainable sourcing program, the consumer packaged goods (CPG) giant and its Foundation on Thursday announced a four-year joint commitment with supplier partner AgroMantaro to provide $1.1 million to help smallholder artichoke farmers in Peru increase yields and improve profitability.The goals of the new program, which will reach nearly 100 small-scale artichoke farmers in Peru, are to:
Investors, Human Rights Advocates Set Expectations for Transparency Around Conflict Minerals
Cross-Posted from Marketing and Comms. As companies prepare their first required reports on conflict mineral use to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the SEC, key investors and human rights groups have released a paper that sets expectations for the contents of the inaugural reports required by Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
Rainforest Foundation Takes On Skincare Companies With New Ranking
Honesty skin care, REN face and body care products, Pure Nuff Stuff skincare products and Little Satsuma face and body moisturiser all received perfect scores in the Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK)'s latest investigation into the sustainability of palm oil content in health and beauty products.In partnership with Ethical Consumer magazine, RFUK's Appetite for Destruction? consumer guide was created in response to the increasing threat that unsustainable palm oil is posing to the world’s rainforests, and consequently, to the people that rely almost entirely on these forests for their livelihoods.
Supply Chain
Creating efficient, healthy, resilient and transparent supply chains is central to any corporate sustainability journey. This channel tackles the myriad issues that can arise in any supply chain, and treats them as either risks or opportunities, depending on the ways they are being managed.
Walmart, Gap Detail Bangladeshi Worker Safety Coalition Plan
Cross-Posted from Marketing and Comms. Walmart, Gap and several other US retailers met this week in Chicago to implement their independent Bangladesh factory safety plan, which was developed after multiple factory accidents, most notably the Rana Plaza collapse in April that killed more than 1,100 workers and injured hundreds.The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety includes 20 North American apparel companies and retailers, industry associations, and non-governmental organizations, such as Macy’s and Target, as well as new signatories Costco, Intradeco Apparel and Jordache Enterprises. The organization has pledged to have safety standards in place by September 10, and claims to have already dispersed $45 million to hire safety inspection staff in Bangladesh.
IKEA and Kingfisher Pledge Ambitious 'Net Positive' Agendas, But Can They Work?
Today an ever-increasing number of companies and brands are likely to have a corporate social responsibility agenda because customers and other stakeholders demand they hold themselves accountable for their environmental and social performance. Now more companies are pushing the boundaries, or in reality, talking about going further than merely just becoming more “sustainable” or “responsible.” Zero-waste has become a mantra at some of the world’s most iconiccompanies, including Procter & Gamble and Unilever.
How Sustainable Is Your Supply Chain?
Beginning this month, Sustainable Brands will launch a new Issues in Focus editorial channel examining sustainable supply chain management.The SB editorial team — with the help of guest editors Dave Meyer of EORM, Tara Norton of BSR and Sam Hummel of the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council — are seeking articles, interviews and case studies for publication throughout the year.
LG Electronics, Nokia Tackle Illegal Tin Mining in Indonesia
LG Electronics, Nokia, Sony, Blackberry and Motorola have released statements reaffirming their commitments to tackling illegal tin mining in Indonesia.The move came after British environmental NGO Friends of the Earth released information from an investigation into the devastation caused by mining for tin on Bangka. According to the charity, tin is used as solder in all phones and electronic gadgets, and around a third of the world's mined tin comes from Bangka and neighboring island Belitung.The Friends of the Earth investigation in Bangka found:· Dangerous and unregulated tin mining
Consumer Activists Urging Kellogg's to Take Stand Against Deforestation
Environmental activists (and former Girl Scouts) Rhiannon Tomtishen and Madison Vorva, along with over 100,000 people in the U.S. and around the world, are calling on Kellogg Company CEO John Bryant to end the food company’s partnership with Wilmar International, the world’s largest palm oil trader, unless it agrees to stop relying on deforestation.
Bayer CropScience Launches e3 Sustainable Cotton Program
Bayer CropScience has launched its new e3 sustainable cotton program, which the company says provides stringent guidelines for farmers in the United States who grow Certified FiberMax or authentic Stoneville cotton.Bayer’s Certified FiberMax and Stoneville programs make it possible for buyers to identify where their cotton was grown using a certification database maintained by the company.Bayer says the e3 program will benefit mills and brands in three key ways:
Marriott International Reaches Key Milestone in Greening Its Global Supply Chain
MindClick Global, a leader in supply chain sustainability performance and sourcing solutions, announced Thursday that Marriott International is ahead of its sustainable sourcing goals for 2013. In 2012, Marriott committed to spend 75 percent of its 2013 furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) budget with suppliers who are part of the MindClick Hospitality Index for Sustainable Sourcing (HSP Index). As of June 15, 2013, Marriott has reached 60 percent of its goal.
Ecodesk Launches Monitor to Help Businesses Track Conflict Mineral Use
Global supply chain sustainability site Ecodesk has launched a monitoring tool for businesses to track conflict mineral use in supply chains.The company says the aim of the monitor is to help businesses track the materials using a standard EICC declaration form and the Ecodesk digital supply chain dashboard.As each supplier completes a declaration on their Ecodesk sustainability profile, data is automatically connected to a customer dashboard, which enables businesses to analyze in one simple view, conflict mineral use by geography, industry and by individual smelters.
M&S Uses the Power of Co-Design to Drive Behaviour Change
Cross-Posted from Behavior Change. Marks and Spencer (M&S) recently piloted training toolkits for its supplier factories in the UK and Sri Lanka, as part of its Plan A commitment to being a Fair Partner. These toolkits were a result of a collaborative design process between M&S and its factories, led by A Very Good Company (AVGC). The process of co-creation has helped to engage suppliers with M&S’s sustainability agenda, leading to the creation of a product that connects with the needs of M&S, its factory managers and their employees. This collaborative approach to creating behaviour change within a factory environment has transferable learning for brands as they seek to engage consumers with new, more sustainable propositions.
Inditex Re-Affirms Its Commitment to Sustainability, Health & Safety
Cross-Posted from Marketing and Comms. Spanish multinational clothing company Inditex says that in 2012 it conducted nearly 1.5 million tests on its clothing worldwide to ensure health and safety standards, as well as carrying out more than 3,500 audits on suppliers under its Code of Conduct.Inditex chairman Pablo Isla made the announcements this week at the company’s Annual General Meeting at its headquarters in Arteixo, La Coruña, Spain.
Study Shows Farmers Working with Rainforest Alliance and Nespresso Earn 87% More
A recent independent study by the Colombian organization CRECE, which assessed the social, environmental and economic impacts among 1,000 farmers has found that farmers in the Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality Program have a net income 87.4 percent higher than those not involved with the program.The AAA program, which was co-developed over the last ten years by the Rainforest Alliance and Nespresso, encourages farmers to adopt best practices such as protecting water sources and preventing soil erosion from their land.
