According to a new report by PwC US and the APICS Foundation, new sources of value can emerge when companies broaden their perspectives on sustainability and adopt clear strategies to tap ethical, economic, social — and environmental — levers across their extended supply chains.
Sustainable Supply Chains: Making Value the Priority, a survey of global operations executives (APICS members) on supply chain sustainability, shows that companies are realizing the significance of sustainable supply chain initiatives; however, multiple challenges continue to impede widespread adoption of sustainability across environmental, social, economic and ethical dimensions.
The survey found the biggest barrier to the success of a company’s sustainable supply chain practices was a lack of leadership support. Approximately 30 percent of operations executives surveyed said their company has a documented supply chain sustainability strategy, but only 17 percent of managers and below agreed. As a result, mid-level management is not able to take the steps needed to drive meaningful change in the supply chain.
While disconnects about sustainable supply chain strategy may occur between the C-suite and mid-level management, 76 percent of operations professionals said their companies’ focus on creating a more sustainable supply chain will increase over the next three years. Already, 43 percent of operations professionals attributed cost reduction to supply chain sustainability initiatives, while 35 percent reported improvements in their company’s environmental impact. And a quarter of all respondents reported improved customer satisfaction as a result of programs tied to improving supply chain sustainability.
“There is a clear correlation — and in some instances causality — between sustainability and supply chain performance for companies who believe they can do well by doing good,” said Nic Delaye, a director in PwC’s Sustainable Business Solutions practice. “Companies should aim to better understand the major dynamics of supply chain sustainability and how to overcome the obstacles that traditionally arise, in order to both improve their impact on society and create tangible business value in new ways.”
The major barrier cited in the survey was that leadership does not supply the mandate, incentives and resources to turn sustainability strategies into action. Additional barriers reported by supply chain professionals included inadequate sustainability education and training, significant confusion about the scope and company goals on supply chain sustainability, and the perception that the impact on shareholder value for such practices is difficult to measure.
More than a third of professionals (38 percent) said that barriers to success included the ability to measure and monitor to targets and goals. Another 40 percent believe employee performance measurement and incentives are not aligned to supply chain sustainability results.
To learn more about the PwC-APICS study on sustainable supply chains, register for APICS' upcoming webinar on Wednesday, May 14 at 1:00 p.m. CT.
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Published May 12, 2014 1pm EDT / 10am PDT / 6pm BST / 7pm CEST