2Sustain

PwC’s 2013 Global Supply Chain Survey provides new insight into the role of sustainability in supply chain management. This year’s global supply chain survey shows how Leaders are moving ahead of the pack. They’re tailoring their supply chains to customer needs and investing in next-generation capabilities, including sustainability considerations, while keeping the focus on supply chains that are both fast and efficient.

More than two-thirds of all respondents say sustainability will play a more important role in the supply chains of the future. A number of companies have already started (1) investing in technologies to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions and (2) excluding any supply chain partners that don’t adhere to the highest ethical standards. But such examples are not yet widespread — aspirations tend to exceed action unless there is a clear cost reduction benefit or regulatory requirement being met.

To date, most firms have done very little on the sustainability front, but demand for sustainable products manufactured with sustainable raw materials is increasing; indeed, it now outstrips supply. Investors’ expectations are also rising, and manufacturing regulations are getting tighter. At the same time, greater use of low-cost and best-cost country sourcing is making it more difficult to control sustainability through the entire supply chain. And though a company can outsource specific business activities, it can’t abdicate responsibility for them.

At present, respondents see four main reasons for investing in sustainable supply chain management: to manage the risk of unintended environmental or social damage, to manage their company’s reputation and the expectations of its shareholders, to reduce costs and realize productivity improvements and to create sustainable products, thereby increasing revenues and enhancing the corporate brand.

The US, Japan, UK, France, South Korea and China – were recently named by KPMG International as the most active in using tax as a tool to drive sustainable corporate behavior and achieve green policy goals.

The finding is contained in the first KPMG Green Tax Index, launched at the 2013 KPMG Asia Pacific Tax Summit in Shanghai. The KPMG Green Tax Index explores how governments are using their tax systems to respond to global challenges including energy security, water and resource scarcity, pollution and climate change. It analyzes green tax incentives and penalties in 21 major economies, focusing on key policy areas such as energy efficiency, water efficiency, carbon emissions, green innovation and green buildings.

The KPMG Green Tax Index is intended to raise corporate awareness of the rapidly evolving and complex global landscape of green tax incentives and penalties, and to encourage tax director sand sustainability chiefs to work together to factor green tax considerations into investment decisions.

The ranking shows:

The KPMG Green Tax Index attributes scores to green tax incentives and penalties according to arguable value and potential to influence corporate behavior. Scores should be taken as indicative, not absolute, in providing a view of governments with the most active and developed green tax systems in place.

Bridgestone Americas and Bridgestone Retail Operations (BSRO) recently released the findings of the companies’ Earth Day 2013 Consumer Recycling and Sustainability Survey, revealing U.S. consumer attitudes toward recycling and sustainable behaviors in 20 cities.

The survey found that the majority of consumers are holding companies and corporations accountable for the environmental sustainability of their products and processes. Individuals are cognizant of “being green” as they shop, as 92 percent indicated a manufacturer’s operational sustainability or a product’s sustainable attributes have some impact on their purchasing decisions. According to surveyed consumers, the top three ways companies can show they are environmentally responsible are:

• Creating a product design that minimizes energy and water usage
• Minimizing generated waste
• Minimizing carbon emissions tied to waste

According to the survey results, Seattle, Wash., and Minneapolis, Minn., were home to the most recyclers, with 97 percent recycling either curbside or at a recycling center. Riverside, Calif., residents were the most serious recyclers with 63 percent committed to recycling everything they can, even if they have to take it to a recycling center themselves.

On the whole, recycling is on the rise, as 52 percent of consumers recycle more now than they did two years ago. Overall findings about U.S. consumer recycling habits indicate that 86 percent of those surveyed recycle, with more than one-third of respondents identifying themselves as serious recyclers (36 percent), recycling everything they possibly can even if it means going to a recycling center. Half say they recycle as long as curbside service is provided. Three quarters of respondents have a curbside service provided by their city or county.

In addition to recycling habits, the survey measured consumers’ opinions about ease of recycling a number of items, including motor oil, consumer electronics, tires, mattresses and household/office waste. Sixty percent of consumers surveyed found it difficult to recycle mattresses, which were seen as the most challenging item. Large appliances followed, with 51 percent scoring refrigerators, washers, dryers, stoves and microwaves as “difficult” or “very difficult” to recycle. Thirty-seven percent regarded tires as difficult to recycle.

To find out more about Bridgestone’s sustainability initiatives, including our Spent Tire Program, visit: www.oneteamoneplanet.com

Conflict Minerals continues to be a hot topic as evidenced by Aravo’s recent joint webinar with EY: “Conflict Minerals – Will You be Ready for 2014 Reporting?” At 650 registrations, it was our largest online event ever! Another great venue for Conflict Minerals information and idea exchange is coming up in May. MetalMiner, the leading authority on everything “metals” (except perhaps “heavy metal”, although I do occasionally detect a strong bass beat in their coverage) is planning a conflict minerals conference as part of their Edge series. Here’s what Managing Editor Lisa Reisman has to say about it:

“Without a doubt, conflict minerals have taken center stage for thousands of buying organizations across the United States. And the more we write about conflict minerals, the more questions seem to come up. The most basic questions – including, ‘do my finished parts contain conflict minerals and/or does the stainless steel grade that I buy in my sub-assemblies contain conflict minerals?’ – may not seem like simple questions. In fact, we tried to pull together a Conflict Minerals webinar for later this month only to come to the conclusion that we’d have to offer several webinars on many different subjects to begin to scratch the surface of the myriad questions readers have sent our way.

Instead, we have opted to organize an event for May 6, 2013, in Chicago to provide readers with the opportunity to ask their most challenging questions of some of the industry’s most knowledgeable conflict minerals experts.”

Read More here: Conflict Minerals Edge.

Aravo has joined with Ernst & Young LLP (EY) to deliver a must-see webinar for compliance and procurement executives on the immediate data gathering, reporting and audit requirements around conflict minerals regulatory compliance issues. This webinar will explore the challenges companies face in identifying conflict minerals in their supply chains, and how to plan for the required disclosure and auditing in a comprehensive, structured way.

The SEC has promulgated new conflict mineral reporting rules, with initial disclosures due in early 2014. As this deadline approaches, many companies still don’t understand how many of their products may include conflict minerals sourced at any tier in their supply chains. And even for those that do, few are ready to provide disclosure to the SEC, and to submit an independent audit report detailing those sources. Even companies that are not regulated by the SEC will be impacted, and you need to be ready!

Join Aravo Solutions and EY to learn about your Conflict Minerals reporting and auditing requirements. Niul Burton, Principal, Performance Improvement Advisory Services, who leads EY’s Supplier Risk Services in the US, and Rich Goode, Senior Manager, EY’s Conflict Minerals Practice, will begin the program with a discussion of the Dodd-Frank requirements and the impacts on your business. Robert Shecterle of Aravo Solutions will then briefly explore technology solutions available to assist with Dodd-Frank compliance. The webinar will explore:

• Background of the legislation
• What we have learned
• How companies are coping with the rules
• Actionable steps you can take to meet your tracking and reporting requirements

Join Aravo and EY on Tuesday, March 26^th, from 9-10am Pacific Time, Noon-1:00pm Eastern Time for this exciting webinar. Click HERE to register today.