2Sustain

When the Electric Utility Industry Sustainable Supply Chain Alliance first surveyed 240 industrial suppliers back in 2009, it found that only a measly 20 percent measure their GHG emissions and have established voluntary goals to reduce their emissions.

Those survey results prompted the Alliance to sharpen its focus, and as a result, the organization announced on Monday that it has developed a strategic plan calling for voluntary, industry initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the supply chain.

The strategic plan’s proposed initiatives will focus first on:

• reducing the emissions related to the supply chain operations of Alliance member companies, and

• encouraging more industry suppliers to establish programs and goals to reduce GHG emissions.

The Alliance will develop a baseline measurement for emissions of its members and best practices aimed at improving the energy efficiency of their supply chain operations. In addition, it also will track changes in the number of participating suppliers that establish corporate GHG reduction goals through an annual survey.

“The survey, along with current market developments, has helped us better understand the need to sharpen our focus on promoting initiatives, best practices and programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” says John Harper, the Alliance’s chairman. “These new initiatives are consistent with our goal to work collaboratively with our suppliers to identify opportunities to reduce our environmental impact and deliver tangible results.”

More and more, I’m seeing  the “green” supply chain get the recognition it deserves (finally).  Of course, that’s the sensible approach for any comprehensive sustainability strategy. Why? Because the carbon footprint of a firm’s supply chain is typically many times larger than its operational footprint, and so it represents a much more significant opportunity to reduce emissions.

Complete survey results are available on the Alliance’s website at www.EUISSCA.org.