2Sustain

More and more businesses are working closely with suppliers to improve their sustainable practices.

And now, results of a new study reveal that this type of collaboration can significantly improve the bottom line.

According to The Carbon Disclosure Project 2011 Supply Chain Report, produced by management consulting firm A.T. Kearney, a whopping 86 percent of the companies surveyed saw commercial benefits from working closely with suppliers to improve performance and mutual return on investment –that’s up from 46 percent in 2009.

PepsiCo, for example, has uncovered more than $60 million in energy savings opportunities and a 16 percent reduction in per-unit energy use across its beverage plants, as a result of its carbon management strategy and proprietary energy assessment tool.

“With a robust strategy and proven benchmarks in place, PepsiCo set out to engage and educate suppliers about potential opportunities to innovate their own operations,” said Walter Todd, Vice-President of Operations, PepsiCo UK & Ireland. “By providing suppliers access to the same energy assessment tools we use in our own operations, we’ve seen mutual return on investment.”

The study, which looked at climate change actions and performance of 57 leading global companies and 1,000 of their suppliers across a broad cross-section of industries, also found that:
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A global study conducted by Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has found that transport companies are lagging behind other sectors in mitigating greenhouse gases and setting targets.

The first comprehensive report of its kind, this study surveyed 291 of the largest transport companies in the world, including those that cover road, rail, sea and air transport. The results show that: (more…)

The 2008 UK Climate Change Act establishes an aggressive UK target of 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 1990 levels by the year 2050. It also creates an interim target of 34-42 percent reductions in GHG emissions by the year 2020, compared to 1990 levels.

So, are companies in the UK on track to meet these national targets? (more…)

Last week, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) released a ground-breaking report on global supply chain carbon emissions and climate change risks. I’m using the word “ground-breaking” because this was the first-ever large-scale survey of its kind, and it gives us a baseline data point specific to suppliers and their climate change strategies. While I’ll admit that the results are somewhat disheartening, I can’t help but feel more pragmatic than discouraged. After all, this is information we needed to know. Sure, lots of people in lots of businesses are talking about sustainability these days. But, this report serves to remind us that really, we are only at the very beginning stages. There’s no doubt that we need to transition to a new type of business model, one that incorporates sustainability into everyday supply chain management. However, we’re not there yet; there’s still a lot of work to be done.

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