Understand the company strategy & define priorities within supply chain areas - BASIC

Cost
LOW
Cost
MEDIUM
Cost
HIGH
EFFORT
low
EFFORT
medium
EFFORT
HIGH
IMPACT
low
IMPACT
MEDIUM
IMPACT
HIGH

According to the International Supply Chain Education Alliance (ISCEA), sustainability in supply chain management is about "orchestrating and continuously improving the planning and execution of processes at strategic, tactical and operational levels along an end-to-end value chain to achieve the most efficient use of resources in terms of utilisation and cost, while minimising waste and carbon footprint".

End-to-end covers the entire supply chain process: from product design and raw material sourcing to manufacturing, delivery of the final product and after-sales service (including end-of-life disposal).

To be successful, there needs to be a strong alignment between corporate strategy and supply chain strategy, with a good understanding of the key priorities.

It's therefore important to first know what are the company's ESG material topics (and thus priorities) before launching a supply chain strategy.

The materiality assessment is a tool that can help companies determine how to prioritise diverse environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues by identifying which issues matter most to the business success of the company and the company's stakeholders. After identifying the SDGs that have the greatest impact in terms of risks and opportunities, companies should determine the supply chain levers/solutions to scale and improve impact in terms of procurement, manufacturing, logistics and distribution.

12% to 23%

of overall value chain revenue can be added by investing in sustainable supply chains.
(EY)

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

- The most widely used framework for implementing sustainability practices from both company and supply chain perspectives is the triple bottom line (TBL). The triple bottom line (TBL) is a concept that suggests that a company's success should be measured not only by its financial performance (profit or economic value) but also by its impact on social and environmental factors.

- Learn more about the Materiality assessment.