Sustainability has recently gained significant momentum in the supply chain and transportation sectors. While companies in all industries used to focus on reducing costs and improving performance, sustainability has made its way to the top of the business agenda.
What are the Drivers?
The current climate crisis, regulatory requirements, and increasing customer demands have resulted in a push for decarbonization. Companies are under pressure to prioritize sustainability and reduce the environmental impact of the products they make and market. While many businesses may think that it’s just about reducing operational emissions or contributing to environmental causes, they may fail to realize that most of their footprint is a result of their supply chain practices. For many, the focus is on improving facilities and electricity, but it’s estimated that up to 60% of a company’s emissions are scope 3 (supply chain related). But supply chain emissions data is inaccessible & inaccurate – leaving companies with little knowledge and uncertain where to begin.
On top of that, global supply chains are highly prone to disruptions. Events such as the war in Ukraine or the Covid-19 pandemic led to production stoppages, border closures, as well as the increased demand for various transport modalities and loading equipment. Partially or even completely interrupted global supply chains became part of everyday logistics life. These demand and supply side shocks have put strain on existing systems and resulted in supply chain issues and investments becoming a major topic of conversation at every level but the weight of these challenges is primarily on the shoulders of supply chain leaders.
To handle these issues in the most effective way, supply chain visibility is key – not only to have an accurate location and status for each shipment, but also to gain a clear picture of where emissions are coming from and how to curb them.
Visibility Meets Sustainability
Creating maximum supply chain visibility while minimizing the negative impact on the environment and society are not easy tasks in a global economy with complex supply chains. At project44, we believe that companies who establish reliable protocols for recording and measuring their supply chain performance can make major changes and improvements to their operations in terms of sustainability, efficiency, and profitability.
To learn more about sustainability and how your peers and partners are taking action on emissions reduction and regulations, click below to watch the second episode of our Supply Chain LIVE webinar series.