Sustainability free essay sample

Globalisation and technological advancements have caused high levels of isibility of companys supply chains and so unsustainable practices could negatively affect them with controversy, consumer pressure, financial loss and poor reputation compared to competing businesses. This has led organisations needing to become more aware of their supply chain management and the social, economic and environmental impacts of their supply network (NZBCSD, 2003). Initially, sustainability would solely be associated with environmental factors comprising of the use of the planets resources and preserving them for future generations. In 1987, the WCED defined it simply as meeting the needs of the resent without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The concept of sustainability has changed somewhat in recent times and more specific definition is Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations (USEPA, 2012). We will write a custom essay sample on Sustainability or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This makes reference to the theory of the three pillars, also known as the triple bottom line model (figure 1). It is a common method of assessing sustainability nd rather than being independent of each other, the dimensions overlap so to achieve long-term sustainability, all three aspects need to be satisfied simultaneously. These factors are also thought to be order qualifiers, in that for a business to compete with another, it has to achieve a minimum level of performance for economic, social and environmental dimensions (Seuring Muller, 2008). Economic aspects imply building a strong, stable and sustainable economy which provides prosperity and opportunities for all. Social sustainability is ensuring a strong and healthy society whereby the needs of all people are met, promoting ersonal wellbeing, social cohesion and inclusion, and creating equal opportunity for all. Environmental sustainability is respecting the limits of the planets environment and resources, in addition to looking to improve our environment and ensure that the natural resources needed for life are unaffected and remain so for future generations (Elkington, 1997). In this assignment, sustainable supply chains will be evaluated, therefore we will define sustainability in relation to sustainable supply chain management (SSCM), which is the management of environmental, social and conomic impacts, and the encouragement of good governance practices, throughout the lifecycles of goods and services (United Nations Global Compact, 2010). A supply network consists ot all the processes and operations within an organisation linked together to eventually provide a product for the consumer. For an organisation to be sustainable, the individual strands in the network, known as supply chains, have to be too, which includes all of the operations and processes within them (Slack, et al. , 2004). The objective of SSCM is to create, protect and grow long-term environmental, ocial and economic value for all stakeholders involved in bringing products and services to market (UN Global Compact, 2010). One of the challenges for a supply chain manager is to develop a strategy that integrates competitive and corporate strategy, supply chain strategy and sustainability at each stage of the supply chain. The areas to consider for supply chain strategy are that social, economic and environmental factors influence business environment factors like customers, competitors, suppliers and investors. These determine the corporate and competitive trategy, which affects the supply chain strategy and its partners, processes and systems in place. These define the volume of SC operations including transport, warehousing and production. Supply chain operations cause direct effects to society, the economy and the environment like energy consumption, emissions and waste. The Ten Principles of Supply Chain Sustainability (UN Global Compact and Business for Social Responsibility 2010) The table above outlines the ten principles given by Global Compact (2010) for developing a sustainable supply chain and what businesses should engage their uppliers around to achieve sustainability. These principles can be built on to further develop the supply chain and the level of sustainability it is reaching. A flexible framework has been created which is now used when creating a sustainable supply chain. It is called the Global Compact Management Model and three principles; governance, transparency and engagement, are essential to each step in it. The first step is to establish a vision and objectives for sustainability within the company and then analyse business priorities and the impact of achieving this. Engagement with uppliers is then needed to determine objectives with them and help improve performance. Partnerships can be created and internal follow-ups will be ongoing so that adjustments can be made if necessary. Figure 3: Adapted from (UN Global Compact, 2010) to show the Global Compact Management Model There are a variety of behavioural characteristics of sustainable supply chains that could be considered crucial for companies to implement if they want to reach certain sustainability objectives. The first being partnership supply relationships. If a company has a poor relationship with either suppliers or ustomers then the business will not survive in the long-term. Short-term measures can be made to prevent instant collapse but without a solid network base the business cannot be sustained. A business needs to establish a strong connection with its suppliers so they can formulate objectives together and then look to continuously improve their supply chain in the way of productivity, distribution, manutacturing and cost efficiency. The business can ensure minimum standards in management practices are met including minimum hiring age, contracts with workers, health and safety conditions and incentives for exceptional performances.