International Mother Earth Day was celebrated on April 22. This anniversary provides us with a great opportunity to remember how important it is to take care of the planet we all inhabit. In this task, in addition, supply chains, logistics operators and transport companies have a lot to say.
The environmental impact of global supply chains
Human activity is at the top of the causes of impacts on the environment. What we eat, what we produce, our journeys… All this leads to consumption, pollution, use of natural resources and a long etcetera. These are some of the numbers that demonstrate the importance of seeking a sustainable and environmentally friendly supply chain:
It is estimated that two billion people will become global consumers by the year 2025, which represents an increase of 75% compared to the number of 2010.
Less than 20% of those responsible for supply chains claim to have visibility on the sustainable practices of the chain.
More than 90% of the damage caused to the environment by consumer packaged goods companies comes from the supply chain, including 80% of greenhouse gas emissions.
The entire journey involved in a supply chain -procurement of raw materials, manufacturing, distribution, etc.- involves an intensive use of resources and, therefore, has great potential for savings and improvements to reduce our footprint on the market. around.
Reasons to work on supply chain sustainability
As if the above data were not enough, we are going to highlight some of the reasons and benefits that companies can achieve by being more sustainable.
New market opportunities
Until not too long ago, customers – and especially non-business customers – did not pay much attention to the care that companies put into environmental policies. However, this scenario is changing very quickly.
Currently, more and more companies require their suppliers to be able to show their commitment to sustainability. In this way, it is common to demand certifications such as the environmental ISO, commitments such as the UN Global Compact, the demonstration of the company’s green policies or compliance with certain ratios.
Improved image and reputation
Getting recognized as a company that cares for the environment makes society and customers evaluate us from a more positive perspective. However, having a bad reputation on these issues will make our brand more sensitive to any incident in which we may be involved; something especially harmful in these times when social networks can spread information like wildfire that may not be verified or be completely false.
Innovation
When a company works to be sustainable, it will be used to facing changes and constantly introducing improvements. These companies, logically, will find it easier to innovate in products and services, thanks to having internalized this need to create and incorporate new ideas.
Make it easy for your company to grow
Having low sustainability in your supply chain is going to hurt you more than you can believe. To be efficient, companies need to have access to resources in an efficient, economical and reliable way, in addition to having and complying with legal and environmental requirements.
For example, the giant Unilever estimates that it loses about 300 million euros a year due to the worsening of water scarcity and the decrease in agricultural productivity due to the increase in food prices.
Creating a virtuous circle
We have previously commented that companies are increasingly prone to require their collaborators to have an irreproachable record on issues such as sustainability. This, which must be seen as a challenge, is also generating the existence of virtuous circles, in which the different gears of the supply chains encourage each other to be more sustainable and respectful of the environment. This may be one of the keys that allows us to accelerate in order to reduce our footprint in the environment and make April 22 celebrate a day but keep it in mind throughout the year.
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