10 reasons to clean up your supply chain

It’s growing increasingly important for businesses of all sizes to clean up their supply chains, go green and eliminate any questionable practices and/or chemicals used within it. For larger companies this might be a huge task and for others it might be relatively simple, however, it’s important that you make those first steps to take control of your supply chain. Here are some reasons why.

Supply chains count for the bulk of corporate emissions

If your business is looking to reduce emissions, go green or save money, look to your supply chain. Emissions from lorries and other transport can account for a huge portion of a company’s carbon footprint. Rather than looking within your offices for ways to start reducing emissions, focus on your supply chains. Begin by measuring and tracking these emissions then work on a strategy to reduce them.

Your competitors are doing it

You run the risk of falling behind your competitors if you don’t start to engage your supply chain. Many businesses, especially the larger ones, are dedicating time and resources to lowering emissions, removing toxic chemicals and reducing the impact of their supply chains on the local environments.

Regulation is on its way

On top of the environmental regulations already in place in terms of waste and pollution, many countries are also implementing emissions regulations too. If you can reduce your supply chain’s impact on the environment, you’ll have less work to do should regulations come into place that affect your business.

There are measurable effects

Cleaning up your supply chain is about more than just saving the planet and improving the lives of the people working within it – although these are huge benefits. Once you begin to measure your emissions, it’s easy to see how they can be improved and then to watch them come down. You can also see the costs involved with all aspects of your supply chain, which can give you an idea of where reducing emissions can save your business money.

It saves cash

Disclosing your supply chain’s effect on the environment is a real incentive to make changes. Not only do you reduce your risk from fines and regulation breaches but cutting emissions can save money too.

Your supply chain engagement is about to go public

With more focus on the environment, there’s becoming a real need for businesses to start engaging with their supply chains to improve the impact on the environment. The CDP, which recently released a report on supply chain engagement, will soon be ranking businesses based on their management of carbon and climate change across their supply chains.

You’ll contribute to saving the planet

As well as all the benefits to your business, reducing emissions, improving chemical usage and increasing welfare within your supply chains can have bigger global benefits to both the planet and people.

Your customers care

While customers might not be clued up on the intricacies of your supply chain, they are aware of environmental issues. Whether you are a B2C or B2B business, your customers care about your green credentials. If you fall behind your competitors when it comes to these issues, you may find you lose customers too.

Increased transparency is good for business

Even for businesses who find some failings, transparency can actually be good for business. For example, Nestle recently uncovered forced labour within its seafood supply chain. This act of self-policing shows Nestle customers and stakeholders that it is dedicated to supply chain engagement and human rights. It also sends a strong message to competitors that use similar supply chains.

It’s an education opportunity

Not only is cleaning up your supply chain an education opportunity for any employees working on the project but it’s a chance to educate customers, the public and other businesses about the environment, carbon emissions, human rights and cost-saving.

There are plenty of reasons to clean up your supply chain but the first steps are identifying how this can be done and where the weak points in the chain lie.

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