Supply Chains

Sources:

Unchaining Value, Innovative Approaches to Sustainable Supply
The Lean and Green Supply Chain

By SustainAbility, UNEP, The Global Compact and USEPA Environmental Accounting Project respectively

Reflection:

The reflection that spurred my post about synthesis (A Little Synthesis) was catalyzed by these resources. In reading these, I was continually struck by the logic represented therein, which begged the question, why isn’t this Business As Usual? I was never struck by the revolutionary way in which they proposed supply chains be managed, nor case studies in which a company’s behavior represented a level of thinking to which we’re still striving. To be perfectly blunt and honest, my reaction was, “well…duh.” I still wonder what I might be missing.

My enduring understanding of these resources is one of disappointment, not in the resources themselves, or the information they contain, but in the fact that business practices that make so much sense, that represent sound risk management, efficient use of raw materials, streamlined distribution, etc. are categorized as “sustainable business practices.” Speaking in relative terms, these resources are relevant not because the authors are so advanced, but because Business As Usual is so far behind. We will all be better off when we catch up.