EY & Microsoft to host supply chain sustainability session
Ernst & Young and Microsoft are hosting an online discussion on supply chain sustainability. The companies say the event will help companies “take your transformation journey beyond cost reduction and compliance to improved revenues and increased customer loyalty”.
Among the sustainability strategies the webcast will explore are
- Overcoming obstacles stalling sustainable initiatives
- Building a stronger business case for sustainable programs
- Using advanced and emerging technologies for accelerating the journey tracking key performance indicators
- Improving the visibility and traceability of your entire supply chain
- Determining how sustainable supply chains fit with broader organisational commitments
The event comes in the wake of an EY paper entitled ’How to embrace sustainable supply chains to secure long-term value’.
The paper looks at how an organisation’s efforts to build sustainable, socially responsible operations can be broad in scope.
EY identifies 3 areas for supply chain sustainability
It identifies three sustainability areas as prime opportunities for supply chain organisations:
Environmental impact: The responsibility to reduce carbon emissions falls predominantly on the supply chain. Most emissions come from a company’s and its suppliers’ production, distribution and facilities, says EY.
- Waste reduction: EY points out there’s long been a focus on reducing waste, especially in manufacturing, where reducing scrap and downtime drives efficiency.
With a sustainability lens, it says, companies “are now getting very innovative about how they reduce waste even further”. Reverse logistics and recycling, such as getting returns from customers rather than having them thrown away, are another focus area, it says. - Human rights: The use of child and slave labour in production is a critical human rights issue that supply chain operations can tackle, says EY.
“Getting better visibility into the supply base by leveraging technologies such as blockchain can enable companies to do due diligence upstream in sourcing raw materials so that a supplier’s practices align with the company’s priorities.,” EY adds.
The webcast takes place from 4.00pm-4.45pm BST on Friday, December 9.
