State of Supply Chain Sustainability 2022
Changes in Technology
SCS Practices: A Staircase Emerges
Figure 13 can be seen as a “staircase" of supply
chain sustainability practices in 2021. At the
bottom of the staircase are the practices most
commonly implemented, and at the top are
those least so. In general, anyone looking to
assess their next supply chain sustainability
investment can look at which stair they find
themselves on now to see what typically comes
next-or which earlier steps their organization
may have overlooked.
Interestingly, all paths lead upward and are
mostly convergent. That is, supplieraudit, supply
chain mapping, and codes of conduct (company
and supplier) are the most prevalent practices:
an SCS "base camp". These practices also saw
the greatest increase from 2020. Supplier
collaboration, information technologies, and
standards or certifications have been adopted
by a smaller number of firms, owing perhaps to
their comparative cost or lack of familiarity, but
this represents a "first ascent", where the firm
that has already reached its "base" can aspire
to go to next. At the top of the staircase are
the most rarely applied practices among our
respondents, including supplier training, third-
We see our clients moving towards practices
that will improve transparency-notably
supply chain mapping and codes of conduct.
There is a strong desire to contribute to ESG
values, and it goes beyond technology. We
believe you have to incentivize the entire
supply chain ecosystem to be transparent
and open.
-Rob Barrett
Principal, US Supply Chain Advisory, KPMG LLP
party verification, carbon
offsets, and NGO/third-party
collaboration. This "peak"
includes initiatives and
technologies that most firms
as yet consider aspirational
or those only on the radar of
firms that are particularly
aggressive about their
supply chain sustainability
efforts.
Supply chain management has never held a more critical
and influential role in the world than it does today, and
organizations are rising to the challenge. To mitigate ongoing
supply chain disruptions, the leaders in the space are
becoming more conscientious and intentional in their supply
chain monitoring. As a result, we're not only seeing a rise in
sustainability tracking, but also, a push for evaluating all risks,
including ESG, safety, business risk and much more, in one
centralized location for greater transparency.
-Danny Shields
Vice President for Sustainability & Risk, Avetta
Which of the following practices does your firm have in place to manage supply chain sustainability?
Percent of Respondents
Collaboration (NGO or third parties)
Carbon offsets
Third-party verification
Supplier training
Supplier benchmarking
Environmental technologies
Collaboration (suppliers)
Information technologies
Standards or certification
Code of conduct (company)
Code of conduct (supplier)
Supply chain mapping
Supplier audit
Figure 13: “Staircase" of SCS practices (n = 2,044)
12%
14%
18%
18%
22%
24%
26%
26%
31%
32%
35%
38%
46%
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