State of Supply Chain Sustainability 2022
Pressures: Turning Up the Heat
Since 2019, we have asked survey respondents
to rank the level of pressure that their firm faces
to increase supply chain sustainability from 10
different potential sources along a 5-point Likert
scale. Those responses typically cluster around
the 3-4 ("high" to "very high”) range. However,
some pressure sources show significant changes
over time. To see where there were meaningful
shifts in responses over time, we compared the
average response for each year in Figure 5.
Figure 5 shows how sources of pressure change
over time. We see that almost every source of
pressure shows an increase over three years.
of observation, with pressure from investors
rising most dramatically, followed by pressure
from corporate buyers. This sentiment was also
captured in this year's executive interviews.
An interviewee from a global electronics
manufacturer explained, "I think we're seeing
more and more that our customers-both our direct
customers and our indirect customers-are expecting
it, or in some cases demanding it. They are looking to
only purchase from companies that are investing in
sustainability and are committed to being leaders in
that space. I think there is a much stronger pull from
the customers for it." And another respondent
from a North American logistics firm told us,
"I think pressure primarily comes from organizations
who are manufacturing that product and shipping
it applying that pressure to carriers who are taking
that product. Most of the environmental initiatives
that carriers are asked to carry out cost them money.
In some respects, they're doing it because they are
being required to do it."
This anecdotal information, combined with
the data shown in Figure 5, indicate strong
B2B pressure in 2021. That is, it's not external
watchdog groups like NGOs, regulators, or
the media who respondents felt ratcheting
up the pressure in 2021; rather, it's their own.
customers, leadership, and creditors. Overall,
this indicates that in the fall of 2021, commercial
pressure to improve supply
chain sustainability was at
least as prominent-if not more
so-than regulatory or public
pressures. The recency of this
shift toward commercial SCS
pressure can also be observed in
Figure 6, where the pressurethat
respondents reported sensing
from company executives and
investors increases steadily,
but by contrast, pressure from
corporate buyers remains flat
but jumps sharply from 2020
to 2021.
How do you rate the level of pressure the following parties place on your firm
to increase supply chain sustainability?
2019 > 2021
3.4
23%
Investors
3.4
2.8
3.0
Corporate buyers
3.4
2.9
2.9
16%
3.4
Company executives
3.4
3.2
3.2
4%
9%
End consumers
Governments & international
3.3
3.0
3.1
3.3
3.3
3.3
10%
governing bodies
Current & prospective
3.0
3.1
3.1
2.9
2.9
9%
employees
3.1
2.9
9%
Mass media
3.1
2.8
3.1
12%
Industry associations
NGOs & other third parties
3.1
2.8
2.8
3.0
10%
3.0
2.8
2.8
Local communities
2.8
2.9
2%
2.8
2.8
2019
2020
2021
1 Not a priority... 5 = Very high priority
Figure 5: Level of pressure from top 2021 sources year over year (n = 1, 472)
Customer demand is a major driver of supply chain
sustainability initiatives. Firms we work with are looking
for ways to reduce supply chain emissions and adopt more
sustainable practices in response to that customer demand. This
is the case even in markets where regulatory pressures are not as
ambitious.
―Christian Piller
Vice President for Research and Sustainability, project44
How do you rate the level of pressure the following parties place on your firm to increase supply chain sustainability?
Low
Moderate
■High
2019
29%
24%
47%
Company executives 2020
28%
25%
47%
2021
24%
26%
50%
2019
38%
26%
37%
Corporate buyers 2020
39%
25%
36%
2021
23%
24%
52%
2019
46%
17%
38%
Investors 2020
36%
23%
41%
2021
24%
23%
53%
Low = 1 (No pressure), 2 (A little pressure), Moderate = 3 (Some pressure)
High 4 (Moderate pressure), 5 (Intense pressure)
Figure 6: Sources of SCS pressure (n = 1,136)
State of Supply Chain Sustainability 2022 | Changes Over Time | sscs.mit.edu | 8View entire presentation