State of Supply Chain Sustainability 2022
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
If there is one characteristic that sums up the state of supply chains
today it is the need to navigate extreme change. Our research over
the last three years culminating in the 2022 State of Supply Chain
Sustainability Report shows the same can be said for supply chain
sustainability (SCS). SCS is a moving target.
For instance, over the last three years consistent pressure to pursue
SCS goals has come from various stakeholders, but the relative level
of pressure associated with each stakeholder has changed over
time. This year, company executives and corporate buyers top the
league of advocates. As one of the executives interviewed for this
year's report commented, customers want to buy from companies
that are investing in, and are committed to, SCS. Geographically,
the Global North and the Global South give different weightings
to the components of SCS. For instance, the North shows stronger
commitment to climate change mitigation than does the South.
This is the first year we have tracked differences between SCS goals
across regions of the world-supported by a multilingual survey
questionnaire-so it will be interesting to see how these disparities
evolve over future years.
While the individual components of SCS may be in a state of flux,
overall, the importance of sustainability in supply chains continues
to trend upwards. The dimension that showed the most positive
change is climate change mitigation. Supply chain circularity also
gained favor in 2021. The adoption of technology and practices to
support SCS goals also appears to be on the rise. Our latest research
suggests that supplier audits, supply chain mapping, and codes of
conduct are the most prevalent practices regardless of firm size.
The steady rise of SCS as a corporate issue may come as no
surprise to many supply chain professionals. Our research for the
2022 report affirms supply chain's increasingly important role as
a champion of corporate sustainability-a trend we highlighted in
last year's report. Given their key role in supporting sustainability
goals, it is incumbent on practitioners to keep abreast of the
many agents of change in this area, whether they be inspired by
media channels, shifting consumer sentiment, or unexpected
disruptions.
However, while SCS may be enjoying more support as a corporate
goal, its growing popularity does not necessarily translate into
investment dollars. As was the case in previous years, on every
dimension SCS goals ranked more highly than investment in 2021.
Still, the investment picture is not unremittingly gloomy. There
are tentative signs that the gap is closing in some areas, notably in
human rights protection.
What does 2022 portend for the future of SCS? We have no reason
to doubt that SCS will continue to gain importance in the near term.
Even the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath did not arrest this
trend. For the second consecutive year, about 80% of respondents
reported that their firms were undaunted by the global pandemic.
Moreover, our research suggests that one of the pandemic's legacies
is to promote new thinking in key supply chain areas such as SCS.
The Rubik's Cube of SCS components may continue to change, but
sustainability practices and capabilities in supply chains appear
to be maturing fast while gaining momentum across firms of all
sizes.
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