Companies are becoming more aware of the impact supply chains have on their business and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).
Now more than ever, they are taking action to reduce their impact and find more sustainable ways of operating, particularly in procurement.
EcoVadis looks at the challenges in the supply chain and how businesses are finding new ways to tackle them, rethinking sustainable procurement systems and practices.
‘94% of respondents view supply chain resilience as a critical driver behind their sustainable procurement programs.’
The most adverse ESG impacts happen in the upstream part of supply chains, where stakeholders (ie consumers and investors) demand organisations address sustainability issues.
A typical company’s supply chain accounts for 80% of its greenhouse gas emissions.
EcoVadis have assessed more than 6,000 tech companies’ performance over 5 years with 13,000 rating scorecards, looking at their commitment to tackling sustainability matters.
Overall, the average rating was 51.4 (‘Good’ – see fig.1), based on 4 key assessment themes: environment; labour and human rights; ethics; and sustainable procurement.
Case Study – VMware with EcoVadis
88% of VMware’s carbon footprint came from its supply chain.
It focused on a holistic conception of ESG in its operations, where it managed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 19% – in 2021 alone! It also worked on principles under the 2030 Agenda to focus on ‘diversity and spend $1.5bn with diverse-owned suppliers by 2030’, which is all part of its initiative to keep things local, remain innovative and keep GHG down
“We can really drive impact in the supply base by ensuring that we’re partnering with suppliers who align with our values. I don’t think we can truly say we value ESG if we don’t also address it in our supply chain”
Matt Eaton, Senior Manager of Responsible Sourcing at VMware
Companies are embracing and embedding approaches to sustainability, to create meaningful, long-lasting change and gain value. By using digital and data, procurement teams – with the help of C-suite – can help optimise engagement to achieve sustainability.
(0) comments