Building Resilience to Supply Chain Disruptions due to Climate Change

Anticipating problems associated with climate change and planning appropriate strategic responses are critical elements of contemporary business. Companies need look ahead to identify environmental vulnerabilities attributable to climate change and find ways of addressing them. As climate change worsens supply chain disruptions can be expected to increase.

The global nature of modern day procurement means that things like extreme weather events in one part of the world can have far reaching impacts. The destructive effects of climate change are already reverberating up and down supply chains around the world the disruptions associated with climate change are almost certainly going to get far worse. Some estimates indicate we are going to see a six degree rise in temperature by the end of the century.

The Sustainable Supply Chain Imperative

As climate change worsens supply chain disruptions can be expected to increase. The global nature of modern day supply chains means that events in one part of the world can have far reaching impacts. The destructive effects of climate change reverberate up and down supply chains and wreak havoc on procurement, production and logistical tactics.

There is an increasing need for companies to assess, evaluate and optimize their supply chain operations in order to reduce their carbon footprint, avoid disruptions from climate-related events, and meet the growing requirements from governments and customers.

Investors and Global Sustainability

Carlota Garcia-Manas, Head of Research at EIRIS which recently published its annual report ranking global leaders in sustainability. While Garcia-Manas noted that progress is being made on sustainability she indicated that much more needs to be done. Mark Robertson, report author and Head of Communications at EIRIS pointed to legislation in Europe and increased public awareness. Both Garcia-Manas and Robertson said that investors have a prominent role to play driving sustainability.