COVID-19 Exposes Supply Chain Vulnerabilities that Cause Food Insecurity

The cornavirus pandemic has highlighted supply chain weaknesses that are causing food shortages. As explained in an FAO report, the global pandemic is threatening supply lines leading to concerns about food insecurity. "A protracted pandemic crisis could quickly put a strain on the food supply chains, a complex web of interactions involving farmers, agricultural inputs, processing plants, shipping, retailers and more," the report said. In a March paper the U.N. Committee on World Food Security (CFS) warned that Covid-19 will cause heightened instability in global food supply. The pandemic also prompted the Food and Land Use Coalition to issue a call to action for world leaders over what they describe as a humanitarian crisis requiring urgent coordinated action.

Get Ready for Supply Chain Sustainability Guidance and Standards

Sustainability is a large and expanding trend and procurement has been a major part of this trend. Efforts to adopt more sustainable supply chains have been around for years. We now have ample information to confidently make the claim that businesses practicing sustainability are leading the way forward. Procurement and supply chains are key components of sustainability.

However, a lack of standardization and guidance have made this transition difficult for some. That is rapidly changing as we have seen more guidance and now forthcoming standardization.

Twitter Buying Trends: Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Holiday shopping is increasingly being influenced by social media platforms like Twitter, this is particularly true of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. As indicated in a 2013 poll, those who use Twitter spend more and use the portal as a strategy resource that informs their buying decisions.

According to a DB5 survey of 1,000 US adults 7 out of 10 of our users will rely on Twitter to enhance their Black Friday and Cyber Monday experiences. A total of 85 percent of Twitter users shop on Black Friday and 81 percent shop on Cyber Monday. Unsurprisingly, Twitter uses are bigger online shoppers than non-Twitter users. While 54 percent of all adults plan to shop on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday days, that number jumps to 68 percent among Twitter users.

Webinar - Valuing Natural Capital Assets in the Supply Chain

This Webinar will take place on Thursday, April 10th 2014, 9:00am - 10:00am PDT/12:00pm - 1:00pm EDT/ 6:00pm - 7:00pm Paris- Brussels Online Meeting.

The 21st century has seen the rise of a globally connected community and with it comes additional layers of what will need to be measured and managed for all companies to succeed. Business leaders will still focus on the basics of profit, revenue and market share, but also required is broader visibility into how natural capital assets are consumed in the supply chain to build brand and manage risk.

Event - Responsible Sourcing Summit 2014

The Responsible Sourcing Summit 2014 will take place on March 5-6, 2014 at the Hotel Monaco, 501 Geary St., San Francisco, California. Listen to subject matter experts in the field of supply chain sustainability and network with other professionals.

Some of the topics that will be covered at this summit include:

Examining the Impact of Recruitment Practices on Human Rights
Taking a Management Systems Approach to Continuous Improvement
Providing Traceability within Supply Chains: Conflict Minerals and Other Raw Materials
Lean Manufacturing - Understanding the Benefits of Production Efficiencies
Implementing Sustainable Chemistry in Supply Chains Addressing Fire Safety in Facilities

A Green Christmas and a Sustainable State of Mind

The holiday season is here and many of us are making more responsible choices, however, while personal actions are critical, this time of year is also a wonderful opportunity to green our consciousnesses. While we all must strive to reduce our energy consumption and eliminate the waste we produce, there is a psychological dimension to environmental stewardship that may not be so obvious.

People who are interested in being more environmentally and socially responsible do a host of things at Christmas time and throughout the year. 

Decorations

When it comes to decorations, they use natural materials like organic cotton and sustainable wood. They avoid plastic containing PVC and toxic chemicals like phthalates, as well as decorations that contain lead and mercury.

Video - Unsustainable Christmas Statistics and How to Make Christmas Greener

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Electronic Receipts are Convenient and Save Trees

Electronic Receipts are Convenient and Save Trees

Instead of printing out a paper receipt, many stores you now give you the option of sending your receipt by email instead. This is both convenient for consumers and it saves a precious resource. Around ten million trees are cut down each year to make receipts in the US. Trees both provide oxygen and sequester CO2. 

In addition to being better for the environment it also is a great way to organize your records. They can be kept in a separate folder for future reference. This is ideal in the event that you need to return an item or for filing tax returns.

Green Market Oracle's Gift Guide: A Summary of More Responsible Gifts

Are you someone with a green conscience looking for a last minute gift idea? Look no further than the Green Market Oracle's summary of green gift ideas that are sure to please everyone on your holiday list. These gifts are not only more environmentally responsible they also communicate something about your own ecological attitudes.

Here is a quick review of 18 gift recommendations as well as a dozen catalogs each full of green gift ideas.

Event - Halton Halton Environmental Network (HEN) Holiday Social & Enviro Guide Release

Halton Environmental Network (HEN) Holiday Social and 2014 Enviro Guide Release will take place on Thursday December 12, 2013, at Queen Elizabeth Park Community & Cultural Centre in Oakville Ontario. The gathering will start at 5 pm in the multi-purpose room, C-094, near the front entrance. It's also the launch of HEN's 10th anniversary year! They will be sharing some holiday enviro tips and doing a re-gift exchange! Bring a new unwanted gift you've received, leave it on our table, and take one you want. (Participation is optional.) They will donate any leftover gifts to a local charity. If you haven't seen their new office yet, they will be happy to take you on a tour. All are welcome. Light refreshments provided.

Green Tuesday: The Best of Thanksgiving Consumerism Strives to be Both Sustainable and Profitable

In 2011 Green America launched Green Tuesday to promote sustainable products and services during the period of rampant holiday consumerism. Green Tuesday is celebrated on the Tuesday after the Thanksgiving weekend, it is designed to inspire consumers to make "thoughtful, purposeful, eco-minded choices." Green Tuesday has a lot of competition from other sustainability initiatives including those associated with Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. The day is also being claimed by another event called "Giving Tuesday," which encourages Americans to donate to charity.

Video - Small Business Saturday Contributes to Sustainability

Small Business Saturday has been around for three years and in that time people are increasingly seeing the value of shopping at mom and pops instead of the big boxes. As explained in a Treehugger article,

"[T]he best tool for greening our lives is Urbanity- building communities that you can get around in without a car. Where you can get what you need within walking or biking distance. That's where small businesses come in to play. They are local, they support the community, and they make our main streets come alive."

Waste is an Unfortunate Thanksgiving Tradition

The holiday season represents a high point for retailers and a low point for the environment. There are two major things we can do to help minimize our impacts. The first is to be more mindful of purchasing behaviors and second is to do a better job of managing our waste. Waste is one of the biggest problems associated with the holidays. Waste is highly detrimental to the environment and according to the EPA, 32 million tons of plastic waste are generated yearly, 14 million tons of which are used in packaging. During the period from Thanksgiving to the New Year, Americans generate 25 percent more waste than average. This includes

Black Friday Purchasing Behaviors: Shopping Locally and Learning from the Great Recession of 2008

What can the environmentally conscious consumer do to be a more responsible shopper? One obvious thing we can do to help offset environmental impacts is to buy local. We may also benefit from reflecting on the implications of the economic meltdown of 2008. Black Friday is a fascinating conflagration of consumerism kicking off a spending frenzy worth more than $59 billion in 2012, which was up from $52.5 billion in 2011. To capitalize on this orgy of consumerism, retail outlets are opening earlier every year. This year many big box stores opened their doors on the Thursday prior to Black Friday. Just five years after the start of the Great Recession, consumers are battling each other in retail outlets to save a few dollars. This may be a good time of year to remember what happened in 2008 and why.

How to Green Your Black Friday Shopping

Black Friday is a consumer spectacle that is rife with excess and waste. However, there are some easy ways that we can reduce our environmental impacts. Here are five simple tips from FatWallet that can help to make your black Friday more green.  

1. Recycled Products: Try to find products that that are made from recycled or biodegradable materials. For example, several book publishers now only print books made from recycled paper.

2. Energy Efficient Electronics: When buying appliances and electronic devices, check for items that are rechargeable or energy-efficient. Look for the Energy Star logo.

Infographic - Thanksgiving: Staying Within 100 Miles and Other Tips from Sustainable America

Event - Sustainable Supply Chain Summit

The 8th Annual Sustainable Supply Chain Summit will take place on October 7-8, 2013 in London, UK. The summit will feature more than 30 expert speakers from the world’s leading brands in retail, apparel, food, cosmetics, electronics, pharmaceuticals, chemicals from the UK, all over Europe and North America Addressing the key issues that matter in 2013 - Successful internal and external engagement with buyers, middle management and top level decision makers; how to go beyond Tier 1 suppliers; introduce on-site factory training; reduce cost through applying resource efficiency programs in your supply chain and more Best practice from Unilever, IKEA, Sainsbury’s, AkzoNobel, Mitsubishi Electric, and BlackBerry.

This Summit offers a fully participatory experience: besides banning power-point, 70 percent of the event’s time is now devoted to round tables and working groups, to ensure YOU are at the centre of the debate and get your questions answered.

Whitepaper - Best Practices in Sustainable Procurement of Paperboard

This whitepaper focuses on global trends in sustainable measures related to paperboard packaging. It outlines different measures of sustainability and the various steps that have to be taken to ensure sustainable procurement of paperboard packaging.

To access this whitepaper click here.

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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.