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.

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

Sustainable Supply Chain Transparency: Strategic Analysis and Best Practices

Download the Ethical Corporation's complimentary 10-page briefing that contains strategic analysis around key areas of sustainable supply chains.

In this document you will discover how to create a transparent supply chain that delivers results.

With wide-ranging perspectives from companies and NGOs across a variety of industries and countries this analysis will give you a great overview of best practice in supply chain transparency:

Event - Sustainable Supply Chain Summit

The 8th annual Sustainable Supply Chain Summit will take place on October 7-8, 2013, in London. Discover how to create a transparent supply chain that delivers results. Drive CR, transparency and cost efficiency down your value chain.

The event will be attended by 150 people including 25+ corporate top executives, sharing best practice and discussing the ways to address the biggest supply chain challenges in 2013.

Overview

•Make supply chain sustainability a priority throughout your value chain, by engaging internally with buyers functions, middle management through to top level decision makers

Event - Supply Chain Sustainability Forum & Networking Luncheon

The Supply Chain Sustainability event will take place on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 from 8:00 AM to 1:30 PM (EDT) at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Slaughter Hall – CIMS Conference Center, 111 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, New York. The event will address sustainability from a suppliers point of view. It will specifically address what customers want. The event is sponsored by the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute in partnership with Nixon Peabody LLP. 

Survey of Executives Views on Sustainable Supply Chains

Here is an overview of PwC‘s 2013 global supply chain survey, Next-generation supply chains: Efficient, fast and tailored. From May to July 2012, PwC surveyed 503 supply chain executives. Some 44 percent of them hold senior management positions, while 34 percent hold C-level posts. Here is a breakdown starting with the 42 percent of respondents who rated sustainability as highly important:

• 87 percent named optimizing their carbon footprint as their top priority for green adherence in their supply chain,
• 87 percent said that it’s best to reach an agreement with their suppliers on adhering to the highest ethical standards.
• 81 percent favor collaborating with suppliers to create a responsible supply chain footprint and procurement framework.