Getting Ready for Green
Frank Quinn, Editor -- Supply Chain Management Review, 7/1/2008
Our cover calls it the “Sustainable” supply chain. But the shorthand most people are using these days is “Green.” But whatever you call the phenomenon that has swept business, government, and the general population, it is here to stay. And as businesses embrace environmental responsibility as a core belief, as governments promulgate new regulations, and as consumers clamor for greener products, supply chain managers will be in the forefront of efforts to respond to those demands.
So while any publication runs the risk of overkill coverage of the subject, we feel that it's fully justified in the case of Supply Chain Management Review. That's the reason for the dominance of the sustainability theme in our July/August issue.
“Insights” columnist Larry Lapide of MIT gets things started with his observations on the hype vs. reality of green. Lapide contends that all of the talk about going green might distract supply chain managers from the key issues they need to confront today. He defines those challenges as becoming more proficient in reverse logistics, participating more directly in “green” product design, and getting your supply chain partners to comply with your various sustainability initiatives. And, oh yes, you should get moving on these fronts with a real sense of urgency.
Companies overall need to become a lot more aggressive in pursuing a green agenda, agrees Lesley Sept in her feature article. Sept and her colleagues at Stanford's Global Supply Chain Forum recently conducted an in-depth study on the Social and Environmentally Responsible—SER—supply chain practices of leading companies. One big conclusion: Most organizations are still in the early “compliance” phase of their green efforts. They need to become more like the few “trailblazers” out there, says Sept, who are leveraging technology and advanced processes to achieve major sustainability gains.
One company that has taken things to a higher level is furniture maker Herman Miller Inc. In his interview with us, global supply and logistics chief Drew Schramm relates how the company's supply chain function helps Herman Miller stay true to its unswerving mission of environmental stewardship. For Schramm, and indeed for his co-workers at this forward-thinking company, doing right by the environment is as much a personal goal as it is a corporate imperative.
We're in the midst of a profound societal shift taking place today, not just in the United States but in many other parts of the world. The days of excess, waste, redundancy, and overproduction are coming to an end. The era of environmental sustainability is upon us—and probably not a moment too soon.
(781) 734-8652 fquinn@reedbusiness.com
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