How Resilient Are Emerging Markets?

Over the past decade, BSR-led collaborative initiatives have helped scores of global supply chain managers engage with business partners and peers to improve environmental and social performance.

Its Clean Cargo Working Group includes 23 ocean carriers that represent more than 85 percent of global ocean container capacity. Since 2009, the group's carriers have offset 50 million tons of emissions for an average reduction of 16 percent.

Starting tomorrow, BSR gets its annual conference under way in San Francisco (where the group is headquartered). The theme: “Resilient Business, Resilient Word.”

One session certain to attract a large audience will be “Cuba at a Crossroads: What is the Path for Business?”

With the recent easing of travel restrictions and a potential lift of the embargo on the horizon, companies are keeping an eye on business opportunities in Cuba. In a country with a distinct culture and social system, supply chain managers are seeking to learn about the new investment climate and why sustainable businesses will have a comparative advantage. This session will bring together economists, government officials, and business experts to discuss the role of sustainable foreign business in a rapidly changing island nation.

BSR organizers observe that a resilient company anticipates change and turns it to an advantage both commercially and for the wider world. The resilient company understands fundamental shifts in business conditions that are shaped by rapid developments in technology, culture, public policy, and the environment—and navigates these changing conditions in the short run while staying focused on long-term value.

Watch this column for more insights shared during this session and on other supply chain opportunities in ever-expanding Emerging Markets.

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