1.
Business and Sustainable Supply Chains
Toby Webb, founder, Innovation Forum
www.innovation-forum.co.uk
Kings College London Lecture, 12/03/18

2.
https://youtu.be/CP-TcDtSFDI

3.
So what WOULD be a sustainable supply chain?
One where:
• Care is taken to safeguard the environment and human rights as much as possible
• International principles, standards and best practices are followed
• A business (usually large) engages its suppliers in social and environmental care
• Where past damage (from peatlands to slavery) is approached in a restorative way
• Where the overall contribution of the company is Net Positive to society and the environment
BUT
• No-one has a sustainable supply chain yet, either social or environmental
• Most of the impacts are below Tier 1
• Working in Tier 2 and below can be harder and more expensive than most companies are prepared to do
• We’re still finding unforeseen impacts which are hugely significant: Ocean plastics as one example
By 2020, or by 2025 or 2030, it’s unlikely ANYONE will have a completely sustainable supply chain
So why bother?

4.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Southeast_Asian_haze

5.
https://trase.earth/?lang

6.
https://www.nestle.com/csv/communities/responsible-sourcing/hazelnuts

7.
https://www.tescoplc.com/media/392433/modern_slavery_act.pdf

8.
http://sustainablesmartbusiness.com/2018/01/1000-days-to-go-the-six-most-difficult-questions-for-consumer-brands-around-zero-deforestation-palm-oil-by-2020/

9.
Conclusions
• No supply chain is yet sustainable, as far as we know
• Many of the issues in supply chains are due to poor legal enforcement
and criminality
• SOME Companies are struggling to tackle this, and are working
together and with NGOs to try and have cleaner supply chains
• Traceability and transparency are key, naming suppliers, mapping
impacts
• Government engagement on creating a level playing field for all
companies is one of THE key issues

10.
Thank you for listening!
Toby Webb, founder, Innovation Forum
www.innovation-forum.co.uk
www.sustainablesmartbusiness.com