Task 12: CSR in the Supply Chain
/ca. 1 hour/
We've already gone through the questions pertaining to how CSR can drive market development as well as how CSR can be exercised in the marketplace and in the workplace. The last topic we will discuss in this section refers to how CSR can be exercised in the supply chain. So let's start with a short introductory video on what a socially responsible supply chain is?
Source: W. P. Carey School of Business, Module 8: Socially Responsible Supply Chain Management - ASU's W. P. Carey School (4:32 min) [access 13.06.2020]. Derived from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdbKvXh6sLU
In fact, CSR in the supply chain is a very broad topic that includes concerns regarding purchasing, e.g. adopting environmental and social criteria for screening suppliers, sustainable packaging, transportation, warehoursing and also reverse logistics (e.g. recycling, designing for the environment, a closed-loop supply chain and circular economy solutions). If we look at the definition of sustainable supply chain management, we can read that it is:
"the strategic, transparent integration and achievement of an organization’s social, environmental, and economic goals in the systemic coordination of key interorganizational business processes for improving the long-term economic performance of the individual company and its supply chains." (Carter and Rogers, 2008)
How does it work in the practice? Let's have a look at how companies sustain their supply chain, based on the example of Innocent Drinks. We've already got familiar with Innocent Drinks in the section Core characteristics of CSR (30 minutes) in the following subsections:
Source: innocent drinks, an innocent guide to recycling (2:12 min) [access 13.06.2020]. Derived from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvAIfs1xnp4&feature=youtu.be
Source: The more, the berrier - an innocent film about sustainable strawberries (1:10 min) [access 13.06.2020]. Derived from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7slTNMLrl_c
Building a sustaianble supply chain, however, does not only mean assuring a company's own processes but also spreading the idea across the entire network of suppliers. How does it work?
https://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/static/sustainability/modern-slavery-statement.pdf (Accessed 19.05.2020)
References:
- Carter C. R.& D.S. Rogers. A Framework of Sustainable Supply Chain Management: Moving toward New Theory. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management 2008, 38 (5).
- Villena V.H. & Gioia D.A. (2020) A More Sustainable Supply Chain. Harvard Business Review 3-4. https://hbr.org/2020/03/a-more-sustainable-supply-chain (Accessed 19.05.2020)
- https://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/