Operations Management: An Integrated Approach, 5th Edition

THE SUSTAINABILITY LINK

Supply chain management has tremendous opportunity to impact sustainability as it cuts across all enterprises involved in product creation and delivery. A sustainability change in the operations function of one member of the supply chain does not solve the problem if the other members of the supply chain continue to violate sustainability goals. A company, for example, can develop production processes at its manufacturing facility with reduced emissions. However, not much has been accomplished if the materials it sources are produced or delivered in ways that pollute the environment. For changes to have impact, they must be made across the entire supply chain.

Companies must ensure that sustainable changes are not made to just one operation in the supply chain, but to the entire system of sourcing, production, transportation, delivery, and all “operations” involved. For example, one important aspect of supply chain sustainability is the movement and storage activities of the supply chain. These activities are among the most energy intensive. Carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation sector alone account for 33% of the United States’ total CO₂ emissions. Judicious consideration of modes of transportation and sourcing can dramatically impact sustainability. Think about the difference between energy consumed to ship a New Zealand lamb chop to a restaurant in New York City, versus procuring a lamb chop from a farm in upstate New York. The savings in product ...