Operations Management: An Integrated Approach, 5th Edition

THE SUSTAINABILITY LINK

Planning for any event requires a forecast of the future. In sustainability, this includes forecasting future availability of scarce resources, pollution trends and future levels of pollutants, catastrophic global events, innovations that will impact sustainability practices, even issues of climate change. For example, numerous forecasting techniques are used to scientifically predict the effects of climate change. These forecasts impact the plans that are made by policymakers and organizations, and how money and resources are allocated to mitigate risks. These forecasts can have an enormous impact on preparedness in case these events materialize. When these events do occur, such as the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, forecasts are needed to estimate the resources needed to be brought to the site to effectively address the problem, the duration of the problem, and the impact on the affected region. These plans are all based on forecasts and they require decisions regarding how best to manage resources in their respective supply chains.

Consider breakthrough innovations in sustainability that can change the way we do business. An example might be PepsiCo's development of a plastic bottle made exclusively from recycled material. We may want to forecast the likelihood of success for this new product and the timing of it reaching the market, as this would significantly alter sustainability practices. Companies in the plastics industry would be interested in ...