Supply chain

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the management of supply chains are closely interwoven. To achieve the 17 SDGs, we must examine every aspect of society and business, including how goods are produced, transported, and consumed. In this context, supply chain operations have a significant role to play in both contributing to and solving many of the challenges encapsulated within the SDGs.

The supply chain directly affects SDG 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth, and SDG 12, Responsible Consumption and Production. The way supply chains are managed can significantly influence the quality of jobs, especially in developing nations where many production activities are outsourced. Employers should ensure decent working conditions, fair wages, and the prohibition of child or forced labor. On the production front, organizations should commit to resource-efficient and cleaner production methods, minimizing environmental impact, reducing waste, and ensuring sustainable sourcing practices.

Supply chains also play a key role in tackling climate change (SDG 13). Transitioning towards low-carbon supply chains, improving energy efficiency, and investing in renewable energy technologies can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Moreover, supply chains can impact SDG 2, Zero Hunger, and SDG 3, Good Health and Well-being, depending on their operation in the food and pharmaceutical sectors. Ensuring the safe, efficient, and equitable distribution of food and medical products can help eradicate hunger and ensure health and well-being.

From a gender equality perspective (SDG 5), businesses can strive for equal representation in all parts of their supply chain, ensuring women have the same employment opportunities as men. Meanwhile, SDG 16, Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, also finds a place in supply chain operations. Here, businesses must act against corruption, bribery, and other unethical practices, promoting transparency and accountability in all their transactions.

In essence, sustainable and responsible supply chain management is an effective approach for businesses to contribute substantially to the SDGs. By aligning their strategies with these goals, businesses can bring about positive change, enhance their brand reputation, and gain a competitive edge, all while contributing to a more sustainable and equitable world.

This article advances SDG # 13 and 9 by making recommendations for unlocking the mechanism by which the plastics industry is tied to the fossil fuel-based economies.
This study shows that agricultural water consumption tends to use internal water resources at a maximum level for export and national use, significantly impacting renewable and non-renewable water resource availability, especially in groundwater.
This article is an in-depth analysis of the challenges and solutions for the circular economy. This article relates to SDG 12, Responsible Consumption and production.
Elsevier,

Food and Bioproducts Processing, Volume 135, September 2022

The roadmapping exercise looking at the quantitative modelling of cleaning and decontamination held in 2021 identified a number of factors as common to cleaning and decontamination across many sectors. Tackling new challenges such as the food-water-energy nexus and the wider sustainability agenda means that Sinner’s circle, often used to frame discussions of cleaning in the food sector, needs an upgrade.
Analysis of how drought, heat stress, and heavy precipitation could affect over 1.6 million producers within the Fairtrade supply chain by 2050.
Elsevier, The Lancet Regional Health - Europe, Volume 15, April 2022
The plastic sector is hard to decarbonize due to the widespread use of fossil energy as raw materials and the complex value chains rooted across global markets. This Review article takes a synthesis of existing literature and discusses potential and challenges in deep decarbonizing the global plastic sector via the aspects of technology and governance.
This book chapter advances SDGs 12 and 15 by explaining how the wine sector must implement more sustainable practices to mitigate climate change impacts and to decrease its environmental impact while ensuring its important economic and social function. This chapter presents and discusses the most relevant risks and concerns of modern wine industry and major sustainability issues related to wine production and related supply chain.
Purpose: In this study, we identify and characterise how organisations have responded, in ways ranging from restoration to radical change, to discontinuities in their product-based service (PBS) supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the rapid development of China's economy, it has become crucial to achieve the right balance between economic development and environmental protection. Green growth is a significant approach to addressing the relationship between economic development and the environment. Low-carbon development and ecological protection are two essential aspects of green development, and they tremendously impact enterprises' resource-based supply chain. Hence, this paper seeks to explore the revenue distribution mechanism of the resource-based supply chain in the context of green development.

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