STUDENTS' CORNER - 226
Sustainable supply chain
In recent years, a new movement has
gained immense popularity: Green marketing. In essence it means in producing
things, no natural resources should be harmed or damaged. Environment is the
major concern in all your business engagements.
There is a keen awareness that commercial
motive has done excessive damage to the environment; man’s health is being
neglected if not consciously sacrificed. Moreover, there is a widespread
apprehension that soon the available natural resources will become almost
depleted if caution is not exercised in all commercial activities. The word
often used in this connection is ‘Sustainability’.
It means the whole of your supply chain
must be green in their initiatives; but it has not been found possible to
monitor the suppliers’ suppliers whether they are green-oriented or not. Recently a research was carried out( In
recent HBR it was reported) to find out the possibility of all the components
of the supply chain being green-motivated and the findings underscored the
point that it is not possible to check and monitor the suppliers and their
suppliers down the line in terms of adoption of the green measures. Everyone
has his own reasons to move away from the green endeavour despite willingness
and they sound valid. Impossible deadlines, shortage of labor, late arrivals of
raw materials, like this, so many reasons have been put forward by the
suppliers. Green is important but business is more important, that seems to be
the message they seem to pass on.
All the same, green marketing is steadily
though slowly gaining ground; it can be understood. Environmental activists
keep dinning into the ears that harm to environment will end up in irremediable
harm to mankind. The very survival of man will become a very big challenge.
They also talk about social responsibility.
Much more to talk about green marketing
but this may be rather out of context for us. It suffices to know that your
supply chain is functioning in an atmosphere of green marketing ambience and it
is also pointed out that your business gains in sustainability if it tends to
add value to the supply chain; not only to your suppliers the marketing experts say but also to the
suppliers of your suppliers.
We will see some more of supply chain
facts in our next on 11 May.
