Research and Markets: Greening The Supply Chain: Benchmarking Sustainability Practices And Trends

DUBLIN--(Business Wire)--
Research and Markets
(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/9fdd07/greening_the_suppl) has
announced the addition of the "Greening The Supply Chain: Benchmarking
Sustainability Practices And Trends" report to their offering.

Unlike the environmental movement a generation ago, sustainability today carries
a strong connotation of win-win benefits, efficiency, high performance,
long-term thinking and "getting it." Despite the current recession, leading
corporations across all industry sectors are increasingly making sustainability
an integral element of their strategy, from product development to manufacturing
and the supply chain to marketing and communications. For many companies,
sustainability is expanding to supply chain sustainability.

A survey of 74 supply chain executives was conducted to build a quantitative
picture of current sustainable supply chain practices and plans. We found that
despite its growing prominence, sustainability is not a core part of most
companies' strategies today. And it is not a prime driver of their supply chain
agendas. Sustainability lies in the middle of the pack of supply chain
priorities today, behind cost cutting.

Key findings from the survey include:

* Three-quarters of respondents believe that their company's environmental
stance will have a material impact on customer relationships within the next
three years, though just over a third of them feel the issue is material with
customers today.
* The quest for energy efficiency is more popular than any other sustainable
supply chain activity this year.
* Some 70 percent of respondents said they had already implemented a commitment
to recyclable and upgradable product design.
* Fewer than half of the respondents are using efficient, low-emission vehicles,
are working with transportation providers that do, or are tracking the
environmental impacts of transporting their products. Many companies have plans
to invest here in the next one to two years.
* Many companies have not yet integrated the systems that manage their
environmental information with those that manage their supply chain activities,
presenting a hurdle for those companies seeking to make environmental concerns a
factor in supply chain design and operations.
* A minority participate in third-party sustainability reporting initiatives
such as the Carbon Disclosure Project. But 80 percent of respondents say they
will be reporting in the next 12 to 24 months.
* Companies cite a lack of a defensible financial rationale and a challenge
sorting out conflicting priorities as the biggest barriers to greater
sustainability in the supply chain.
* Nonetheless, a significant majority of companies believe that greening their
supply chains will pay off over time, in some combination of brand enhancement,
efficiency gains and cost savings.
* Overall, supply chain spending plans remain fairly firm this year. A majority
of the respondents to our survey said that their 2009 supply chain spending will
increase versus 2008 spending levels, by an average of 11 percent. In aggregate,
respondents are increasing spending by 3.8 percent.

Key Topics Covered:

1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2 INTRODUCTION 2.1 Methodology

3 THE CURRENT STATE OF SUSTAINABILITY IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN 3.1 Supply Chain
Priorities 3.2 Barriers and Risks 3.3 Current Activities and Future Plans 3.4
Supply Chain Budgets 3.5 Sustainable Supply Chain Leaders Are an Elite Group

4 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 4.1 Benefits of Greening the Supply Chain 4.2
What We Learned 4.3 Principles of Sustainable Supply Chain Success

5 CASE STUDIES 5.1 Staples Makes Sustainability a Core Strategy 5.2 Dow Chemical
Uses LCA to Engineer a Low-Carbon Manufacturing Process 5.3 Alcatel-Lucent Looks
to Sustainability for Efficiency and Cost Savings 5.4 Diebold, Incorporated
Embraces Sustainability 5.5 The Coca-Cola Company Seeks to Build Value With
Sustainability

6 APPENDIX I: LEADER/LAGGARD METHODOLOGY

7 APPENDIX II: DEMOGRAPHICS OF SURVEY RESPONDENTS

For more information visit
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/9fdd07/greening_the_suppl

Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager
press@researchandmarkets.com
U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907
Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

Copyright Business Wire 2009