Putting Sustainability into Supply Chain Management - Essay Example

Sustainability in supply chain management Name: Course: Institution: Tutor: Date: Abstract Sustainability in the supply chain management plays an important role in terms of ensuring that the environment is protected. This is useful during the supply chain management activities which ensure that the company is able to obtain the resourcesrequired to carry out its businessoperations. DHL Express is a logistics company that is faced with challenges of sustainability in the supply chain management. The main problem is the large fleet of vehicles which cause pollution when carrying out activities those involvers the supply chain management activities. Although the company has put in place measures to stop the problem, it is still facing challenges. The emission off greenhouse gases by the cars contributes to negative health effects as well as environmental pollution. It is recommended that the company should re-evaluate its strategies in order to encourage sustainability. More resources should also be put in place in order to deal with the problem. Introduction Supply chain sustainability is one of the most important aspects that are of concern to most of the companies. Currently, the environmental protection efforts are being strengthened in most of the public and private organizations. As a result of this, all the activities of the company are being scrutinized in order to ensure that it does no impact negatively on the environment. The supply chain is one of the areas that link an organization to its inputs as well as the outputs (Winter & Knemeyer, 2013). Growing consumer pressure has forced most of the organizations to re-evaluate their supply chain management practices. This is for the purpose of ensuring the process does not have negative impacts on the environment. Sharing and collaboration with other activities is one of the main aspects that are involved in the supply chain management. DHL Express is one of the companies that have developed sustainable supply chain management. The company is also involved in the issues of transportation and it has one of the most extensive supply chain networks (Coltman, Gattorna & Whiting, 2010). The company has been effective in managing its supply chain in order to ensure that the environment is protected. As a result of the measures that have been put in place by the company, it has been able to reduce the carbon footprints through its transportation activities. The supply chain management is therefore an important area that requires strategies to reduce negative environmental effects. The paper thus discusses sustainability issues in supply chain management in relation to the company. Description of the issue The use of a large fleet of vehicles in the supply chain is an aspect that is associated with the company. The vehicles are mainly used for delivery of products for its customers. As a logistics company, the company utilize different forms of transport. This includes the road, air and water transport for carrying out its supply chain activities. As a result of the high number of vehicles, the company is faced with a problem of environmental pollution. A high number of vehicles are responsible for environmental pollution through the discharge of carbon dioxide in the air (Beske & Seuring, 2014).The carbon footprints are on the increase due to the use of motor vehicles. The use of motor vehicles is considered as one of the main sources of environmental pollution. The use of fuel is responsible for the environmental pollution as it contributes to the emission of carbon dioxide (Seuring, 2013).The vehicles have to make several trips on a daily basis which increases the problem. In most cases, the motor vehicles that are used in the supply chain are the heavy commercial vehicles. The fleet of the company is mainly comprised of Lorries and other heavy commercial vehicles. This types of vehicle release more smoke to the atmosphere and hence impacting negatively on the environment. The consumption of fuel is also high for the heavy commercial vehicles (Ashby, Leat & Hudson-Smith, 2012).The emission of carbon dioxide is thus a major problem that affects the supply chain of the company and is responsible for environmental pollution. Thedemands of the company have also been on the increase. An increase in the demands of the company has seen its fleet growing and hence increasing the challenge for the company. Every year, the company has been increasing its fleet in order to meet the needs of the customers. An increase in the number of vehicles leads to an increase in the amount of smoke being emitted in the atmosphere. This problem in the supply chain has seen the company face criticism as well as protest from the environmental groups. Assessment of the environment/ social sustainability issues Environmental pollution as a result of emission from the motor vehicles is a major problem in the world today. The motor vehicles are responsible for directly emitting carbon dioxide and other forms of harmful gases to the atmosphere. This form of pollution has direct as well as indirect effects. Air quality is impacted negatively as a result of the emission from the motor vehicles. As a result of this the environment is affected directly. Poor air quality has negative effects on the individuals. Respiratory problems are caused by poor air quality (Schaltegger & Burritt, 2014). This is a problem that is common in most of the urban areas and it has seen more people being affected. In the urban areas, the people are usually advised to avoid walking for long distances on the roads as the emission from the vehicles may affect them. China is one of the countries that have been faced with the problem of environmental pollution as a result of a high number of vehicles. The air quality in Beijing is poor and a cloud of smoke in some instances usually hangs in the air as a result of pollution from the motor vehicles. This is therefore an indication that this form of pollution has negative effects on the environment. Although a fleet of a vehicle may not be fully responsible for the problem, the small amounts emitted contribute to the pollution. The measurement of the emissions indicates the supply chain of the company greatly contributes to pollution. The motor vehicles have been identified as one of the main sources of pollution in the urban areas. The smoke emitted as a result of burning fuel has a high amount of pollutants which affects the environment (Awudu, & Zhang, 2012). During the industrial revolution, the emission of a high amount of smoke was responsible for the environment al pollution that had negative effects on the human and animal life. Laws and regulations have been put in place in most of the countries to ensure that the problem is countered. This has however been unsuccessful as the use of fuel is still on the rise. The UN global compact has been incorporated in the supply chain of most of the companies. This has however been unsuccessful in terms of managing pollution. Compliance with laws and regulations is one of the main reasons as to why companies should ensure that the supply chain sustainability is achieved (Awudu, & Zhang, 2012). In the supply chain management, it is important for the company to ensure environmental protection. This is for their interest as well as the interest of the members of the public. Currently, the integrity of the brand is determined by how it implements the environmental issues. It is for this reason that sustainability issues in the supply chain management is considered useful. During the supply chain management, it is important for the organizations to be accountable to their stakeholders by ensuring that environmental pollution is controlled. Measures are thus required in order to ensure that the environmental pollution is reduced. Evaluation of the implications Sustainability in the supply chain management has direct and indirect implications for the company as well as the stakeholders. According to the United Nations, the environmental issues are considered as the human right issue. This is because of the effects that it has on the population. The companies therefore have a responsibility of respecting the human rights (Awudu, & Zhang, 2012). This is an indication that sustainability in the supply chain management has direct implication on the human rights. It is due to this implication that demonstrations have been witnessed at the headquarters of the company. The demonstrations by the environmental activists are an indication that sustainability is a human right issue. The environmental pollution through the use of the motor vehicles has negative effects on the population as it causes health problems. Lack of sustainability also has direct effects on the employees of the organization. Lack of sustainability measures exposes the employees to the conditions that affect their health. This may be considered as a problem in terms of exposing employees to poor working conditions. Sustainability therefore has a direct effect on the working conditions of the employees in an organization. The impacts of environmental problems on the environment are usually severe due to the emission of the green house gases. This may cause more problems in the areas where there is laxity in the implementation of the law. The brand image of the organization is also affected if it does not put in place the sustainability measures (Schaltegger & Burritt, 2014). Customers may shun the companies whose activities has negative effects on the environment. In other instances, the companies may also be sued for going against the environmental laws if it does not put in place enough measures to protect the environment. Sustainability has a direct economic impact and it may increase costs on the overall economy when measures are out in place to mitigate its impacts. Environmental pollution also impacts negatively on the growth and development of a country as its effects may discourage the investors. Recommendations As a result of the sustainability issues affecting the company, measures needs to be put in place to reduce the impacts. Since the company is fully aware of the problem and its effects, it is recommended that it should commit itself to environmental sustainability in the supply chain management. This is considered as the fits step towards dealing with the problem. A vision as well as objectives regarding sustainability in the supply chain management has to be considered. This will ensure that the company is working towards a certain goal. An assessment should then be carried out in order to determine the scope of activities required. A lot of professionalism is required during the assessment process in order to ensure that the information provided is accurate (Schaltegger & Burritt, 2014). The expectation of the company with regards to the process can then be communicated to the relevant stakeholders. Communicating the expectations is alsouseful in terms of portraying the commitment of the company. It is also recommended that the company should measure its performance in order to ensure that it is on course. Measuring the performance in relation to the goals and objectives must be a continuous process. This is will also play an essential role in ensuring compliance. It is recommended that the company should work closely with the stakeholders in the supply chain management sector. This is for the purposes of ensuring that the response to the problem is carried out in a coordinated manner. It is recommended that the company should ensure that all the vehicles involved in the supply chain are full. This is useful in terms of reducing the number of trips as well as the number of vehicles involved in the supply chain management. The measures however require a coordinated approach in order to ensure that the company is still able to meet its goals and objectives (Awudu, & Zhang, 2012). It is recommended that the company should review its strategy and ensure the fleet involved in the supply chain is reduced. Reducing the number of vehicles is a positive move that contributes to sustainability. It is recommended that the company should also come up with sustainability policies to govern the process. This will play an essential role in ensuring that all the necessary steps are put in place during the implementation process. High levels of ethics have to be maintained at the organization when carrying out all its activities in the supply chain. Ethics in business is useful in ensuring that all the negative practices are avoided (Awudu, & Zhang, 2012). It is recommended that the company should alsoallocate a percentage of its profits on the environmental protection issues. The company should ensure that all the suppliers as well as the organizations that it works within the supply chain sector are compliant with the environmental laws and regulations. It is recommended that the company should also purchase vehicles that do not emit much greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. This will plays an essential role in ensuring that the source of the problem has been addressed. It is recommended that the company should ensure that it has a specificdepartment deals withthe aspects of sustainability ion the supply chain management. The company should alsoinvolve experts in its operations so as to ensure that the process is effective. Bibliography Ashby, A., Leat, M., & Hudson-Smith, M 2012, Making connections: a review of supply chain management and sustainability literature, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Vol.17, No.5, pp.497-516. Awudu, I., & Zhang, J 2012, Uncertainties and sustainability concepts in biofuel supply chain management: A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol.16, No.2, pp.1359-1368. Beske, P., & Seuring, S 2014, Putting sustainability into supply chain management, Supply Chain Management: an international Journal, Vol.19, No.3, pp.322-331. Coltman, T., Gattorna, J., & Whiting, S 2010, Realigning service operations strategy at DHL express, Interfaces, Vol.40, No.3, pp.175-183. Seuring, S 2013, A review of modeling approaches for sustainable supply chain management, Decision support systems, Vol.54, No.4, pp.1513-1520. Schaltegger, S., & Burritt, R 2014, Measuring and managing sustainability performance of supply chains: Review and sustainability supply chain management framework, Supply Chain Management: an international journal, Vol.19, No.3, pp.232-241. Winter, M., & Knemeyer, A. M 2013, Exploring the integration of sustainability and supply chain management: Current state and opportunities for future inquiry, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol.43, No.1, pp.18-38. Read More