According to the International Supply Chain Education Alliance (ISCEA), sustainability in supply chain management is about "orchestrating and continuously improving the planning and execution of processes at strategic, tactical and operational levels along an end-to-end value chain to achieve the most efficient use of resources in terms of utilisation and cost, while minimising waste and carbon footprint".

End-to-end covers the entire supply chain process: from product design and raw material sourcing to manufacturing, delivery of the final product and after-sales service (including end-of-life disposal).

To be successful, there needs to be a strong alignment between corporate strategy and supply chain strategy, with a good understanding of the key priorities.

It's therefore important to first know what are the company's ESG material topics (and thus priorities) before launching a supply chain strategy.

The materiality assessment is a tool that can help companies determine how to prioritise diverse environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues by identifying which issues matter most to the business success of the company and the company's stakeholders. After identifying the SDGs that have the greatest impact in terms of risks and opportunities, companies should determine the supply chain levers/solutions to scale and improve impact in terms of procurement, manufacturing, logistics and distribution.

Creating and implementing a supplier code of conduct is the first step to take for a sustainable supply chain.

Establishing a supplier code of conduct presents a chance for your company to foster a shared understanding with your suppliers regarding your fundamental principles and values. This will also aid in attracting suppliers whose values align with yours, while also providing clarity to discern mismatches. Moreover, it serves as a protective measure against potential risks and fosters transparent communication between your company and your suppliers. It should cover at least labor, environment, and ethics.

Conducting a baseline assessment of your company's supply chain sustainability involves assessing and understanding the current state of environmental and social impacts in your end-to-end supply chain.

You can start by asking suppliers to fill a simple pre-/re-qualification ESG assessment. Ask about their environmental policies, waste management, energy usage, labor practices, supply chain transparency, and any initiatives they have implemented to reduce their environmental footprint. Check their EcoVadis score.

For critical suppliers a more in depth assessment can be implemented including annual data collection. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you do so:

1. Define scope and boundaries

• Clearly define the scope of your supply chain. Identify key suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and customers to include in your scope.
• Determine the boundaries of your assessment, such as geographic locations, product lines or specific processes.
• Create a visual representation of your supply chain, identifying key nodes and connections. This can help you understand the flow of materials, information and impacts.

Tip: You may want to start with your internal supply chain to gain a better understanding of the baseline assessment, then extend it to your key suppliers and downstream supply chain. ‍

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‍2. Identify key sustainability metrics

• Select key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics that align with your sustainability goals. One practical option is to reuse the "Common Set of Core ESG Metrics from SGX" and adapt it to your business and scope.
• Common metrics include carbon emissions, energy use, water use, waste generation, social responsibility and ethical sourcing.

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3. Gather data

• ‍‍Collect relevant data from your supply chain partners using methods such as surveys, interviews and data sharing agreements.
• Consider using technology and software solutions to streamline data collection and improve accuracy. Examples of reporting platforms are listed in the supplier list below.

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4. Assess environmental impacts

• Assess the environmental impact of your supply chain.
• Use life cycle assessment (LCA) methods on representative products to understand the full environmental footprint of your products or services.

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5. Assess social and ethical practices

• Assess social and ethical practices in your supply chain, including labour conditions, human rights and ethical sourcing.
• Consider certifications and standards relevant to your industry (e.g. Fair Trade, ISO 26000) to guide your assessment.
  

A structured approach to supply chain risk management is required to assess all the vulnerabilities of the existing supply chain to current and future climate conditions. The framework should include and assess risks related to the social and environmental impacts of the entire chain.

Parts of the supply chain that are not under direct control may be more difficult to assess, so the first step is to create transparency of operations before assessing the level of risk.

An initial tabletop assessment can be conducted with all supply chain actors to get started. Risk assessment is a recursive approach where low probability, low impact risks can be discarded and high probability, high impact risks can be assessed over time.  

As a minimum, the following risk components are required:

• Risk analysis: Hazards identification, exposure level, risks associated with them
• Risk assessment: Acceptable risk level, current response & control decision process
• Risk mitigation plan: Plan to avoid the risks, reduce risks exposure, transfer the risk or accept them.

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High probability/high severity risk mitigation plans need to be monitored frequently and used as input to the future state of the supply chain.

Typical risks to analyse as part of any sustainable procurement strategy are health and safety, working conditions, human rights, environmental practices and environmental risks, carbon footprint, ethics and compliance. geopolitics...

Redesigning the supply chain is required to achieve a step change in your sustainability results. Redesign takes into account sustainability needs, cost objectives, responsiveness requirements and resiliency objectives.

The redesign work follows several steps:

1. Gather business needs, sustainability needs and environmental and social risk mitigation needs identified in previous solutions.

2. Translate needs into supply network requirements

• ‍‍Best location for the manufacturing facility, ideally close to the consumption area and with access to renewable energy sources
• Best location of suppliers, ideally near-site and with high social performance
• Transport modes, maximising low carbon solutions
• Reverse supply chain
• Zero waste plans
• Information systems and connectivity to allow traceability and transparency

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3. Finalise the best option and document the future state of the supply chain

4. Establish a transition plan, financial implications and resources

Redesign is a complex, multi-year journey. It may require supplier confirmation to support the changes brought about by the new supply chain and/or the introduction of new suppliers.

Once the transformation action plan is in place, a continuous improvement method such as Plan/Do/Check/Act (PCDA) is required to monitor, control, and adjust the plan over time. The control and monitoring of supply chain performance for environmental and social metrics require a structured approach, which can leverage already implemented ERP systems or be done out of dedicated cloud-based ESG solutions.

Outside Connectivity is critical as ongoing monitoring needs to be done for both internal and external supply chain components - see details under the procurement solutions (link to the subcategory). Aligning the reporting strategy in line with retained priorities with the supply chain stakeholders is critical to avoid multiple data sources and rework/misalignment throughout the journey.

The reporting platform can be connected to ESG databases (eg Emissions factor database for GHG Reporting) to allow transparency for both the main company and its supplier base. Beyond reporting capability, some of the platforms help for cross-supply chain collaboration to capture both targets and joined action plans of the supply chain actors.

Some common types of KPIs tracked by companies when they implement sustainable procurement processes:

• Number or % of suppliers that endorsed the Supplier code of Conduct
• Number or % of buyers (procurement team) who received training on sustainable procurement
• Number or % of suppliers with ESG risk assessment conducted
• Number or % of suppliers with ESG clauses in their contracts
• Number or % of new suppliers that were screened using ESG criteria
• Number or % of suppliers ESG assessed (e.g., EcoVadis or questionnaires)
• Number or % of suppliers audited on human rights or other ESG topics
• Number or % high-risk suppliers which whom ESG action plans have been put in place
  

‍Preliminary Note:‍

• Many sustainable products could be still more expensive than the non-sustainable ones. This “extra cost” will be offset on the long run by better procurement practices as described below, will raise awareness and improve your reputation towards your employees and your final customers.

• You need to take into account the whole life cycle of your supplies, from manufacturing to end of product life.

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Steps to take:

1- Analyse your current comsumption and existing practices

• Identify your most purchased products and unused references (20/80 rule)
• Ask your suppliers what are the carbon footprints for your 20% most purchased products.

2- Define Targets and KPI evolution, such as

• Office supplies annual costs
• % of sustainable or eco-certified office products purchases (to be done per category: paper, inks cartridges…)
• Carbon footprint evolution for main office products purchased. Eliminate higher footprints products and replace them with lesser carbon footprint products.

3- Prefer

• recyclable materials
• biodegradable materials
• refillable materialise
• certified products (always ask for proof of certification). See Green Label Singapore. To find all other eco labels in Singapore, browse ecolabel website.

4- Make it simpler

• Limit your annual number of orders to decrease logistics/transportation cost by aggregating orders among services/departments & defining a minimum amount per order. It will help you decrease your costs.
• Reduce your suppliers list: limit order volumes and aggregate volumes on 1 or 2 suppliers to optimize cost.
• Limit the number of supplies references, eliminate unused references and define a green list, to negotiate better prices on less references with higher volumes.

5- Packaging: Discuss with your supplier to limit packagings, e.g. all pens in 1 carton box.

6- Involve all stakeholders in the sustainable purchasing policy and train them

• Employees : present the green product lines to them (especially people in charge of office supplies) in order to get their support.
• Suppliers : involve them in the green purchasing policy, share objectives and let them find better sustainable options for you.

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Refer to the global sustainable procurement policy in Resources section for more details.

Sustainable procurement is the integration of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) principles into your company’s procurement processes and decisions while ensuring they still meet the requirements of your stakeholders. To be successful in your sustainable procurement journey,  it is recommended to:

• Build a sustainability procurement team and provide training about climate change, sustainable procurement etc..
• Define your procurement policy. See TMI article on this matter.
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Then to have a relevant impact,  the conventional procurement process needs to be enhanced with sustainability-related activities:

Internal Spending & Market Analysis: In addition to the "standard" activities, it is necessary to ensure sustainability transparency throughout the supply chain (tier 1, tier 2, etc.), assess supplier sustainability, define sustainability targets by category and qualify sustainable suppliers.

Tender management: This should include incorporating sustainability questionnaires and assessments into tender documents, as well as analysing and validating suppliers based on their sustainability maturity.

ESG screening & ESG assessments: ESG screening is applicable or new suppliers at the pre-qualification step. For existing suppliers, it is recommended to conduct ESG assessments (in house, EcoVadis). The objective is to measure the integration levels of environmental, social and governance sustainability principles in the organisation's strategies, policies, and activities of your suppliers.

Negotiation & contract awarding: Sustainability targets should be included in supplier negotiations, sustainability performance should be considered in supplier selection, and sustainability key performance indicators (KPIs) should be included in contracts.

Implementation: Once supplier selection has been communicated, ERP systems (suppliers, prices, products/services) updated and operational implementation initiated, it is crucial to monitor sustainability performance through regular audits. This should be integrated into the supplier evaluation process.

ISO 20400:2017, titled "Sustainable Procurement - Guidance," is an international standard issued by the International Organization for Standardization that provides organizations with a framework to integrate sustainability into their procurement processes.

Measuring Scope 3 carbon emissions (upstream and some downstream activities) presents significant challenges. Achieving comprehensive supply chain decarbonisation, particularly in partnership with suppliers, is complex.

It is crucial to collaboratively establish clear decarbonisation goals with suppliers, incorporating these objectives as specific criteria in sourcing and purchasing decisions.

However, merely setting goals is insufficient; companies and their suppliers must work in tandem to achieve the targets set.

A pivotal strategy involves engaging suppliers with the highest emissions, directing attention towards categories that the company aims to influence.

The calculation of priorities can be based on either physical quantities or expenditure.

Subsequently, it is advisable to encourage suppliers to actively reduce their carbon footprint, involving the measurement of Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. Suppliers should be motivated to commit to quantified reductions, aligning with the Paris Agreement and ideally gaining approval from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Some companies as part of their SBTi Scope 3 target, ask their own suppliers to commit to SBTi. Navigating this delicate negotiation with suppliers is crucial to avoid becoming an undesirable customer.

A constructive approach is to provide support to suppliers. This can include training, workshops, technical guidance, and the provision of tools such as software and calculation files. Establishing a structured Supplier Progress Plan is paramount to achieving success in the pursuit of decarbonisation goals.

When screening for new suppliers, it is now fundamental to request information and documentation on the suppliers ESG policy as part of your qualification process.

Gather information about potential suppliers through their websites, annual reports, or sustainability reports. Look for certifications such as ISO 14001 (environmental management) or SA8000 (social accountability) to gauge their commitment to sustainability. Find their Ecovadis scoring.

You can also develop a questionnaire to assess the new suppliers' sustainability practices. Ask about their environmental policies, waste management, energy usage, labor practices, supply chain transparency, and any initiatives they have implemented to reduce their environmental footprint.

When companies purchase goods and services, they join a global supply chain where human rights violations, such as forced labour and unsafe working conditions, are unfortunately common.

Environmental damage can also impact human and indigenous rights, affecting living standards and cultural practices.

Integrating human rights requirements into procurement practices over time improves the human rights performance of suppliers and companies.
- Starting with due diligence on key suppliers and considering social and environmental impacts throughout the product lifecycle is crucial.
- Establishing minimum and desired criteria, signalling expectations through a supplier code of conduct, and supporting suppliers in meeting these expectations are essential steps.
- Regular audit and evaluation ensures progress and identifies areas for improvement in upholding human rights standards.

Human rights concerns related to the workplace include impacts on:

• Discrimination: freedom from workplace discrimination, discriminatory hiring and promotion practices.
• Health and Safety: safe work environment and access to protective equipment.
• Work Requirements: reasonable working hours, access to leisure and time off or paid leave.
• Compensation: equal pay for equal work and fair compensation including paying what amounts to a living wage.
• Unions: freedom of association and collective bargaining.
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Human rights concerns related to broader freedoms and entitlements include impacts on:

• Freedoms: freedom from forced labour, slavery, child labour, debt bondage, or restrictions on workers’ movements.
• Security: safety, security, and disaster response in nearby communities.
• Health: health and wellness of workers and in nearby communities, including through pollution.
• Livelihoods: ability of residents in communities that your supplier impacts to make a living.
• Land Use: ownership or use of land and natural resources (land rights).
• Environment: access to a clean and healthy environment.
• Ecosystems: limits to or changes in how ecosystems function, with negative impacts for individuals and communities
• Water: access to clean water for water use and sanitation in nearby communities.
• Special Groups: respect for the rights of individuals with a disability, marginalised groups, Indigenous Peoples, women, children, migrants, and others.
  

As per the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi), effective management requires accurate measurement. The initial hurdle lies in quantifying the company's carbon emissions. Particularly in sectors where scope 3 emissions are significant, the Procurement function tends to prioritise this aspect. However, this focus limits the Procurement department's potential impact on scope 2 emissions.

For instance, negotiating contracts for the purchase of green energy, such as Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), can be a valuable strategy, especially in the context of significant energy price inflation.

The "Energize program" initiated by the pharmaceutical industry to access decarbonisation solutions in terms of renewable electricity is a good example.

The transition towards decarbonisation is poised to significantly increase the volume of data that purchasers must manage. This transformation will require a reassessment of Suppliers' strategies.

A top-tier procurement platform should seamlessly embed components pertinent to suppliers' decarbonisation endeavors across all stages of the procurement process. This requires the incorporation of a comprehensive decision-making tool, thus eliminating the need to rely on disparate data sources. To achieve this, the platform should establish links with specific decarbonisation repositories, encompassing emissions factor databases and platforms referencing entities like CDP and SBTi.

Moreover, integration with premium digital solutions, such as EcotransIT World for calculating transportation emissions, is essential to ensure a robust and efficient approach.

According to Natacha Trehan, at the Supplier level, the ideal platform should include

• Selecting suppliers who have certificates and proof of their climate commitments. Ask their EcoVadis rating score. It's the leading sustainability rating platform which many multinationals use to evaluate their supplier ESG performance: https://ecovadis.com/about-us/
• Sourcing new supplier with a low carbon footprint
• Integrating sustainable criteria in call for tenders
• Obtaining a full view about the Supplier's risks (financial, socail, operational, geopolitical ...)
• Beyong the first-tier supplier, having a suppliers map that include their level of risks in terms of climate
• Implementing and monitoring progress plans to reduce CO2 emissions by Supplier
• Providing a dashboard by supplier and a global dashboard of the emissions of the Suppliers panel.

Not all elements are currently integrated into all procurement platforms, but good progress is being made.

Promoting reuse is beneficial. For a company to effectively reuse goods, accessibility is key. Business-to-business (B2B) digital platforms play a pivotal role in connecting suppliers and buyers who may not have prior connections.

From the seller's perspective, selling surplus or second-hand equipment, as well as deconstruction materials, not only generates additional turnover but also significantly reduces the company's CO2 footprint.

On the buyer's side, there are both financial and CO2 savings to be gained.

Customers do not simply purchase a product; they seek a performance-based, tailored solution.

Servitisation, also known as Product-as-a-Service, where products transition into services, is enabled by digitalisation capabilities such as sensor data collection and artificial intelligence to optimise asset conditions and consumption.

For example, the supplier commits to delivering energy-efficient performance to reduce the customer's carbon footprint. Instead of buying individual cooling or heating systems, the buyer can opt for an energy efficiency service, where the supplier designs, builds, operates, and maintains the facilities on behalf of the customer.

In a traditional model, suppliers aim to sell more equipment and consumables, often neglecting product lifespan. Conversely, customers aim to minimise goods replacement, leading to conflicting interests.

In a functional model, the supplier retains ownership of goods, incentivising quality optimisation and prolonged use. This is the end of planned obsolescence. With fewer manufactured products having longer lifespans, there's a reduced carbon footprint.

Central to this transformation is servitisation: the  shift from traditional business models to outcome-based, Product-as-a-Service (PaaS) models. Companies are now compelled to rethink and revamp their service models to remain relevant in this evolving landscape.

Having a carbon simulator for procurement means having a carbon footprint per product.

To achieve this objective, 3 steps are recommended:

1. Make a detailed analysis of the product’s life cycle
2. Identify the activity data for each process
3. Finally, multiply the activity data by the emission factors

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The Procurement Carbon Footprint Simulator serves as a decision-making tool, focusing on gathering activity data (e.g., kg, km, kWh) for the key carbon drivers during significant phases of the product life cycle, such as raw materials, production, transport, and packaging. The resulting CO2 emission value is determined using an internal price per tonne of carbon chosen by the company.

This simulator aids the company in making informed sourcing decisions, emphasizing the optimisation of the carbon impact-to-cost ratio as a criterion for reorienting the sourcing strategy. For instance, the buyer may need to consider various options, such as choosing recycled packaging over cardboard packaging or selecting a supplier closer to the factory with road freight versus a supplier farther away but reachable via railway.

Companies recognise that it is not feasible to tackle systemic sustainability challenges alone, and that achieving their goals requires a scale that can only be achieved by pooling resources.

With all customers demanding CO2 measurement and reduction targets from their suppliers, suppliers are likely to face overwhelming demands. The lack of standardised methodologies exacerbates the impact, with a significant risk of low quality results and low commitment rates. At the very least, companies sharing common suppliers should coordinate their efforts within their respective ecosystems.

When a single company commits to a sustainability target, progress may be slow and the overall impact minimal. However, if a consortium of companies adopts the same standard and collaborates to address the issue, the path becomes more manageable and the impact is exponentially greater.

Collaboration between major customers and their suppliers is on the rise, facilitated by the emergence of prominent international environmental organisations such as the 1.5-degree Supply Chain Leaders (https://exponentialroadmap.org/supply-chain-leaders/), digital platforms such as CDP's Supply Chain Program (https://www.cdp.net/en/supply-chain), and initiatives such as the Energize Program (https://hub.zeigo.com/energize) launched by the pharmaceutical industry to access decarbonisation solutions, particularly in renewable electricity.

The message is clear: do not embark on the decarbonisation journey alone!

Sustainable supply chain manufacturing can be defined as a method for manufacturing that minimizes waste and reduces the environmental impact.

These goals are to be obtained mainly by adopting practices that will influence the product design, process design and operational principles.

Production engineers, factory planners and product designers must identify improvement measures for existing manufacturing systems as well as innovative concepts for new facilities.

As the scope of work may be very wide when we are refering to sustainable manufacturing, we are focusing below on initiatives that may be implemented :

• Basic principles: Pollution Prevention, Reduction of toxic substances, DfE
• Green waste: Solid waste, Hazardous waste, Air emissions, Wastewater discharges
• Method tools: Although different tools, such as LCA, DfE , and EOL strategies are widely used, green practices are usually based on customised approach.
• Product design: Design, including the tools, such a DfE, focuses on decreasing scrap in many areas of the product life cycle by planning waste reduction from the first stages of the production
• Inventory: High replenishment frequencies imply higher emissions, so replenishment frequencies need to be reduced
• Pollution: Reduces any pollution that happens during the production process
  

Lean Manufacturing provides organisations with tools to improve their competitiveness based on increasing customer value in terms of productivity, efficiency, quality and consumer satisfaction by reducing resource consumption through the elimination of 7 wastes (transport, inventory, motion, waiting, over-processing, over-production).

Green Manufacturing can be defined as Lean Manufacturing with a renewed interest in developing greener solutions capable of not only minimising waste, but also reducing the negative environmental and social impacts (minimising health risks) of traditional industrial practices throughout the product life cycle.

The objective of both approaches is the same - to minimise non-value added activities with a focus on waste reduction, people and organisation, lead time reduction, supply chain relationships, KPI service levels tools and practices. They can be very effective when unified and implemented simultaneously (see figure in additional information Affiliation amid Lean-Green Methods).

The International Standard Organisation (ISO) has developed an international standard for environmental management systems known as ISO14001:2015. These standards act as a systematic continuous improvement tool to implement Green Manufacturing.

The term cleaner production is a response to the question of how to produce in a sustainable manner.

Its core element is prevention vs. clean-up or end-of-pipe solutions to environmental problems: resources should be used efficiently thus reducing environmental pollution, improving health and safety and reducing waste costs.

Cleaner production focuses on conservation of natural resources such as water, energy and raw materials and avoiding the end of pipe treatment.

By considering production processes, cleaner production includes:

• conserving raw materials and energy,
• eliminating toxic raw materials
• reducing the quantity and toxicity of all emissions and wastes before they leave a process.
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For products, the strategy focuses on reducing impacts along the entire life-cycle of the product, from raw material extraction to the ultimate disposal of the product. Cleaner production is achieved by applying know-how, by improving technology, and by changing attitudes.

Changing attitudes is the most challenging and the most important step in applying cleaner production concept.

Cleaner production techniques are also good business for the industry as it will:

• Reduce waste disposal cost
• Reduce raw material cost
• Reduce health-safety-environment (HSE) damage cost
• Improve public relations/image
• Improve company's performance
• Improve the local and international market competitiveness
• Help comply with environmental protection regulations

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On a broader scale, cleaner production can help alleviate the serious and increasing problems of air and water pollution, ozone depletion, global warning, landscape degradation, solid and liquid wastes, resource depletion, acidification of the natural and built environment, visual pollution and reduced biodiversity.

To decrease waste in manufacturing, please browse our waste management best practices on production area and packing & Unpacking area

Sustainable organizations strive to balance the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit to achieve long-term success and viability. This means that organizations cannot be sustainable without protecting the safety, health, and welfare of their most vital resource: The workers.

A stronger commitment to safety and health can benefit workers by decreasing the number of illnesses, injuries and fatalities; increasing their engagement and satisfaction; and enabling them to be productive participants in the organization and their communities. When emphasizing the safety, health and welfare of workers, businesses also see benefits in decreased costs associated with workers’ compensation payments, training and recruitment; increased productivity and quality; and improved reputational and financial performance.

Integrating safety and health into sustainability strategies can transform an organization into one that strives to protect the environment for future generations, ensures long­term economic viability and allows all people to thrive.

In recent years, manufacturers have implemented, lean processes as well as digital capabilities to boost productivity, create safer workplaces, and reduce costs. By providing manufacturers integrated and complimentary capabilities, they can gain greater visibility into their production processes, equipment wear-and-tear, and energy usage. These capabilities can empower organizations to optimize production, improve predictive maintenance, and minimize material waste.

The emerging digital technologies can significantly accelerate the Supply Chain transformation implemented in the companies :

• IoT (Internet of Things): connected row materials & supplies, connected transportation units, connected manufacturing assets, connected facilities, connected points of sales, connected products and consumers
• AI (Artificial Intelligence): computers imitate human behavior
• ML (Machine Learning): computer improve their tasks through experience
• Block Chain: From a supply chain perspective, BlockChain helps ensure efficient transactions, promote food safety, manage efficient recalls, help with elimination of counterfeits, the assurance of ethical trading partners, and much more.
• Robotics: Robots can do jobs in difficult or unsafe areas of the World. Robots are streamlining supply chains to deliver more efficient and predictable business results.
• Drones: Drones are used in the Supply Chain to Reach Patients in Remote Areas . Many companies are working to launch last-mile delivery solutions
• 3D printing: or additive manufacturing is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer control, with material being added together (such as plastics, liquids or powder grains being fused), typically layer by layer.
  

Whether you own/rent your own warehouse or pay for warehousing services, a best-in-class green warehouse would consider the following green initiatives at the operations level:

• Reducing stock holding is the fastest way to reduce the carbon impact of warehousing.
• Investing in a Warehouse Management System to maximise storage and reduce the number of trips made by the handling equipment.
• For fuel-based of mechanical handling equipment, reduce fuel consumption, carry out appropriate maintenance, provide fuel efficient driving training. At end of life, replace with electric MHE (ensuring the electricity used is low carbon).
• Measuring waste (tonnes/sqm per day), % of waste recycled, reducing waste (reduce inventory disposal due to overproduction, obsolescence, faulty product / go paperless / use eco-friendly packaging).‍
• Responsible sourcing of store pallets, labels and packaging.
  

There is one area of immediate opportunity that organisations can leverage for CO2 reduction: operational efficiency in transport. Operational efficiency is usually aligned to cost reduction. Adding CO2 impact to the decision-making process can lead to real reduction opportunities.  

Three of the main areas of focus around efficiency are Mode, Fill, and Fuel:

• ‍MODE: Achieving an optimal mix of modes used is probably the biggest opportunity especially if there is high reliance on air freight. Air freight can easily generate 50 times or more CO2 per tonne shipped than ocean freight.  The optimal mode of transport needs to be assessed, with the idea being to shift to lower CO2 modes where possible, such as air to sea or road to rail. In addition, looking at multimodal solutions, such as air-sea solutions for intercontinental shipments, can reduce CO2 and costs, with medium lead-times.
• ‍FILL: Increasing the utilisation of cargo, usually more targeted at ocean and road freight. The goal here is to maintain high capacity-utilisation of containers and trucks (optimising loads in terms of weight and volume, possibly partnering with complementary products) and to minimise empty miles (e.g. empty return trips). This can have a significant impact on CO2 through reduced use of assets resulting in fewer kilometres travelled. Shifting from owned fleet to transportation providers often helps optimise loads and routes to reduce overall carbon emissions.
• ‍FUEL: Increasing fuel-efficiency, primarily applicable to road freight. As the goal here is to continually improve the overall fuel efficiency of the fleet, through asset renewal programmes to ensure compliance with the latest emission standards, route optimisation through a TMS (Transport Management System), driver training programmes, fuel loyalty programmes with companies investing in green energy or carbon offsetting, or other initiatives.
  

The main entry points for renewables in the transport sector are:

• The use of biofuels blended with conventional fuels, as well as higher blends including 100% liquid biofuels;
• Natural gas vehicles and infrastructure converted to run on upgraded biomethane; and
• The electrification of transport modes, including through the use of battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles or of hydrogen, synthetic fuels, and electric fuels, where the electricity is itself renewable.
  

Whether you own/rent your own warehouse or pay for warehousing services, a best-in-class green warehouse would consider the following green initiatives at the building level:

• ‍Adherence to the Code for the Environmental Sustainability of Buildings drafted by The Building  and Construction Authority of Singapore which has largely adopted the  Green Mark’s criteria as the compliance method for assessing the environmental performance of a building development. At the end of the construction the building receives a Green Mark score for its environmental performance.
• ‍Adherence to a recognised environmental management system such as ISO14001, possibly with a certification such as Green Mark Platinum or Energy and Environmental Design Gold Certification can be a good start to improving carbon emissions. Some warehouses claim to be carbon net-zero and need to justify this (CarbonZero, CEMARS certification).
• ‍The design and construction of a warehouse is the preferred stage to optimise future energy consumption of the facility: use of eco-concrete and other green building materials, orientation of the building to maximise daylight source and minimise heat from the sun, building vertically,  layout to minimise travel, maximise greenery around the warehouse, collection of  rainwater for gardening or toilets, use of water efficient sanitary ware.
• ‍Next is the energy of the building. Obtaining the electricity consumption (in kWh/sqm) is a good way to benchmark the energy efficiency of the warehouse. Then, switching to a utiliy provider or electricity plan that uses renewable energies rather than gas/fuel-mixed power from the Singapore grid is another good way to reduce the carbon impact.
• ‍Utilising the roof or land area to install photovoltaic panels is a great way to reduce the carbon impact of the warehouse operations.
• ‍Energy efficiency can be improved with an efficient air conditioning system, cooling system, roof and window insulation, solar shading, solar water heating.
• ‍Investing in a Building Management System (BMS) with automatic control of solar blinds and sun louvres, automatic control of windows for natural ventilation, automatic control of plant and systems, integrated with lighting control system, temperature control and door control. A BMS can provide an energy and water monitoring system and help identify areas for improvement.
• ‍Switching to LED lighting where required
• ‍Consideration with regards to neighbourhood inconvenience (noise, odour, dust).
  

Optimizing packaging for sustainability involves a combination of strategic planning, material selection, design considerations, and operational practices. Here some steps that you can take:

• Choose sustainable materials such as recycled cardboard, paperboard, or biodegradable/compostable plastics and prioritize materials that are easily have a lower environmental impact throughout their lifecycle.
• Design packaging to be minimalist, using only the necessary amount of material to protect the product and optimize dimensions to minimize empty space and reduce transportation costs and carbon emissions.
• Explore options for reusable secondary packaging, such as containers or boxes that customers can return for refilling or recycling.
• Collaborate with suppliers to source sustainable packaging materials and explore innovative solutions throughout the entire supply chain, from production to disposal.
• Ensure compliance with relevant standards and requirements in your country / region to minimize environmental impact and avoid penalties.
• Regularly review and update your packaging strategy (continuous improvement) to incorporate new technologies, materials, and best practices.
  

Singapore is a unique market where many consumers have their food or products delivered to their homes. E-commerce has grown significantly in the last few years, providing a convenient way for many Singaporeans to shop.

Opting for a Sustainable Last Mile Delivery (or GLAD - green last mile delivery) is mainly about taking action:

• Using a fleet of electric vans or considering bicycles/e-bikes for smaller items. There is a new approach for two-wheel delivery fleets using battery swapping technology. Singapore currently has 3,600 charging points for electric vehicles nationwide, with a target of 60,000 points by 2030. While the national grid is still highly carbon-intensive, it is important to remove carbon emissions from residential areas and concentrate them in power plants. In addition to reducing air pollution, EVs also reduce noise pollution.
• Optimising delivery routes using a last-mile technology system (shared assets (vehicles) and driver pool, traffic data, bundling deliveries to one customer, offering customers an eco-delivery with a slight delay).

One area to watch in the coming years is drone delivery, which will dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of delivery.

Retail is the interface with the end customers. Going green in this space helps to raise awareness among a wide audience.

Green retailing is the  practice of running your business with eco-friendly processes. Below are some sustainable practices in retail that can be implemented:

• Sell greener/ethical products
• Use environmentally friendly POS displays (wood-based decor and displays), choose paints containing low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), bring houseplants into your store,  switch to bulk dispensers,
• Reduce your waste, avoid using single-use items, offer biodegradable bags, eliminate paper receipts, reuse boxes and other packaging materials, rescue food and decrease food waste
• Offer in-store recycling programmes (customers can bring in their plastic waste and receive a voucher for various products in your store or a discount)
• Make some eco-friendly store upgrades (automatic light sensors in bathrooms and stockrooms, LED light bulbs, water-efficient sinks and toilets)
  

Reverse logistics refers to the supply chain process of returning products from end users back through the supply chain to either the retailer or manufacturer.

Challenge: In reverse logistics, a company must expect its products to be returned from multiple origin sources, the volumes will be far less than those going down through forward logistics and handling costs will be much higher than the generic logistics because the assortment of returned goods is irregular, unlike manufactured goods.

Opportunity: customers benefit from a positive experience, it reduces customer waste and represents a "free" input back into the company's production process. The circular economy is the way forward, so the sooner a company embraces the change and rewires the supply chain, the higher the ROI will be.

You could:

• Start by defining your returns policy & process
• Rewire your manufacturing or refurbishment process
• Set up a repair or maintenance business
• Partner with a logistics provider
• Re-think your packaging for returns
• Manage product end-of-life
  

Green Team, CSR Task Force, Sustainability Team…They have many names, yet the same goal and the fantastic power to accelerate and amplify all actions taken toward sustainability. Choose the set up most adapted for your organisation.

Think transversal. Identify a leader, according to your scope / priorities / objectives... It can be one person from each department. Identify the sponsor or mentor at Executive or Board level responsible to advocate the actions of the Sustainability Team.

Here is a quick guide to start one and develop it.

Officially allocate time for it on your employees worksheets and objectives. Remember that if you give it on top of another job responsibility, it should still be performed as part of the employee's job description.

If your team can not manage extra tasks, engage an external consultant that could act as a part-time sustainability manager.

When you are ready, or when the sustainability tasks demands it, fight for a full time Sustainability Manager and ensure a budget for a Sustainability team.

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“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”

(African proverb)

Focus on whole person, ensure all employees feel represented and develop awareness across different groups (under represented minorities). Use your initiatives to support greater equity between your employees.

Especially, accompany women and discrimated or under represented staff population to fulfill personal and career development.

You may use:

• Mentoring: one more senior employee share his/her expertise and knowledge with a more junior (minority) employee
• Reverse mentoring: the junior (minority) employee shares his/her experience, point of view, etc... to more senior leaders to help them get a better understanding of what they are currently experiencing in the company
• Sponsoring: one leader speaks for a younger/minority employee in the organization to help him/her gain visibility
• Coaching: in house or external coaching helps individuals and managers to solve challenges they are facing and develop themselves longer term with greater impact
• Championing: one person acts as a champion for a cause or initiative in the organization, driving the visibility and progresses

Implementing sustainable practices implies a systemic change in companies, and it becomes critical to prepare our staff in terms of change management, agile thinking, creativity ("think out of the box"). In a  fast pace changing world, upskilling employees and allowing them to build and adapt their knowledge through personal training, is a critical asset.

Sustainability also requires expertise so you need to train each department team on its specific role. For example:

• Train the procurement team on sustainable procurement, ESG, carbon management and climate change,
• Finance team should be upskilled in carbon management & sustainability accounting,

You can allow your employees to access e-learning on a on-demand basis:

• Invest in your employees to continuously improve their skills or develop new ones. You will allow them to remain on top of their games, with more options in their hands.
• You can use external online learning platforms to help with your employees general upskilling, both in hard and soft skills. Note that these platforms can also be used to raise awareness of your employees on sustainable matters such as: SDG 17, sustainable initiatives, inclusion & diversity, environmental technical issues and certifications [Green Mark, Heath & Security...] etc...

Build a knowledge repository of your core processes, the way you do things:

• It helps you to build a sustainable way of learning what matters, what makes the success of your company.
• It ensures clarity & consistency in the way your employees do things as well as support your new joiners, newly promoted employees in their journey of acquiring new skills

Train your staff and offer them opportunities to develop their soft skills such as: change management, critical thinking, problem solving, agility, initiative, resilience, flexibility, disruptive design, systemic change. According to the World Economic Forum, 50% of all employees will need reskilling by 2025. Developing these soft skills will ensure their long term employability remains high.

Digitalise your trainings as much as possible, make them easy to follow in shorter length. You may be eligible to grants from governments. See below additional information and examples for Singapore.