(Credit: SCALA)UK-based supply-chain consulting firm SCALA conducted research earlier this year on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chain sustainability. In a recently published report detailing its findings, SCALA disclosed that nearly one third (32%) of businesses in the UK are taking no steps to address supply chain sustainability, lacking any system to measure the impact of their operations. Half (50%) of the businesses surveyed had “approximate” measures, while less than one in five (18%) had accurate measures.
Seventy seven percent of businesses report committing to measure their environmental impact in the future, while 18% want to but have no plans in place. Five percent remain unsure.
According to the report, both the COVID-19 pandemic and Britain’s exit from the European Union have caused supply-chain disruptions that have caused businesses to deprioritize sustainability.
But SCALA warns that inactive businesses risk “financial and reputational damage” given increasing consumer concern with climate change and the likelihood of upcoming climate regulations.
Sixty four percent of businesses also reported that they are not currently taking any action to reduce the impact of their eCommerce operations. Businesses are responsible for two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions — 90% of which come from supply chains. It is not enough for businesses to reduce their direct emissions; to combat climate change, they must address their carbon footprint holistically, across the entirety of their operations.
This is not the only report to find poor sustainability performance among UK businesses: a study published earlier this month by clean energy marketplace Squeaky found that the majority of corporate sustainability professionals feel they lack the knowledge necessary to follow through on their companies’ environmental commitments. Even more starkly, international law firm Crowell & Moring found that only 3 in 10 companies are measuring the sustainability of their supply chains.
The first step of solving a problem is identifying it. William Richardson, founder and CEO of Compare Your Footprint, believes that empowering businesses to measure their carbon footprint is the most effective way to improve UK businesses’ supply chain sustainability efforts:
“Supply chains can be complex, and each business will have different supply chain demands. The first step starts with collecting as much data as possible around energy usage, freight, materials used, and so on. With this data, it is then possible for businesses to calculate their emissions and identify the key areas of their business to take appropriate action to reduce the environmental impact of their own operations and supply chain.”
John Perry, managing director at SCALA, agrees that:
“Identifying the specific areas of where environmental action needs to be prioritized is a good place to start. For eCommerce businesses, this may be tackling freight emissions by introducing positive steps such as combining truck loads, increasing the number of sales items per pallet or reducing diesel transport wherever possible.”
