| Sustainability is defined as the ability to maintain a certain process or state. In the supply chain context, it is the management of raw materials, productions, and services in a manner that considers the social, environmental, and economic impacts of a decision with the end goal of of minimizing negative impacts.
Sustainability is sometimes presumed to be synonymous with corporate social responsibility, carbon management, green, or a combination thereof, since all three initiatives often have sustainable goals, even though a more appropriate definition lies somewhere in the intersection of these initiatives and sound economic planning. Sustainability is an elusive concept for which there is still no commonly accepted definition. The only commonality between definitions is that sustainability, which is viewed by some as more of a journey than a destination, is that the end result of a sustainable initiative should be a revised process that simultaneously improves life while reducing negative environmental, social, and economic impacts. Corporate Social Responsibility, also known as corporate responsibility, corporate accountability, corporate ethics, corporate citizenship, and responsible business, can be defined as the continuing commitment by a business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of that of the local community and society at large. It’s an aspect of sustainability that is focussed on responsible production processes, socially responsible employee relations, community involvement, and sustainability. It’s about doing things right. Major areas of concern include, but are not limited to, labour and workers’ rights, health and safety, community and conduct, and environmental stewardship. More information about Corporate Social Responsibility can be found in the wiki-paper* and the blog posts referenced below. Carbon Management refers to the utilization of processes, methodologies, and technologies to reduce a company’s carbon footprint as part of a movement towards a low carbon economy. A carbon footprint is the total GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions that can be directly or indirectly attributed to an organization. More information about carbon management can be found in the wiki-paper and the blog posts referenced below. Green is a neologism for environmentally friendly and refers to goods and services that are considered to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment and to be produced in an environmentally sustainable manner. It is sometimes used to refer to renewable methods of energy production such as geothermal, hydro, wind, and solar power. Green purchasing techniques are discussed in the wiki-paper* and more information about green in the supply chain context can be found in the blog posts referenced below. Corporate Social Responsibility
Carbon Management
Green Supply Chain
Sustainability
* The e-Sourcing Wiki was created and maintained by Iasta, which was acquired by Selectica in 2014 (which renamed itself Determine in 2015). It was retired by Determine (which did not actively maintain it) before Determine was acquired by Corcentric in 2019 |
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