SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAINS & COLLABORATIVE PLANNING•Sustainable Development•Supply Chains•Sustainable Supply Chain Management•Collaborative Planning•Welsh Supply Chain Workshops•Stakeholder Management•Designing & Building Sustainable Supply Chains

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

• Brundtland Report defines the term

• ‘Sustainable’ may be explained, while the problem lies in the definition of ‘development’

• GDP, Poverty Alleviation, HDI

1http://hdr.undp.org/en/data/map/, 2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gdp_accumulated_change.png

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

• Unmitigated ‘Growth’ might be justified in the face of concepts such as

substitution and advancements in technology1

Sustainability: Behavior, Property Rights and Economic Growth. Jha, R. and Murthy K.V.B., 1999http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carbon_sequestration-2009-10-07.svg http://ecosocialismcanada.blogspot.com/2011/01/weyburn-carbon-storage-project-enters.html

•Carbon capture and storage (CCS)

World's largest carbon capture project in Weyburn, Saskatchewan might be leaking

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT• According to Handfield R.B. and Nichols E.L., (1999) ”the supply chain

encompasses all activities associated with the flow and transformation of goods

from raw materials stage (extraction), through to the end user, as well as the

associated information flows.

sustainable (?) competitive advantage”

Material and information flow both up and down the supply chain. And,

supply chain management (SCM) is the integration of these activities through

improved supply chain relationships to achieve a..

ECONOMIC (VALUE) SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

• Supply chain studies show that collaborative efforts in improving supply chain

integration have historically been linked mostly with better profit margins,

efficient procurement and distribution and other economic drivers.

SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT • 1 “the management of material, information and capital flows as well as

cooperation among companies along the supply chain while taking goals from all

three dimensions of sustainable development, i.e., economic, environmental and

social, into account which are derived from customer and stakeholder

requirements.” Environmental

EconomicSocial

Collaborative Planning

1Seuring S. and Müller M., (2008)

SUSTAINABILITY PROFILE

• Triple Bottom Line (TBL) approach

attempted to capture the three

dimensional nature of sustainability

within the fields of corporate and

management research. As Ljungberg

(2005 cited Elkington 1997) explains,

‘‘. . .the term triple bottom line is used as

a framework for measuring and reporting

corporate performance against

economic, social and environmental

parameters’’.

1 Webcast focused on

understanding the business

value and risks of

sustainability reporting and

will talk about the different

channels companies are

using today to report their

sustainability performance.

1http://www.triplepundit.com/2010/10/ernst-young-triple-bottom-line-reporting-ceos-about/

ENVIRONMENTAL SUPPLY CHAINS

• Wegst U.G.K. and Ashby M.F., (2004) say that “most natural materials are

sustainable, recyclable and, when disposal is necessary, biodegradable, making

them a model for environmentally conscious engineering.”

• Per capita expenditure of resources and carbon emissions in the manufacture of

products today has risen exponentially with technological advancements as

modern day products involve mixing of numerous raw materials and several

sophisticated processes that impart embodied energy to the product.

• Foam insulation often uses hazardous

chemicals with high human toxicity, such

as isocyanates, benzene and toluene

• Everything within and outside the supply chain is made sustainable, from processes

to products.

• The greening of supply chains can occur through two processes: ‘‘greening the

supply process’’ and ‘‘product based green supply’’ (Bowen F.E., et al, 2001).

ENVIRONMENTAL SUPPLY CHAINS

• Add to that, the use of unsustainable modes of transport such as fossil fuel based road and

air transport, as opposed to electric trains or water based transport systems and the

footprint of a single product or material goes up significantly 2.

2 Refer “Materials selection and design for development of sustainable products”, Ljungberg L.Y., 2005, for a detailed discussion on the reasons that contribute to the unsustainability of products

ENVIRONMENTAL SUPPLY CHAINS

• The Environmental Preference Method (Anink D., et al, 1996) offers such a

selection process based on the comparative economic and environmental benefits

of building materials. In one such example it recommends the use of softwood

timber frames over PVC or aluminium frames. The advantage of this method is

that it allows for negotiation on the basis of economic viability.

SOCIAL SUPPLY CHAINS

• Social impact of the products and processes on the local populace.

• Onsite construction requires local materials and skills procurement wherein lies

the potential for local collaborative action as well.

• Ethical treatment of the workforce from production to distribution

ECONOMIC

• A supply chain that is efficient and manageable without imposing undue burden on any single stakeholder

• A supply chain that raises the reputation of companies involved

• A supply chain that is more responsive towards consumers and benefits from the latest in value chain research

• A supply chain that minimizes waste

3“CPFR will force suppliers to innovate, building on strong one-to-one relationships that will drive smarter ways of doing things”: Attaran M. & Attaran S., 2007

DESIRABLE SUPPLY CHAINS

ENVIRONMENTAL

A supply chain that delivers with logistics that minimize use of non-renewable energy and cause minimum pollution .

A supply chain that encourages use of green raw materials and production of sustainable products .

A supply chain that minimizes harmful waste .

SOCIAL

• A supply chain that benefits the local communities and benefits the region

• A supply chain that is ethical towards the treatment of its workforce

• A supply chain that is agreeable to all stakeholders and is founded on principles of cooperation and consensus

THE ROLE OF COLLABORATIVE PLANNING

• According to Attaran M. & Attaran S., (2007) the “lack of collaborative planning

has a significant impact on supply chain performance.”

• “(1) higher costs, (2) coordination effort and complexity, and (3) insufficient or

missing communication in the supply chain.” (Seuring S. And Müller M., 2008)

THE ROLE OF COLLABORATIVE PLANNING

• With the globalisation of the building materials industry and competition, there

has been a rise in the number companies involved in a single supply chain

• This also prevents manufacturing companies to shift from an established supply

chain in favour of more local suppliers

THE ROLE OF COLLABORATIVE PLANNING

• According to the study conducted by Seuring S. and Müller M., (2008), the ‘triggers

for sustainable supply chain management’ are essentially three;

1 government legislation, 2 customer awareness and 3 other stakeholders

WELSH SUPPLY CHAINS WORKSHOP

• The aim of the workshop was to

bring together building

materials suppliers,

manufacturers, building skills

providers, experts, quantity

surveyors along with the

landowner and the local

authority to assess the current

barriers in local supply chains.

• Core team - St Modwen (developer), Persimmons (house builder), Prosurv

(developer’s quantity surveyors), The Prince’s Foundation, Neath Port Talbot

County Borough Council.

• Specialists - Technical and industry experts on individual materials and skills. These

individuals present a realistic view of the current situation regarding the material

or skills under discussion. Sessions sometimes included presentations by these

individuals.

• Wider Participants - Suppliers, manufacturers and skills providers with a secondary

stake in the development or even the region at large. In most cases, these would

be local or regional, depending on the scope of the strategy.

THE ROLE OF COLLABORATIVE PLANNING – Legislation & Funding

• Government legislation might be a powerful tool for enforcing strict compliance

with social and environmental norms, but the input of governmental bodies in the

initiation and management of supply chains is also important

THE ROLE OF COLLABORATIVE PLANNING – Initiatives & Partnerships

• Actions identified through collaboration may then be split up into manageable

units in the form of initiatives involving different groups or individuals.

• It is therefore in the best interest of the long term programme to have a central

body in the role of a manager. The role of the manager is to coordinate efforts in

all directions including actions (initiatives & funding partnerships) and

communication (internal and public).

THE ROLE OF COLLABORATIVE PLANNING - Communication

• As a way to maintain or boost a company’s

reputation and prove its accountability, Corporate

Social Responsibility (CSR) has emerged as a

significant field of advancement in the direction of

more sustainable businesses.

• Communication with the consumers and the wider public in general is also critical

in rallying support for sustainable initiatives. Particularly in the case of supply chain

initiatives, informed consumers can help endorse or condemn proposals based on

their merit.

THE ROLE OF COLLABORATIVE PLANNING - Communication

• Kitemarking or hallmarking is another effective tool for communicating the

sustainability aspects of supply chains to a wider audience. Environmental hallmarking

or industry accreditations also have an important role to play in raising the profile of

companies and ensuring compliance. Although, current systems are mostly targeted

at end products, companies and finished buildings1 , the scope of this system might

one day expand to include accreditation of entire supply chains.

1Some examples of this are: the Energy Star, the EU Sign, LEED and BREEAM certifications, etc. (Ljungberg L.Y,2005)

MONITOR AND EVALUATE

• Value Creation: It is the primary economic goal of the stakeholders involved and is

therefore critical to keep the various businesses interested

• Social Impact: This has a significant bearing on the local population and includes

metrics on employment generation and the local multiplier among other things

• Environmental Benefits: This is not only important to satisfy the sustainability

agenda of the governemental and non governmental organisations, but also to

secure or continue to recieve funding

TIMBER IN WALES

• St Modwen (key player) consider Ty Unnos (Elements

Europe - manufacturer) modular system for application

at either Coed Darcy or Swansea University Bay Campus.

• St Modwen , The Foundation to approach Welsh manufacturers of windows and doors

to assess pricing and supply capabilities; specifically the supply of high specification

timber products. Possibility of ‘upskilling’ local joiners.

• The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) and Forestry

Commission of Wales (FCW) will be approached for

possible avenues of funding or subsidies.

• Also, St Modwen have agreed to look into the

possibility of coppicing woodland areas at Coed

Darcy in collaboration with FCW

CONCLUSION

• Finally, this paper proposes a theoretical framework and methodology by which

sustainable supply chains might be designed, devised and implemented in

collaboration with stakeholders with varying stakes. And although the results of the

workshop itself might prove to be less that transforming for South Wales, the most

important contribution it made was the establishment of a precedent.