Sustainable development, carbon footprint,  global warming, cap and trade, Kyoto, green this, green that.   Who hasn’t seen, read and heard article after news report after blog, talking about how we are wrecking the environment and that things need to change.  Is it really that big a deal?

Well, let’s think about what has been happening;

• Glaciers and polar ice caps have been retreating at an alarming rate and scientists are predicting that the arctic ice cap will melt by 2020 (if not earlier)
• Sea levels have risen between 4 and 10 inches since 1990 as a result of the melting polar ice caps
• We’re seeing Increasingly violent storms. 35 years ago, 1 in 6 tropical storms were considered to be major storms, in recent years, 1 in 3 are major storms.
• Increasing floods and droughts
• Scientists are constantly reporting on impact on wildlife due to global warming from polar bear problems in northern communities to changing bird migration patterns.

Scientists are now (mostly) in agreement that global warming is happening and that there is a significant need to do something now.   People and governments are starting to listen.  Many governments are setting targets for greenhouse gas reductions.  People are looking for information to help them make better decisions when buying. Walmart is instituting a major sustainability initiative that will result in a sustainability rating for all of its products, providing its customers with a basis for comparing products based on their environmental impact.   Many companies have started measuring and reporting the carbon footprint for their products.  More significantly, in order for these companies to report their carbon footprint, they must have detailed carbon footprint data from their suppliers.

The point is that your company will eventually need to address its carbon footprint.  In my opinion, you have two options; you can wait until you are forced kicking and screaming to report and reduce your carbon footprint or you can be proactive and start to measure and reduce the impact your company is having on the environment.  Those companies who take the latter path will find themselves far ahead of the pack when governments and your customers start demanding reductions in the carbon footprint of your products.

So where do you start?  John Nafis has published an excellent white paper titled “Providing Carbon Footprint Visibility and Planning Capabilities Across the Supply Chain:  Why you need to do it and What you need to do it”.    (In it, John describes the factors driving companies to consider their carbon footprint.  He also describes the many difficulties facing companies looking to track their carbon footprint.  Most importantly, he describes the tools needed to manage your carbon footprint. )

A very interesting concept is the need for carbon footprint planning  through simulation  What does this mean?  Companies make decisions everyday that impact the carbon footprint of their product. If you expedite an order, what impact does that have on carbon footprint?  What if you choose a supplier next door instead of a supplier on the other side of the world?  What if you used a component with a smaller carbon footprint?  Now, what if you could simulate these options and see what impact they would have on your carbon footprint before you made your decision?

We all need to make changes in the way we live and the way we do business if we want to leave a clean, green world for our future generations. The decisions we make today have a significant impact on all our futures.  Let’s make the right decisions and work proactively to reduce our personal and business carbon footprints.

What steps is your company taking to reduce its carbon footprint?  Post a comment and let us know?

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Tags: green supply chain, Manufacturing, Supply chain management
Posted in Best practices, Supply chain management
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