Green Supply Chain - what you need to know and what you should be doing

The climate change debate has been raging for some years now.  Some people think the climate is warming, some think it is not.  Some think it is warming but there is nothing we can or should do about it, but the majority view is that climate change is our responsibility and we can and must do something. 

Well now, it doesn’t really matter what you think, because the tide of public opinion, government action, energy investment and technology development, is now on an irrevocable path towards       a low carbon economy.

The three major drivers towards a low carbon economy  (apart from the science) are:

1. Growing government legislation to tax carbon emissions.
2. The proximity of peak oil which has either already occurred or will occur soon, limiting supply and pushing up fuel prices.
3. Public opinion and action by individuals and corporations towards developing sustainable products and services.

The drivers towards a green supply chain are already strong and will only get stronger over the next few years as the carbon tax and higher fuel prices arising from peak oil bite harder into company profits.  Price increases will be passed on to consumers and both business and consumers alike, will develop greater awareness of the need for sustainability and the cost of not having a low carbon lifestyle.  Price and sustainability awareness will both drive demand for affordable, low carbon footprint products and services.

Business will increasingly target carbon emissions as a business waste in the same way they would any other wasteful activity and seek to drive down their costs through action within their business and through sourcing sustainable products and services.  Larger businesses will be early adopters of new technology such as electric vehicles, solar cells and other forms of distributed power generation to help reduce their costs and also improve their public perception as sustainable organisations.

Investment in green power generation, biofuels, hydrogen, batteries and fuel cells will continue to grow as the world seeks scalable alternatives to the current uses of fossil fuels.  The progress towards a low carbon economy is now inevitable and the race to make it happen is on. 

Logistics Help have written a white paper on green supply chain, its drivers and what you can do about it.  It is available to WPI members on our resources page.

The next fifty years will be a time of massive innovation in the fundamental technologies that power the world’s lifestyle that will bring enormous change and benefit to the whole planet.

P.S. June 2013:  I have just finished an update to this paper for my Smart Conference presentation, which I will release in July.  A few things have changed in the past year that make the future a little brighter.

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