" Picture a world where every product and appliance is environmentally friendly, where every supermarket item is fair trade, where corruption is an urban myth and poverty a long-distant memory. Hard to imagine?
Technically, it is possible… if everyone adhered to sustainable procurement."
Recently, I found this statement on this website: https://www.csr-company.com/our-services/iso-20400-sustainable-procurement-%E2%80%93-implementation-and-auditverification. Seems like an organisation with a serious mission.
I wondered whether creating this ideal world was really this simple. If yes, why do we not spend MUCH MORE attention to ethics in supply chains, that is with the selling and the buying side. And consider the financial and societal benefits more ethical supply chains would bring. Looking forward to a good discussion. BR Anne Staal
Yes, this time will come when they beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. We would all benefit if the current considerable spend on defence and intelligence gathering was instead allocated to more productive ends to release the planet's potential abundance and ship it through efficient supply chains to where it is needed.
In the meantime we are stuck with some unpleasant human nature realities which distort ethical supply chain behaviour. The attached article seeks to discuss those problems and ways to mitigate them.
Article Buyer beware: Mitigating supply chain risk
I believe improvements in supply chain ethical behaviour requires the party that controls the supply chain to insist on and effectively guarantee adherence to specific standards. It is not always obvious who effectively controls a supply chain, and supply chain control can change. Currently consumers have more control over the supply chains that provide them with products and services than in the past. I feel this trend will continue. Then the issue becomes educating or convincing the consumers which ethical behaviours they require. This has shown itself in campaigns for fair trade grocery products, organic food, responsibly produced apparel, and even organic cotton. I would look forward to discussing this.
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