Sustainable Supply Network Management

This article presents an overview of current practices in managing sustainability (social, ethical, environmental) issues in supply networks. It is based on an examination of eight economic sectors in Europe and North America, including utilities, transport, information and communication technology (ICT), retail, tourism and leisure, construction, chemicals and the public sector. It was found that for the vast majority of organisations, the incorporation of sustainability issues is a new area of activity and many have yet to begin managing them in their supply networks. Of those that are active, most have so far only focused on environmental issues. This is largely due to the presence of external environmental drivers, such as legislation, market pressure and media attention, and a lack of external pressures for social and ethical issues in most sectors. So far, tools and strategies have predominantly focused on the procurement process and the management of corporate risk. However, cutting edge organisations are exploring partnership approaches for sharing knowledge, solving shared problems and harnessing opportunities for competitive advantage.