Sustainability Discourse Within a Supply Chain Relationship: Mapping Convergence and Divergence

Abstract

Large organizations involved in supply chain relationships increasingly are creating joint sustainability initiatives. The authors investigated sustainability-related discourse directed to and created by employees representing two organizations engaged in a supply chain relationship. CRAWDAD was used to map the concepts appearing in (a) each company’s sustainability-related training material, and (b) sustainability-focused interviews conducted with employees. Shared terms in the training documents included the following: corporate mission, corporate performance, corporate responsibility, product (healthy, sustainable, design), price, packaging, reduced waste, energy (reduction, use), and carbon emission. Overlaps between training texts and interview comments revolved around key corporate business goals as well as sustainability as the right thing to do. In the interviews, value statements (e.g., sustainability as the right thing to do or a “good way to do business”) were especially strong. Within both text and talk, the buyer-supplier relationship was emphasized. Areas of divergence between talk and text and between organizations were identified.

Recommendations for Implementing Sustainability in New Product Development for Supply Chain Management

“…In mature, sustainable NPD processes and organizations, sustainability scope and targets are clear and operational; customized tools, databases, design for sustainability methods, and supply chain tools exist; process definitions include sustainability issues; roles and responsibilities are clear; and NPD designers are experts in sustainability and are active in knowledge networks (Allen et al, 2012). It is imperative that top management develop a cohesive strategy (Alblas et al, 2014) that aligns the firm and its associated supply chains toward delivering sustainable products and services.…”

“…It is imperative that top management develop a cohesive strategy (Alblas et al, 2014) that aligns the firm and its associated supply chains toward delivering sustainable products and services. Corporations that are beginning to address sustainability should focus on what sustainability means for their business and products through defining a sustainability strategy, scope, targets, and processes first, and worry less at the beginning about the metrics (Allen et al, 2012). A recent KPMG global survey showed that roughly two-thirds of companies have a corporate sustainability strategy with a quarter developing one (Sroufe & Melnyk, 2013).…”

A Methodology for Mapping Meanings in Text-Based Sustainability Communication

“…There is a also a brief explanation of the criteria used to make the selection in Appendix A, Sections A.1 and A.2, of the supplementary file. Chemical Reaction (10) Christian Aid (11) Corporate Responsibility Coalition (12) Corporate Watch (13) Down to Earth (14) Environmental Investigation Agency (15) Ethical Consumer (16) Friends of the Earth UK (17) Global Witness (18) GreenPeace UK (19) McSpotlight (20) Medact (21) Mines and Communities (22) New Economics Foundation Tag N r. Name of organization and its website (23) Oxfam (24) People and Planet (25) Save the Children UK (26) Tearfund (27) The Corner House (28) The National Trust (29) The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (30) The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (31) The Soil Association (32) The Trade Justice Movement (33) The Woodland Trust (34) War on Want (35) Waste Watch (36) World Development Movement (37) World Wildlife Foundation UK (10) Corus (11) Deloitte Touche (12) ERM Group (13) E-ON UK (14) GlaxoSmith-Kline (15) HSBC holdings plc (16) Land securities (17) Rio Tinto (18) rth group (19) ScottishPower (20) Scottish and Newcastle (21) Severn Trent (22) Shell …”

Antecedentes organizacionales y capacidades para la gestión sostenible de la cadena de suministros en economías emergentes: El caso de las firmas focales colombianas

“…SSCM in a focal company is largely associated with how the mental models of top managers interpret the internal and external factors affecting their organizations (e.g., environmental and social legislation, internal resources and capabilities, stakeholders concerns, and uncertainty) (Hambrick, 2007;López-Gamero et al, 2011;Sharma, 2000). Top management delivers sustainability policies and provides financial resources to different company divisions and specific projects to motivate workers to apply sustainability practices within the organization and the supply chain; these policies also foster close relationships with suppliers and customers (Allen et al, 2012;Banerjee, 2003;Zutshi and Sohal 2004).…”