Supply chain News and trends

The auto industry's drive to a greener and cleaner future is a treacherous road for companies in its beleaguered supply chain. Only the strong and the shrewd may survive.

Many auto suppliers, already squeezed by rampant inflation and energy prices, say they have little choice but to shoulder the extra costs of making their components sustainable to meet automakers' environmental targets.

"If you do not, you are not going to have a business in five or six years supplying major carmakers," said Shane Kirrane, commercial director at Autins Group, which has plants in Britain, Sweden and Germany that make acoustic and thermal insulation for cars.

All major automakers have committed to green targets, seeking to purge dirtier materials from their supply chains to satisfy regulators and investors as they transition to electric vehicles.

BMW, for instance, expects all of its battery and many of its steel and aluminum providers to produce materials made using renewable energy, while Volvo is targeting 25 percent recyclable plastic in its cars by 2025.

Many suppliers are consequently making large investments to green up their acts, from developing recyclable parts to hooking up their businesses to renewable energy, according to interviews with more than a dozen industry players.

Via EcoVadis

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) fully supports the Commission's recent measures aimed at setting standards for the definition of "sustainable economic activities", but points out that some elements may prove a complex and costly challenge, particularly for SMEs, and questions whether the current version of the Delegated Regulation is fit for purpose.

The EU needs efficient and urgent measures to reduce emissions and get to grips with climate change. To that end, the Sustainable Finance Package presented by the European Commission could establish a clear, coherent and comprehensive framework in which a greener economy can develop without lock-in effects.

Via EcoVadis

Effective immediately, all Jungheinrich sites in Germany, including the company’s six German production plants, will operate exclusively on green power, the maker of lift trucks announced today.

The company added that the transition of its foreign branches and plants to green electricity will follow. At the same time, Jungheinrich has begun to generate its own solar power and is gradually equipping its sites with photovoltaic systems for this purpose.

Via EcoVadis

We are in the midst of a real-time, seismic shift as consumers transform expectations of global supply and demand models. The pandemic exposed the fragility of many supply chain networks. An inability to sense and dynamically adjust to shifting demand signals, consumer preferences, labour requirements, transportation, storage, inventory and trade policy changes caused havoc to economies and brands around the world. 

According to McKinsey, “Investments in technology and automation in distribution centres are now at the forefront of most Chief Supply Chain Officers’ agendas.” Gartner recently upped its supply chain management technology forecast from 8% to 14% in compounded annual growth rate – forecasting a $28 billion investment by 2025. 

Retailers are racing to transform store, digital, fulfilment and service experiences in an effort to win over omnichannel consumers, boost employee productivity and increase profitability, all the while trying to balance increasing environmental requirements. 

Digital transformation initiatives have kicked into high gear across supply chains, too, allowing brands to reap the benefits of cloud, composable IT architecture, microservices and AI in efforts to better match supply with demand.

Via EcoVadis

In this article, John Jackson discusses the importance and value of creating a green circular economy, bringing attention to how businesses may need to consider adapting current processes into becoming more environmentally friendly. As well as this, John introduces the use of recycled or reconditioned products and materials as a considerable method that could significantly contribute towards a business's decarbonisation strategy.

Via EcoVadis

Politicians and oil companies might waste time debating whether or not we’ve reached peak oil. What they ignore is that we run out completely in under 40 years’ time, by which time a third of the planet’s biodiversity will be lost.

In the meantime, tantalum, that great mainstay of mobile telecoms, will last only a few years more and run out just in time to celebrate the planet breaking the 2oC barrier in 2060.
There’s so much more words could say, but this, a very relevant and informative environmensl visualization, says is so much better...

Via Lauren Moss, Patrick Tay