Green Supply Chain Management: A Comprehensive Guide to Sustainability

As we move towards the challenges of global warming, and most governments are attempting to reduce carbon emissions from their countries, supply chain industries can play a significant role by making their supply chains more sustainable and greener through the implementation of green supply chain management (GSCM) in their businesses.

Nowadays, an increasing number of consumers are shifting towards eco-friendly products. It could be a suitable time for supply chain industries to change their supply chain towards a more sustainable and eco-friendly way to reach their end customers.

In this context, this blog will cover the basics of the supply chain, the importance and strategies for adapting the green and sustainable supply chain.

A] Brief Overview Of The Supply Chain Industry

A supply chain is a process network of any industry or individual, where product manufacturing and delivery to its end consumer is involved. In short, from the creation to the selling of a product comes under supply chain management.

The Fundamental Steps Of The Supply Chain:

• Collection of Raw Materials: The fundamental steps of the supply chain start from collecting raw materials for product manufacturing.
• Material Processing: This is a step where the material is ready for processing by enabling the chemical or mechanical procedures before the final output.
• Final Product Manufacturing: This is the step where the final product is made and packed, Ready to go for the distribution step.
• Distribution: The process of allocation of goods from manufacturing locations to wholesalers and retailers is called the distribution stage. You can hire an agency that provides distribution services to streamline this process, ensuring efficient and timely delivery of your products to their intended destinations.
• Retail Location: The final product is now delivered to the retail shop, ready to go into the end user’s hand.
• End Consumer: The supply chain almost ends when a user gets the final product into their hand.
• End of Life/Recycling: The last and final step of any supply chain is to dispose of or recycle the product waste.

B] What Is Green Supply Chain Management

Green supply management is an integration of environment-friendly steps into individual and industrial supply chains. It involves every stage of the supply chain, from product design to sourcing the raw materials and further manufacturing, transportation, and distribution of the final product. 

The main objective of the green supply chain is to reduce carbon footprint and promote an eco-friendly culture in the supply chain to make this earth more pollution-free and greener by adapting the sustainable way of product manufacturing and delivering, which further promotes social responsibility and ethical business practices by the businesses and industries.

C] Importance Of Sustainability In Supply Chain Management

Various research shows that supply chain industries emit a bulk of carbon footprints as they are involved in energy-intensive production and transportation. Adapting a green supply chain strategy to business and industry will hugely eliminate the carbon emissions produced by traditional supply chain management. 

When businesses focus on sustainability, they can save money, protect the planet, and make customers happy. By being sustainable, companies can avoid problems, like running out of materials or harming the environment. A green supply chain is all about doing things the right way, so everyone wins – people, animals, and the planet.

D] Benefits Of Green Supply Chain Management

There are numerous benefits of adapting the green supply chain from the environmental as well as business point of view. Here are some of the major benefits in detail, have a look:

• Reduction Of Greenhouse Gas Emission: One of the major benefits of adopting GSCM, is to reduce carbon dioxide and methane by implementing sustainable energy resources and energy-saving manufacturing processes to mitigate climate change.
• Regulatory Compliance: Various governments are being concerned and taking steps to reduce carbon emissions. In this regard, governments are introducing penalties and legal actions towards those who don’t contribute to environmental protection. Adapting GCSM will prevent penalties and reputation damage.  
• Less Waste And Pollution: Collaborating with green suppliers will significantly reduce the waste produced during production and packaging to increase the profit and environmental benefits.
• Building Brand Reputation: Businesses that have adapted eco-friendly ways to reach their consumers, are building brands and making profits because customers are looking for environmentally responsible businesses and are ready to promote and consume them.
• Long-term Value Creation: Green supply chains help to save the planet and make businesses more successful in the long run. By being kind to the environment, companies can give an environmental safety message to society and make a positive difference for everyone. This will create a lasting impact on customer’s minds.

E] Strategies For Green Supply Chain Management

United Nations statistics show that nearly 90% of global warming is caused by supply chains, that’s why Government agencies are taking a proactive approach to building a sustainable supply chain for their industries and businesses. Here are some of the strategies businesses need to follow to build their green supply chain management system:

1. Supplier Selection and Evaluation 

Choose a supplier for your product delivery purposes who is committed to environment safety practices by assessing the use of eco-friendly materials, energy efficiency, waste management practices and environment regulation compliances.

2. Product Design For Sustainability

Businesses need to think more about designing their product in such a way that they can reduce the environmental impact by focusing more on using recycling or disposal materials to prepare the products and invest in technologies to reduce the energy consumption during manufacturing while minimizing the waste generation.

3. Green Manufacturing Practices

Businesses should adopt sustainable manufacturing processes to reduce the high consumption of resources which will minimize waste generation. Always invest in energy-efficient technology and optimize production schedules to reduce idle time and energy usage. 

4. Transport Optimization

Businesses should focus on optimizing road transportation services to reduce the consumption of fuel. Using rail and sea routes for transporting the products would be more convenient and cheap. Using routing software will also optimize the delivery route and save fuel.

5. Inventory Management

There still has to be done for the evolution of logistics sector in India, because of poor road networks and limited warehouse services facilities. That’s why shifting to just-in-time inventory practices is a great option for industries to minimize the storage need which will further reduce the holding cost and decrease the environmental impacts associated with excess production and storage.

6. Reverse Logistics And Recycling

Evaluating and developing processes for managing the product returns, recycling and disposal at the end of the product’s lifestyle. Implement reverse logistics services or systems by hiring a packers and movers services agency to efficiently handle returned products, and refurbished or recycled materials and minimize the waste sent to landfills.

7. Collaboration And Partnership

Businesses try to think about collaborating with suppliers, customers and other stakeholders to identify sustainability improvements throughout the supply chain. Encourage employees to contribute ideas and suggestions for implementing eco-friendly chains in their businesses.

8. Supplier Development and Training

Provide support and training to suppliers to help them improve their environmental performance. Offer workshops and guidance on energy efficiency, waste reduction and environment management systems.

9. Regulatory Compliance and Reporting

Stay updated about the environmental regulations relevant to your industry and geographical locations and maintain transparent reporting on environment performance metrics to track progress and demonstrate accountability.

10. Continuous Improvement and Innovation

Implement a culture of continuous improvement and innovation to identify new opportunities for reducing environmental impacts and enhancing sustainability within the supply chain. Encourage employees to contribute ideas and suggestions for implementing green and sustainable technologies to reduce the environmental impact caused by the supply chain industries.

Conclusion

The supply chain industry can initiate significant changes in the environment as they are top of the carbon-emitting industries according to United Nations statistics. Adapting the green and sustainable approach towards sourcing to delivering the product will greatly enhance the environmental condition and make it a profitable business in the long run.

Packers and movers company, Mega offers an end-to-end supply chain service and has decades of experience. It provides green supply chain management for environment-friendly industries and businesses. Get in touch with us to know more!