A Green Supply Chain: Paving the Way to a Sustainable Future

The answer is a resounding yes! The key lies in green supply chains. A green supply chain focuses on integrating ethical and sustainable practices that cover everything from product design and manufacturing, all the way to operations and end-of-life management.

This article will delve into how businesses can implement green supply chains in three steps, with examples from one of our partners, Cytiva.

The Cytiva Case: An Inspiring Example

The 2030 deadline to achieve the UN’s sustainability goals is fast approaching. We sat down with Cytiva, a global technologies and services provider in the life sciences industry, to discuss how they are working towards the UN’s extensive environmental goals. It will come as no surprise that a green supply chain is a part of their sustainability initiative.

How Does Cytiva Benefit from a Green Supply Chain?

A green supply chain has numerous advantages. A sustainable supply chain has helped Cytiva to:

Cut costs

Cytiva is beginning to reduce expenses by optimizing their production processes, such as the use of energy-efficient lighting.

Gain a competitive edge

A green supply chain gives Cytiva a competitive advantage in the life science industry, attracting eco-conscious customers looking for sustainable products and solutions.

Attract and retain talent

Cytiva attracts eco-conscious jobseekers by prioritizing sustainability, which helps the company retain and grow a skilled workforce.

Gain more interest from investors

ESG is a framework evaluating a company’s ethical and sustainable performance. A green supply chain supports a strong ESG performance, attracting the growing interest of investors.

Ultimately, a green supply chain is a win-win for any company and the environment. What’s more, the following guidelines show that a sustainable supply chain is an initiative that any company can set up.

3 Steps to a Green Supply Chain

To achieve a sustainable supply chain, companies can follow 3 steps:

1. Identify business drivers
2. Establish sustainability goals
3. Identify and implement change enablers

Step 1: Determine Green Supply Chain Business Drivers

A green supply chain starts with identifying the key environmental factors that impact an organization’s performance, profitability, or overall success. In other words, begin by outlining sustainable business drivers.

Cytiva identified the following as key business drivers:

Moral responsibility
As Cytiva is a biotechnology company that operates on a global scale, combatting climate change rose to the top of their list.

Sustainability regulations
Regulatory compliance is a huge part of Cytiva’s business, from legal obligations and guidelines to reporting on best practices.

Meeting customers’ sustainability needs
The pharmaceutical and health industry is rapidly growing, which means Cytiva’s customer demand for sustainable solutions and operations is increasing, too.

Step 2: Align Business Sustainability Goals with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals

After determining which factors motivate the entire company to adopt eco-friendly business practices, the over-arching environmental objectives will begin to take shape. When establishing these goals, ensure that they align with the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs).

The SDGs address poverty, inequality, injustice, and environmental concerns like climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. Leveraging this framework enables companies to drive positive change and contribute to a greener future.

Cytiva is channeling their efforts toward SDGs related to health and wellbeing, clean water and sanitation, responsible consumption and production, climate action, and sustainable partnerships. Cytiva has aligned these SDGs with their mission to reduce CO2 emissions throughout their product lines, reduce water consumption and generation, and work with environmentally-friendly suppliers.

Step 3: Identify and Implement Change Enablers for a Green Supply Chain

The third step towards a green supply chain is to identify the key factors that will accelerate change. Change enablers include anything from technology and innovation to strategic alliances and employee engagement.

Platforms that aid in storing, sharing, and tracking real-time data enable the journey to green supply chains. For Cytiva, the 3DEXPERIENCE and Ecoinvent platforms are their biggest change enablers.

3DEXPERIENCE

3DEXPERIENCE is a platform that provides applications and services in a data-driven, model-based environment for product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions. It creates an efficient digital thread across the product lifecycle by securely connecting departments, external collaborators, ideas, data, and solutions. 3DEXPERIENCE helps Cytiva design and simulate sustainable products and processes.

Ecoinvent

Ecoinvent is a life cycle inventory database (LCI) that provides environmental impact data for products, processes, and services. Companies can conduct life cycle assessments (LCAs) to identify areas where they can reduce waste, emissions, and energy consumption. Cytiva uses Ecoinvent to record and validate data for items to track the source and quality of raw materials used in manufacturing.

Both platforms help Cytiva identify opportunities for sustainability improvement throughout the supply chain.

With these change enablers, Cytiva can optimize packaging and sustainable materials, reduce transportation emissions, monitor and measure sustainability performance, and collaborate with eco-friendly partners.

In Our Experience…

Companies that achieve a green supply chain can make a difference. By prioritizing environmentally friendly production methods and sourcing materials from sustainable suppliers, companies can reduce their carbon footprint and make progress toward the UN’s SDGs.

In addition, implementing sustainable practices benefits businesses, too. It allows them to cut costs, improve brand reputation, and increase their customer loyalty, all while contributing to a healthier planet.