Apr 14, 2025
9 Supply Chain Sustainability Examples to Inspire You
Proven strategies and best practices for a greener supply chain
Running a supply chain in an effective and efficient manner is essential to the prosperity of your business. You need to ensure you receive the materials you need, when you need them to meet consumer demand, and make your business as profitable as possible. However, with a supply chain comes corporate responsibility.
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) states that there are 450 million people around the world engaged in supply chains. Many of these workers are in countries where their rights are constantly violated. However, with consumers keen on the companies they buy from displaying a sustainable attitude to sourcing, it is essential that your business plays an active role in ensuring high standards of treatment for those within its value chain.
Just under half of customers (46%) say they are making more sustainable choices over their consumption, with 80% claiming they would pay nearly a tenth more (9.7%) for ethically sourced goods. In addition, many jurisdictions are introducing climate-related legislation to encourage companies to reduce their impact on the environment, further illustrating the importance of taking a positive stance on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters.
This article provides some supply chain sustainability examples from real-world companies to inspire you with strategies and best practices for a greener supply chain.
Key takeaways
Major companies are creating sustainable supply chains
Both the human and environmental impact of a company’s operations are under scrutiny
By collaborating with suppliers, companies can drive sustainable practices
Sustainable supply chain management varies depending on industry and materials sourced
Environmental and social responsibility are both key to public perception of businesses
There are challenges to sustainable sourcing that businesses must consider and mitigate
9 inspiring supply chain sustainability examples Unilever
Consumer goods firm Unilever prides itself on a longstanding commitment to sustainability, but states that “ringing the alarm and setting long-term ambitions isn't good enough anymore. Now is the time to focus on delivering impact by making sustainability progress integral to business performance.”
Among its initiatives is an ambition to make its entire value chain net zero in terms of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) through advocacy and collaboration with suppliers. Value chain entities share carbon footprint data on all materials and work with the company to identify opportunities for decarbonization.
Unilever provides a living wage to value chain employees and supports farmers in building capacity, implementing regenerative programs, and gaining certifications to improve traceability.
Patagonia
Patagonia is a clothing company that runs its own Supply Chain Environmental Impact Program. The company ensures it puts this program in place in its suppliers’ facilities around the globe, providing minimum standards of performance in areas such as:
Chemical use
Water use
Energy use
GHG emissions
Waste
Environmental management systems.
The business works with suppliers to conduct training and help them make the improvements they need to meet and exceed Patagonia’s standards, which are designed with industry benchmarks in mind. The company will not work with suppliers who fail to reach the required level of delivery.
IKEA
Swedish furniture business IKEA has developed a supplier code of conduct that it brands IWAY. This features ten principles to which suppliers and subcontractors must adhere, based around improving performance in four key areas of sustainability:
Ensuring the company’s impact on the environment is positive
Helping to secure meaningful and safe work for employees
Protecting the rights of children
Ensuring the welfare of animals relating to the supply chain.
The company developed its code by consulting internationally recognized standards such as UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the 10 Principles of the UN Global Compact, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work.
IKEA enforces the policy through supplier audits, as well as providing support to value chain entities to help them meet their obligations.
Walmart
Retail corporation Walmart introduced Project Gigatron in 2017, which was a collaborative effort between the company and its suppliers to reduce, avoid or sequester one billion metric tons (a gigaton) of GHG by 2030. The project met that target early, reaching its aim in 2023, through collaboration between suppliers and Walmart. The reduction of a gigaton’s worth of emissions (more than Germany’s entire annual emissions) has paved the way for the business to set a new target of net zero carbon emissions by 2040.
Walmart’s sustainability strategy involves engagement between the business, its suppliers, customers, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to share best sustainable practices and tools that all parties can implement to reduce their environmental and social impact within the supply chain. This includes helping customers make informed choices over their purchases.
Apple
Tech giant Apple created a $50 million Supplier Employee Development Fund (SEDF) in 2022, providing access to educational opportunities for workers in the value chain and the communities in which they live. The aim is to help employees develop skills to find new opportunities within the supply chain and to create a culture that nurtures health and well-being. More than 160,000 participants took part in the scheme in 2023.
The company also dedicates itself to recovering materials from older products to use in the manufacturing process of its new technology. It prioritizes low-carbon shipping methods and aims to reduce its reliance on mining for raw materials.
Nike
Sportswear firm Nike has created its own Supply Chain Sustainability Index (SCSI) to provide the logistics companies it uses with minimum standards with regards to ESG considerations. It has also launched SCSI awards to its most sustainable air and ocean freight providers to showcase its commitment to reduce GHG emissions.
Nike’s Move to Zero campaign sets ambitious targets for its supply chain, including reducing carbon emissions by half a million imperial tons. This is to be achieved by increasing the use of materials with a lower environmental impact. Other targets are to divert 100% of waste from landfill, with 80% to be used to create new products, and reduce the fresh water used in textile manufacturing by a quarter.
Amazon
Online retailer Amazon has created sustainability teams in areas from which the business sources much of its suppliers. These teams interact with suppliers to evaluate risks on the ground and work with them to improve processes so that they meet the standards set by Amazon for safe and respectful working conditions.
The company encourages all partners to carry out human rights and environmental due diligence, investigating reports of suppliers failing to meet their obligations and removing them from the supply chain if deemed necessary.
Amazon carries out supplier assessments on onboarding those companies involved in creating its own brand items, as well as at periodic intervals afterwards. It flags any issues according to severity, monitoring low-level infringements and requesting proof that high and medium problems are addressed immediately.
In 2023, it matched all electricity consumed across its value chain with renewable sources for more efficient energy usage.
Coca-Cola
Drinks manufacturer Coca-Cola has prioritized the way it uses water in its supply chain, given the large volume used in the manufacturing of its products. This includes a commitment to return 100% of the total water used in 200 high-risk supply chain locations to nature and local communities.
When sourcing ingredients, the business has set itself a “leader standard”, aligned with third-party measurements, to help drive more sustainable agriculture practices in its supply chain. Although Coca-Cola generally deals with processing and refining companies, it engages these operations to ensure they collaborate with their agricultural suppliers to meet “credible third-party standards.”
Nestlé
Swiss food and drink business Nestlé aims to source 100% of its key ingredients from responsible sources by 2030. This means buying from suppliers committed to looking after the soil, ecosystems, and people involved in the production of items such as cereals, cocoa, palm oil, dairy products, and more.
To do this, the strategy involves:
Ensuring the company can trace the ingredients back to their origin
The direct supplier has implemented Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) systems
The volumes it buys from direct suppliers meet its Responsible Sourcing Core Requirements
Nestlé is committed to ensuring it sources materials from only low-risk countries or farms where there has been a second or third-party assessment of sustainability, the farm is part of a Nestlé program, or where the farm is certified or verified for its ethical standards.
How to measure and report supply chain sustainability
Here are some ways that you can measure the success of your sustainable supply chain practices to discover how effective your sustainability practices are.
Method | Explanation |
Key sustainability metrics | Decide which areas of sustainability matter most to your business, in your industry and to your stakeholders. For example, Coca-Cola has chosen to track returning the fresh water it uses to nature, which is pertinent for a global drinks company. Choose metrics that you deem to be material to your efforts, collect data, and monitor your progress towards your goals. |
ESG reporting frameworks | Instead of guessing which metrics to measure, ESG frameworks are created to develop benchmarks for performance within sectors. They request a set range of data points that businesses collect and report, adding market context to your sustainability performance. IKEA uses a number of frameworks and official sustainability goals to understand how effective its strategy is. |
Third-party audits and certifications | Requesting that suppliers produce evidence of sustainability is one way of ensuring they are committed to ethical practices. If they have undertaken third-party audits successfully or have relevant certification to reflect their activities, it is proof that they are a sustainable supplier. Unilever, for example, helps its agricultural suppliers achieve certifications relating to their sustainability. |
Supply chain risk assessments | To gain an accurate impression of how sustainable your supply chain is, you could implement risk assessments that highlight the key areas of concern. This allows you to focus on these areas and ensure that relevant suppliers are doing what they can to mitigate these sustainability risks. Amazon takes a risk-based approach to measuring the sustainability of its suppliers and their activities. |
Lifecycle assessment (LCA) | A lifecycle assessment evaluates a product from raw material extraction through manufacturing, distribution, use, and end-of-life disposal, quantifying factors such as energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, and waste generation at each stage. This has helped companies like Apple understand how they can become more sustainable by recycling old components into new products, leading to more effective waste reduction. |
Key challenges in achieving supply chain sustainability
Lack of supply chain transparency can hinder communication and lead to hidden sustainability risks that undermine your ethical intentions.
High costs of sustainable practices, such as establishing monitoring teams and funding education programs.
Inconsistent global regulations make it difficult to take a unilateral approach to sustainability. Some suppliers may push back if you require significantly higher standards of them than are deemed necessary by local authorities.
Resistance to operational changes from suppliers can make it difficult to implement the necessary steps to a more sustainable approach, leading to a negative impact on your efforts.
Difficulty in measuring sustainability impact means that some stakeholders may feel that the work they are putting into new working methods is not worth the disruption.
Challenges in integrating new technologies across large supply chains mean that there is not always an effective, consistent approach and some suppliers are better able to adapt.
Evolving consumer expectations mean that you have to think in a bold and proactive manner to anticipate future sentiment and put in place measures now that will help you meet those requirements later.
Balancing sustainable supply chain management with profitability is tricky, especially if you have to implement programs on a global scale to achieve the impact you need.
Limited access to sustainable raw materials across the entire supply chain can lead to businesses seeking those that are produced in a less responsible manner to maintain demand, damaging your strategy.
FAQ
What benefits do companies experience after implementing sustainable supply chain practices?
Companies often see reduced operational costs, improved brand reputation, stronger supplier relationships, and increased competitiveness through lower resource usage and ethical sourcing. Reputational improvements as a result of higher environmental and social commitment are another by-product of an ethical approach to business.
How do companies verify and audit sustainability claims within their supply chains?
Businesses can conduct regular audits, request third-party certifications, and use tracking systems to ensure transparency and compliance with set standards.
Conclusion
These supply chain sustainability examples show you how major companies approach meeting their ethical responsibilities. Understanding the key risk areas in your industry and in the regions from which you source natural materials are first steps to improving responsible activity. However, you must also engage your supply chain to help support their own approach to sustainability and to monitor their progress towards the standards that you set.
If you want to improve visibility in your supply chain, facilitate better communication, and make alignment on sustainability more straightforward, Beebolt’s smart supply chain management platform provides all this and more. You can even use the global trade AI assistant to help you make more sustainable and informed decisions. To take advantage of key insights to improve your supply chain, join the waitlist today.