Supply chain transparency: The key to global business success
Supply chain transparency is becoming a key feature of responsible business conduct Tweet This!, not least because of the many advantages: dealing successfully with the risks and capitalizing on the opportunities of supply chains globally, supporting sustainable development, positive effects on a company’s bottom line.
The growing demand for transparency – by, among others, investors, consumers and customers – may well be met by broadening the boundaries of reporting on organizations’ material impacts. When reporting according to the GRI Standards, companies report the Boundary of each material topic, expected to report and take responsibility for impacts they may be connected with, outside their direct operations.
Supply chain transparency has a positive effect on the bottom line
According to a study by BSR, supply chain transparency may well have a positive effect on a company’s bottom line, as it:
- helps companies deal more effectively with business risks associated with suppliers’ inadequate environmental, social or governance practices, protecting their reputation and ensuring suppliers comply with future environmental and product responsibility regulations;
- makes it easier for companies, through more efficient use of resources (such as energy or water resources) in their supply chains, to reduce supply costs and, also, their environmental impacts;
- supports companies in creating, by collaborating with suppliers on sustainability topics, more innovative, sustainable products, which may differentiate them from the competition, generate savings and improve sales performance.
Sustainability reporting: making a positive contribution towards a more sustainable world
According to the BSR/GlobeScan study The State of Sustainable Business 2015, assessing and monitoring impacts, as well as reporting on progress towards goals, are key for companies in creating sustainable supply chains – and this concerns both large multinationals, and SMEs within global supply chains. As regards the latter, GRI Standards, with their modular structure, help small businesses report on their impacts, allowing them to disclose individual topics corresponding to their reporting needs.
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