| dc.description.abstract | Supply chain sustainability has increased in importance for companies of all sizes, public
and private, across a wide range of industries. While there has been increased excitement in tandem
with proclamations of lofty goals around the topic of supply chain sustainability, it has proven
challenging to operationalize sustainability when many companies focus on short-term financial
goals or lack science-and context-based sustainability targets. The focus of this research is to
understand current and future supply chain sustainability practices from the perspective of
frontline professionals, across industries, geographies, cultures, and regulatory environments in
2019. This research gathered insights and data through a survey distributed to frontline supply
chain professionals, executive interviews, and additional research sources. Results confirm
increased corporate interest in supply chain sustainability. However, misalignment may exist
between executives who set overarching corporate goals and strategies and frontline professionals
who are tasked with the tactical implementation of these strategies. Companies struggle to
implement sustainability initiatives under constrained resources with conflicting priorities. Results
also indicate that companies may be overstating social and environmental goal commitments, as
overall investment levels are lower than goal commitment levels.
To better understand these issues and how companies are adopting supply chain
sustainability, this research project was commissioned by the MIT Center for Transportation and
Logistics and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. To set the stage for future
State of Supply Chain Sustainability reports, we will reveal the results of our research on supply
chain sustainability in 2019 with an added focus on what the events of 2019-2020, such as the
global COVID-19 pandemic that is still unfolding at this writing, could mean for supply chain
sustainability in coming years. | en_US |
