Responsible Supply Chain Summit Europe 2018 : Round-up

In the wake of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's 1.5 Report and with defining initiatives such as the SDGs and the Paris Agreement, companies are recognising the importance of taking responsibility of their supply chains, if only to meet these commitments. Below are the takeaways from the conference:

• The private sector is waking up to the fact that plastic waste has to be tackled through rapid and meaningful action. A 2-hour discussion, with Ecover and Coca-Cola European Partners amongst the panel, spoke about circular approaches to plastics and looked for new innovations to disrupt the market, including deposit return and reverse vending schemes, refill stations and bioplastics. The last option provoked debate, with Melissa Wang, Greenpeace International's senior scientist indicating the impact bioplastic production has on food systems, deforestation and the specific conditions it needs to actually degrade. Clearly, there is no perfect solution, but all parties concluded that clearly concerted action is needed.
• Kirsten Dunlop the CEO of Climate-KIC highlighted the growing number of success stories in the private sector that are helping to accelerate the energy transition. These have been facilitated by government targets, increased competitiveness of renewable energy technologies (the cost of solar power has fallen by 80% in the last seven years) and a helpful regulatory framework- feed-in tariffs are being replaced by auction systems, which have helped to drive costs down, added Giovanni Tula head of innovation and sustainability at Enel Green power.
• There were concerns that although initiatives such as RE100 are pushing companies in the right direction, progress has not been uniform across geographies. In Japan, for example, it is very hard for corporate buyers to source clean power at scale. However, according to Sam Kimmins, head of RE100 a The Climate Group, with 13 Japanese companies joining the RE100 initiative, government ministers picked up on the message that there is demand for clean energy and begun talks with how they could support building new pathways.
• Discussions highlighted the changing relationship between suppliers and customers to become more cooperative, thanks to sustainability concerns moving into mainstream conscience. New technologies and legislation have resulted in greater transparency that companies are harnessing to their benefit by engaging customers in a narrative related to their supply chains. This drives a growing need for partnerships between companies and their suppliers, pushing the focus on to capacity building. Companies must engage beyond surface level with their supply chains to mitigate risks that could affect their brand, notably, human rights violations.

The thought-provoking summit reiterated a message we aim to embody at South Pole, that collaborations are key to initiating transformative and sustained change for the benefit of our planet, people and economy.

Melanie Wilneder, Senior Expert Consumer Goods & Sustainable Supply Chains, South Pole, [far right] moderates a panel on climate risks & opportunities.