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August 5, 2008 
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"Low-Carbon Supply Chains" – Missing the Point?
Recently there have been a number of stories on opportunities to reduce carbon emissions in supply chains and how companies are moving slowly to take action. New research by McKinsey, based upon a survey of over 2,000 global executives, indicates that most companies don't factor emissions into purchasing decisions.
I believe there is a lack of clarity regarding the real issues here. First, let's stop calling it "low-carbon supply chains" and start referring to it as "low energy-cost supply chains" - that should get the c-suite's attention. Despite fluctuations in the price of a barrel of oil, transportation costs are going up. Global supply chains built upon cheap oil decades ago need to be re-examined and several companies such as P&G are doing just that. Secondly, determining a businesses carbon footprint does not stop at the fence line. Upstream energy use, material use, and carbon emissions are part of the equation now. While some senior executives may not yet have absorbed this, the trend is still clear: A carbon footprint does include your upstream impacts - it's no longer optional. So why are companies so slow to change? Organizational change is typically a slow process. Recognizing that cheap oil is a thing of the past and that a carbon footprint is a real metric that will be used to gauge the operating efficiency (in addition to the regulatory exposure) of a business will not come easily to many companies. However, forward-thinking performers such as P&G will likely become the winners in a carbon-constrained (not to mention high-cost-of-oil) world. ~Will Sarni, SLM Advisor What do you think? Post Your Comment Here! Also This Week... High Fuel Costs, Climate Concerns Slow Globalization Trend 
After years of siting factories wherever labor happened to be cheapest, companies are now having to factor the rising costs of transportation into their far-flung supply chain models, New York Times reports. Read more...
Kohl's Earns Energy Star Label for 50 U.S. Stores 
The Energy Star certification is the largest multi-site certification awarded to a retail chain. Read more...
Anheuser-Busch Brewing Greener Beer 
Anheuser-Busch is converting all of its U.S. breweries to run on 15% renewable energy by the end of next year. Read more...
BofA Invests in New Technology to Cut Energy Costs, Emissions 50% 
Bank of America isn't just investing in tech services firm Field Diagnostic Services - it's putting the company's energy-management software to the test at bank locations throughout the U.S. Read more...
Wine Co. Converts 80% of Packaging to Renewables, Cuts Shipping Emissions 90% 
The Winetasting Network, a California-based wine distributor, has swapped 80% of its packaging from styrofoam to renewable fiberboard. Read more...
GE Calls for U.S. Cap and Trade System 
A top executive at General Electric told Congress this week that the best way to beat climate change is to assign a dollar value to carbon emissions, Reuters reports. Read more...
Burt's Bees to Cut Emissions 35% in Three Years 
Burt's Bees has announced plans to reduce its U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 35% per dollar sales (from a 2006 baseline) by 2011. Read more...
Limo Company to Boost Fleet Efficiency with New Tire-Filling Stations 
Chauffeured transport firm EmpireCLS is rolling out a new carbon-reduction program that calls for building new tire-filling stations that replace air in the fleet's tires with pure nitrogen - a move the company says can boost fuel efficiency by as much as 15%. Read more...
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Solution Providers Symantec's Four Rules for Sustainable Business Success 
Symantec, one of the world’s largest security software companies, signed the U.N. Global Compact in 2006 - a move that became a catalyst for the company's fledgling corporate responsibility program. Here are four key lessons learned, as told by Symantec's director of corporate responsibility. Read more...
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