As we conclude the celebration of Earth Month in 2024, hosts Kristi Porter and Nuria Sierra welcome you to this episode of Logistics With Purpose, as Chris Forbes, co-founder of The Cheeky Panda, discusses the company’s journey and commitment to sustainability. The Cheeky Panda, a UK-based startup, produces household products like toilet paper and baby wipes from bamboo, the world’s fastest-growing plant. Forbes explains that the idea was born out of a desire to create a sustainable, high-quality product that could easily replace everyday essentials. The company, which distributes in 27 countries, has faced challenges such as working capital and supply chain management. Listen and learn as Forbes emphasizes the importance of small, sustainable choices in everyday life, and encourages consumers to question their need for plastic and opt for recyclable alternatives.

In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott Luton sits down with two leaders shaping the future of reverse logistics from the floor to the classroom: Troy Campbell, Director of Reverse Logistics Centers at The Home Depot, and Dr. Glenn Richey, Jr., Harbert Eminent Scholar in Supply Chain Management at Auburn University. Troy opens the doors to Home Depot’s four Reverse Logistics Centers: Phoenix, Pittston (PA), McDonough (GA), and Indianapolis, showing why a people-first culture remains the operating system for returns at scale. He gets real about “automation when the box isn’t a box,” how rethinking inbound flows through 3PLs reduces touches and transportation cost, and why simple vendor conversations (like consolidating daily pallets into a single weekly load) can unlock outsized impact. His north star: make associates’ days easier, and the entire reverse network improves. Glenn zooms out to the macro shifts: the move from minimizing returns to maximizing returns within a circular economy, generative AI for scenario planning and real-time decision support, and reverse logistics as the operational backbone of sustainability. He maps the skills the next workforce will need, calls for clearer industry coding to separate reverse data from forward logistics, and outlines how universities can build…