This Week on Supply Chain Now: August 31st – September 4th

Back in the day, business news and ideas often flowed from office watercooler conversations. Then company figureheads started popping up on cable TV news programs, lecturing on stock market drops, trade increases, industry gains, and, during the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain shortfalls. Now, podcasts are all the rage, and it can be difficult to stand out in a crowded field. There’s a lot of noise in supply chain podcasts, in particular. How do you break through to share your supply chain insights with potentially millions of listeners? Supply Chain Podcasts: Meeting Industry Leaders Where They Are It’s said that public radio host Christopher Lydon used an audio RSS feed developed by software engineer Dave Winer to provide audio content of interviews on his blog in 2003. A year later, iPodder was created to enable users to download audio content to their iPods, and the word podcast was born. This year, the number of podcast listeners is forecast to reach a whopping 254.3 million. Podcasts have become the place for industry leaders to find an eager audience. Breaking Through: 3 Ways Supply Chain Podcasts Cut Through the Noise Today, there are thousands of podcasts that are touted as supply chain-focused. In…

Scope 3 emissions reportedly account for more than 70% of businesses’ carbon footprints. That huge percentage gives an indication of just how critical supply chain sustainability efforts are to the planet. Thankfully, a growing number of eco-friendly innovations are helping reshape global supply chains. Supply Chain Sustainability: An Industry Imperative in a Changing World It is becoming increasingly important for companies to accurately calculate their supply chain emissions and create an information-sharing ecosystem, according to Matthew Gardner, co-founder and managing partner of Sustainserv, a consulting firm that helps businesses implement sustainability strategies. Gardner said accounting for supply chain-related greenhouse gas emissions includes such challenges as: Data gathering of “materials, manufacturing processes, activities of second- and third-tier suppliers, and overall data governance and quality.” Calculation methodology that “reflects the realities of raw material sourcing, product manufacturing, transportation and distribution, and other life-cycle impacts that may affect reported greenhouse gas totals.” Supplier relationships, which can be strained as a result of emissions assessments. Businesses also need to keep in mind their relationships with consumers. PDI Technologies said 80% of U.S. consumers it surveyed were willing to pay more for sustainable products. “Between these statistics and the regulatory conversations that are happening in…