I have read a lot and heard a lot at conferences about the "greening of the supply chain". Most recently, a report in Supply Chain Management Review covers a conference which AMR participated in. A number of very high level executives attended and spoke.
The question I have been reflecting on is whether this is real or hype? Are the executives going on the offense and giving the appearance of action to hold off regulators as long as they can? I put "green supply chains" into 4 categories:
- Green Manufacturing - Emissions, toxic chemicals, waste etc. All of these areas need programs to be minimized or eliminated.
- Green Packaging - This involves limiting or eliminating packaging and having the manufacturer recover packaging for proper recycling.
- Green distribution - Forcing more intermodal shipping, working with carriers to increase fuel mileage dramatically and clean up truck emissions, maximize cube to reduce trucks on the road, minimize idling etc. The EPA Smartway program is a good start for this.
- Recycle of finished goods - This is a "cradle to grave" responsibility for manufacturers. You make it, you deliver AND you recover it when the product has finished its life cycle.
I am sure there are more and there certainly are more subcategories to be explored but that is how I think about the "green supply chain". Now the question is, where is the payback?
One thing I can assure my fellow logicians is that this is not going away. A great reverse logistics process and system will be as important as forward logistics in the coming years.
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