Protecting the environment has moved beyond simply complying with government regulations to minimizing the effect all positions of a supply chain have on the environment and the people in it. Businesses are now involved in areas that were once only overseen by special interest groups, such as saving endangered species, the scarcity of raw materials, the greenhouse effect, disappearing rainforests, air and water pollution, the effects of global warming, child labor, and worker safety.
Environmental sustainability issues impacted by the supply chain and procurement activities include the following:
- Energy and natural resource consumption
◦ Finding alternative sources of energy to replace unsustainable sources
Renewable resources – forest products, agricultural products, potable water, soil, marine species, biomass, wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal, nuclear Nonrenewable resources –fossil fuels such as petroleum products, coal and gas
◦ Use of conservation techniques to minimize consumption and reliance on energy
◦ Impact of extraction, e.g., mining, due to physical disruption on area and chemicals used
◦ Monitoring of carbon footprint
◦ Monitoring of waterprint