Supply Chains: Why Sustainability is the Best Form of Risk Management

Hear from Kevin Dooley, Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management, as he talks to us about how managing the sustainability of your supply chain is the best approach to risk management.

Supply chains are an absolutely integral part of the modern global economy.  But as they grow in complexity, they become more fragile. They are also often opaque to companies wanting to decarbonize through their value chain – that is, covering their so-called scope 3 emissions.   

In this episode we look at three main issues:

• How are companies are analysing their supply chains and adapting them to make them more sustainable and resilient
• The capabilities that risk professionals should look for when lending or investing in companies that have complex supply chains
• And the lessons on risk management that we can glean from case studies of supply chain disruptions.

We learn that understanding the risks in the supply chain and considering its sustainability are two sides of the same coin. 

Links from today’s discussion:

• The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) - https://sustainabilityconsortium.org/
• THESIS Supply Chain Sustainability Index - https://sustainabilityconsortium.org/thesis/
• Responsible Businesses Alliance (RBA) - https://www.responsiblebusiness.org/
• Science Based Targets - https://sciencebasedtargets.org/
• Details of Weike & Sutcliffe’s research on high reliability organizational cultures

Speaker’s Bio

Kevin Dooley is Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management at Arizona State University, and a Senior Sustainability Scientist in the Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation.

As Chief Scientist of The Sustainability Consortium, Kevin leads a global research team that works with over 100 of the world’s largest retailers and manufacturers to develop tools that measure and track progress on critical product sustainability issues.

He has published more than 100 research articles and co-authored an award-winning book, ‘Organizational Change and Innovation Processes’. Kevin has consulted over 200 companies in the areas of sustainability, supply chain management, technology, and innovation. He obtained his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois.