Sustainable management takes the concepts from sustainability and synthesizes them with the concepts of management. We note that we are explicitly looking at sustainable supply chain management not sustainable operations. Sustainable supply chain management is a subset of sustainable development focused on the development and management of the supply chain. and Prussia, G.E. Increasingly, organisations are interested in managing corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability as part of their operations management (OM). What is Sustainable Operations? This commitment is translated into economic benefits when the employees are motivated by their commitment to the organization to help the chain innovate and compete. Supply chain sustainability (SCS) is a holistic view of supply chain processes, logistics and technologies that affect the environmental, social, economic and legal aspects of a supply chain's components. Russo and Fouts, 1997; Christmann, 2000; Melnyk, Sroufe and Calantone, 2003; Pagell, et al. Pagell and Gobleli (2009) find that social performance and environmental performance interact significantly with operational performance (see figure one). Sustainable management is the intersection of business and sustainability. Definitions: Sustainable Development and Sustainable Supply Chain Management, What do we know about sustainability: Relationships among the elements of the triple-bottom-line. Sustainability is generally measured using a triple-bottom-line conceptualization of performance that includes social and natural dimensions along with the traditional bottom line of profits (Elkington 1999; Kleindorfer et al. Guide, Jayaraman and Linton, 2003). Clark, 1999; Curkovic, Melnyk, Handfield and Calantone, 2000; King and Lennox, 2001). Sustainable operations entail total quality management, sustainability, environmental stewardship, … In general the literature has found that it does pays to be “green” (e.g. Hence it is no surprise that supplier development is also a key sourcing practice for sustainable supply chain management (Wu, Pagell and Wasserman, 2009). If one has a short term perspective then being sustainable is not as profitable as ignoring the social and environmental elements of the triple bottom line. First, social performance has not been addressed by nearly as much research (that also examines business outcomes) as environmental performance. In order to be sustainable, portfolios, programs, and projects should adhere to the following six principles: 1. The aim of SSCM is to create supply chains that perform well economically, socially, and environmentally. Kleindorfer, et al., 2005). Clark, 1999; Curkovic, Melnyk, Handfield and Calantone, 2000; King and Lennox, 2001). Exemplars in sustainable supply chain management have to redefine what the entire supply chains does (Pagell and Wu, 2009) often via a move to a more service oriented strategy (Sharma and Henriques, 2005). This is a conscious choice based on the following: There is a developed body of literature that theorizes as to why sustainability is important (e.g. (2003). Certification, collaboration and development all depend on information sharing, which is a generic best practice for supply chain management. 2008) posits that protecting and enhancing employee well-being through improved health and safety will improve the operational performance, suggesting that at least some efforts at improving the social performance of the supply chain will have positive benefits for the chains economic performance. This article has been researched & authored by the Business Concepts Team. Supplier development, supplier certification and collaboration with chain members, especially suppliers, are all traditional best practices in supply management that have also been linked to creating more sustainable supply chains (Zhu and Sarkis , 2004; Zhu, Sarkis, and Lai, 2008; Pagell and Wu, 2009). Continuously improving a production system via the elimination of waste is a fundamental component of well run operations. Although our aim is to eventually be able to talk about sustainability in it’s entirely, the field is not yet that developed. Retrieved from: This page was last modified on 21 October 2011, at 04:18. MBA Skool is a Knowledge Resource for Management Students & Professionals. promote environmental awareness within the community. Clarifying the Meaning of Sustainable Business: Introducing a Typology From Business-as-Usual to True Business Sustainability Thomas Dyllick1 and Katrin Muff2 Abstract While sustainability management is becoming more widespread among major companies, the impact of their activities does not reflect in studies monitoring the state of the planet. This is especially true in the operations management literature where almost all of the research examines environmental issues while overlooking the people / social component of sustainability (Kleindorfer et al., 2005). design products for minimal environmental impact in production, use and disposal. And second, when these issues are addressed each test seems to operationalize social performance differently. The economic and non-economic elements of sustainability need to be aligned. Pagell and Wu (2009) propose that the following four activities are fundamental for creating and maintaining commitment. Das, A.; Pagell, M.; Behm, M. and Veltri, A. sustainable supply chain management is then a broader and more inclusive focus. These activities help suppliers and the communities they operate in to survive, so while they may not contribute to the buyer’s economic bottom line, they do contribute to the well being of other chain members and the wider community. A life-cycle assessment of the impact of a product or service on social and environmental systems will encompass the entire supply chain, not a single link’s operations. Leaders in sustainable supply chain management create supply chains where the accomplishment of environmental and social goals also further business goals. In the realm of sustainable supply chain management, certification is used to assess the risk of suppliers using banned or dangerous inputs, violating environmental or labour laws, not following a code of ethical conduct and so on. (1995). TQEM and the like may then be most useful for making an existing operation or chain more sustainable, but a hindrance when an operation or entire chain needs to be radically changed (Pagell and Wu, 2009). And there are now numerous case studies of leading organizations in the quest to become sustainable (e.g.