Resources The Hidden Risks of Dark Suppliers
Pressure is mounting for organizations to demonstrate safe operations and reduce their environmental impacts throughout the supply chain as countries and industries work towards net zero targets. Yes, it’s that dreaded and overused word again: sustainability. But what is sustainability in supply chains? The UN Global Compact and BSR defines it as ‘the management of environmental, social and economic impacts, and the encouragement of good governance practices, throughout the lifecycles of goods and services.’ When you consider the scale and complexity of some supply chains, it could mean hundreds of thousands of processes, stakeholders, and organizations to keep track of and manage.
While it seems to land on the brand’s shoulders to drive better sustainability within their supply chains, the responsibility actually lies with each organization, from the chemical manufacturer to the supplier, as well as the consumer brands. You can claim sustainability in supply chains only when each party is trying to manage and improve their environmental impacts. Brands however tend to be the driving force behind greener initiatives as they will want to display their ESG or CSR performance data publicly.
As a brand, it’s extremely hard to know your true environmental impact and conformance with the latest regulations. Working in partnership with suppliers that are transparent about their emissions data is a great start, and these entities can be monitored for ongoing improvements. In a typical supply chain, however, many suppliers do not give this information willingly, we think of these as ‘Dark Suppliers’ who pose multiple high risks due to the lack of visibility into their operations.
Without knowing the environmental performance and emissions data from its suppliers, brands are left in the dark when it comes to sharing their own ESG and environmental performance data with stakeholders and customers. A recent ESG report from Coupa, says that businesses are “suffering from major blind spots in their supply chains” making it impossible to achieve ESG goals. Highlights included:
Scarily, this lack of data submitted by Dark Suppliers means that a massive proportion of a brand’s supply chain is likely to be non-compliant. This is backed up by the 2021 International Trade Centre and Social & Labor Convergence Program stating that ‘The data continues to show that a very high number of facilities (91%) are not legally compliant.’
Collecting all your supplier’s emissions data is a time-consuming and complicated task. Where or whom do they send it to? In what format? What data points are needed for consistent and comparative reporting?
Even when the data is accessible, comparisons can be difficult. As this article from GreenBiz explains‘ A supplier may have a relatively small footprint but is that because its analysis excluded certain activities, such as transport, that rivals included? There’s also the issue of trust. What’s to stop a supplier from knowingly bending the rules and claiming that, for example, its operations were powered by renewables when in truth the electricity came from fossil fuels?’
Research from Accenture reported supply chains generate 60% of global carbon emissions, yet this number is likely to be higher when you consider the difficulties of measuring Scope 1-3 emissions. Scope 3 (all indirect emissions that occur in the value chain of the reporting company, including both upstream and downstream emissions) in particular tends to be the largest contributor for many businesses, accounting for over 70% of the total footprint.
It certainly isn’t easy for any brand to feel 100% confident in its sustainability performance data when considering the entire supply chain. It can be a long, challenging and complex road to get there.
Intentionally or accidentally, a lot of suppliers do not measure their emissions at present. Is this because it isn’t made mandatory by a brand or jurisdiction? Or are they simply unaware of what is required and by whom?
Whatever the reason, this forces brands to publish only the information they know, and consumers cannot make informed decisions about the brands and products that they want to buy and support. A recent Accenture study found that 42% of consumers would be willing to walk away from companies that don’t align with their social beliefs – so it’s clearly an important part of the buying decision. Brands that do not have access to this data will lose out on potential sales, whereas brands that publish inaccurate information will be deceiving their customers. We know through our own findings that 50% of factories’ chemical inventories are currently unaccounted for, and this makes it hard for brands to genuinely prove their sustainability performance.
Knowledge about net zero goals, ESG and emissions reporting should not be underestimated or undervalued. A brand might be aware of the environmental goals and targets set out by the industry or jurisdiction, but that doesn’t mean the rest of its supply chain understands its objectives and legal requirements. And why is this even relevant to them if they operate in another jurisdiction?
Worryingly in 2020, CDP found that only 11% of companies were showing an awareness of water pollution across their whole value chain. This low awareness could also be seen within the CleanChain data as minimal levels of wastewater emissions data were consistently being uploaded from suppliers over the 2021 period. It’s clear there is a knowledge gap that needs to be addressed within supply chains.
Ultimately it is a brand’s responsibility to educate the value chain about its sustainability commitments and to set requirements, targets and goals with suppliers that can be incrementally improved over time. Any environmental commitment should have its own change management plan to drive the change successfully throughout the supply chain and ensure effective communication is given.
The textile industry has a particularly high number of Dark Suppliers. Why? It’s probably down to the sheer number of facilities, processes and chemicals involved in manufacturing the clothing. A typical brand could work with dozens of facilities for a single line of clothing alone – so keeping track of who is involved in each step of a garment, along with the numerous performance data points is a tricky endeavour. The textile industry also encompasses industrial laundries that clean 15 billion pounds of laundry annually, including items like uniforms, bedding and towels, that generate huge amounts of wastewater that must be treated. This is a hefty price tag for a factory to pay, and they may not have the budget or know-how to execute this activity to a brand’s requirements. So, keeping this information quiet until it becomes mandatory could be the preferable route, especially when there is little incentive to invest in these areas of their operations.
Without visibility into your supplier’s processes and performance, it is impossible to know what your environmental impacts truly are and therefore what improvements to make. Insight is key, and this comes from the information that is supplied. At CleanChain we approach this with our Transparency Trio programme.
Transparency should also be given to the suppliers so that they can see their own performance against others in the supply chain. This gives each supplier accountability; they can set their own targets and track progress.
When you are dealing with the risk of fines, closures or even imprisonment, it’s worth investing in a rigorous supply chain management system such as CleanChain.
A unified supply chain should use a unified solution that is accessible and easy. Everyone needs full transparency of how the value chain is performing on its sustainability initiatives to be fully invested in the goals of the brand and the standards required.
Consistent, automated, real-time data provided by the suppliers will provide stakeholders with instant, accurate reporting that can be acted upon quickly to ensure legal compliance is being met and targets are achieved. Fundamentally, this helps a brand work towards its ESG, CSR and other sustainability goals while reducing risk across the supply chain.
Learn how the CleanChain platform enables a transparent and sustainable supply chain.
Flemming Laursen, Head of Sales for CleanChain, is an expert in the maximization of profit for companies through the use of ESG tools, data technology and impact sourcing. He was an entrepreneur and worked as director of sales for multiple businesses prior to joining ADEC Innovations.
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影响购买大宗化学品的主要因素往往是成本和即时性。因此,买家经常更换这些化学品的供应商是很常见的现象。
ZDHC对大宗化学品的定义是,具有已知化学结构和单一CAS(Chemical Abstracts Service)编号的单一物质或化合物。这些化学品通常用于制造过程中创造条件或作为辅助剂。不同厂家生产的两种大宗化学品具有相同性和互换性。它们通常不会留在最终产品上,而是在加工过程中被清洗掉了。
虽然大宗化学品包含在ZDHC MRSL(制造限制物质清单)中,但由于在ZDHC网关中参与大宗化学品行业并将这些物质纳入符合ZDHC MRSL的ZDHC网关产品数据库仍有一定挑战,所以大宗化学品被排除在Performance InCheck报告之外。
大宗化学品制造商服务于多个行业,不限于纺织、服装、皮革和鞋类,这使得在可追溯性和地图绘制方面具有挑战性。影响购买大宗化学品的主要因素往往是成本和即时性。因此,买家经常更换这些化学品的供应商是很常见的现象。
为了保证清单数据的准确性和及时性,有如下建议:
检查和更新您的化学品清单
定期检查和更新您的化学品清单,以反映任何变化或新增数据。核实所有化学品,包括大宗化学品,是否准确记录。
每月清单更新
确保化学品清单每月更新,包括期间使用的所有化学品,以确保数据的准确和即时性。
熟悉ZDHC更新指南
供应商应熟悉ZDHC大宗化学品指南ZDHC Commodity Chemical Guide。本指南概述了管理大宗化学品的最佳做法,确保它们得到负责任的评估和储存。
有关大宗化学品的更多信息,请点击这里click here
随着环境问题成为人们关注的焦点,品牌、监管机构和消费者都要求供应商提高透明度,承担更大的责任。但这对服装和纺织行业的供应商意味着什么?
数据表明:
70%的品牌更喜欢拥有透明的可持续发展数据的供应商。品牌正在优先考虑那些能够提供可验证数据的供应商。如果没有透明度,供应商就有可能把业务输给已经准备好的竞争对手。
时尚供应链占全球碳排放量的10%。服装业是造成气候变化的最大因素之一。减少碳排放不再仅仅是合规性的问题,而是关于在一个可持续性是品牌和消费者的关键决策因素的市场中保持相关性。。
纺织生产占全球工业水污染的20%。纺织制造中的化学密集型工艺造成了严重的水污染。品牌越来越多地执行更严格的环境要求,这使得供应商必须改善废水管理和化学品合规性。
CleanChain如何赋能供应商?
供应商需要合适的工具来应对这些挑战并实现可持续发展目标。CleanChain简化了环境合规和可持续发展报告,帮助供应商
✅自动化合规性追踪,并确保符合ZDHC MRSL和其他法规。
✅通过实时数据洞察和性能监控减少碳和水足迹。
✅改善化学品管理,确保更安全、更可持续的生产过程。
✅通过提供经过验证的、透明的可持续发展数据,与品牌建立信任。
可持续供应链的未来
可持续性不仅仅是满足法规要求——它还关乎提高竞争优势,加强品牌关系,以及企业的未来发展。随着对可持续发展的期望不断提高,主动适应的供应商将最有利于长期成功。
cleanchain.cn@adec-innovations.com
东丽酒伊织染 (南通) 有限公司 (公司简称 TSD), 成立于1994年, 是东丽集团 (Toray) 在中国投资规模最大的制造型公司, 是一家以化学合成纤维为主的坯布织造、功能性面料加工·染色、成衣制造销售及水处理 为核心事业的公司。公司拥有从新技术研 发、织造/染色/后整理/检测及成衣制 造的一条龙生产流程。作为东丽海外的标 杆工厂, TSD拥有一流的安全、环境和职业 卫生、能源管理体系, 践行着TSD对于社会 责任感的承诺。公司秉承“通过创造新的 价值为社会做贡献”的企业理念, 以不懈的 创新精神和科技实力为客户不断开发品质 上乘、性能卓越的面料, 谋求与每一位顾客 的共同发展。
客户面临的挑战
在采用CleanChain这款在线化学品管理系统之前, 我们在执行ZDHC的过程中, 由于化学品使用类别多且量大, 很难实现实时追踪现有化学品的MRSL合规性。同时, 针对没有合规性的化学品以及证书到期的产品, 我们需要人工核实和整理相关列表, 并一一和化学品制剂商进行沟通。整个过程需要花费大量的时间,极大地影响我们的工作效率。另外, 如何提高MRLS的整体符合性,也是我们的一大挑战。最后, 在采用系统前, 我们不明确我司客户对于我们进入CleanChain平台持何种态度及其认可程度如何。
CleanChain解决方案
我司化学品管理工作者每月在系统里按时上传化学品清单,并下载InCheck报告。为了避免用户错过上传的时间截点, CleanChain还会有自动化的邮件提醒用户及时上传化学品数据。除了定期上传化学品数据外, 我们日常工作中,也会利用系统的Dashboard来查看到期的产品以及没有合规性的产品列表。根据这份列表, 我们有针对性地和化学品供应商开展高效的沟通, 鼓励并帮助他们对未合规的产品进行检测并上传至ZDHC Gateway网关。同时, 在数据的分享上, 通过CleanChain的connect功能, 与客户取得关联, 系统可自动帮助用户将CIL数据和InCheck报告分享给我们的合作品牌。CleanChain在数据的管理上, 帮助我们节省了手动分享报告和清单的时间, 大大地提高了工作效率 。
CleanChain带给我们的价值
The implementation of the CleanChain platform has significantly reduced our exposure to chemical risk substances while greatly enhancing the efficiency of our chemical management efforts. Additionally, adopting CleanChain has strengthened customer recognition and trust, particularly among those familiar with or already utilizing the platform. Ultimately, CleanChain plays a key role in advancing our sustainability initiatives.
采用CleanChain系统,在很大程度上帮助我司规避了化学品的风险物质, 也大大提高了我司化学品管理方向的工作效率。同时, CleanChain系统的采用提升了客户对于我司的认可度及信任度, 尤其是对于了解或者已经使用CleanChain平台的客户而言。最后, CleanChain促进了我司可持续发展进程。
联系我们 cleanchain.cn@adec-innovations.com