ABSTRACT
Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) is the coordination of activities at the extended enterprise level that seeks improvement of environmental or social performance, both in products and processes. Firms have used SSCM to manage legal concerns such as banned substances in products and processes, pollution control at suppliers' plants and monitoring of labor practices across international operations. Motivations for SSCM have included new regulations for extended producer responsibility, consumer demands for increased supply chain transparency and competitive factors. Several aspects of environmental and social performance improvement offer not just impact reduction but also operational and financial performance benefits. Collaborative relationships provide some of the most significant opportunities for cost reduction as firms share knowledge and seek to improve products and processes that improve social and environmental performance but that also lower landed cost. For cost-focused SSCM, the end goal is toward lower costs or lower resource use rather than marketing or reputation management.
