Companies prioritizing environmental, social efforts

Avetta, an Orem-based provider of supply chain risk management software, has released the results of an executive survey which highlights how more companies are looking to improve their environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals. The survey finds 79 percent percent of companies consider employee health and safety very important and 63 percent say reducing their environmental footprint is very important.

The findings are included in Avetta’s technical paper, “Extending ESG Best Practices into the Supply Chain: A Review of Leading Organization Approaches.” One of four respondents plan to make ESG supply chain issues a part of their organization’s program. The surveyed companies represent a variety of industries such as facilities management, chemicals, construction, utilities, telecommunications, transport, manufacturing and food and beverages.

The pandemic has actually increased the importance of supply chains for many corporations because 90 percent of their environmental footprint has been pushed into their supply chain. The paper offers examples of companies that experienced ESG risks, as well as best practices for adopting ESG into every aspect of a business. The best practices mentioned included setting clear supply chain goals in reports, contracts and governance structures; assessing, managing and monitoring ESG supply chain risks; and enhancing traceability, transparency and engagement with suppliers.

“Avetta is excited to help our clients grow their supply chains to be greener, more diverse and more inclusive,” said Arshad Matin, Avetta president and CEO. “Our data shows that over a 10-year period, suppliers in our network experience a 7 percent to 12 percent year-over-year decrease in safety incidents. We look forward to continuing this successful trend in the ESG market.”

The survey also finds 87 percent say ESG in the supply chain is important — 39 percent said it is very important.

“While companies recognize the importance of achieving sustainable outcomes, they are less likely to recognize that most of that impact is in their supply chain. This reinstates that supply chain sustainability should be integrated into the company’s broader ESG architecture and not be isolated with the sole oversight of supply chain or procurement functions,” the paper concluded.