Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility

Orbis Unveils New Generation of Reusable Packaging

July 2, 2013

Orbis Corp., a manufacturer of reusable packaging, has introduced the next generation of StakPaks.

P&G to Convert 20 Percent of Its For-Hire Truck Loads to Natural Gas

July 2, 2013

Beginning in July 2013, Procter & Gamble will work with eight transportation carriers to convert up to 20 percent of its North America truck load shipments to natural gas vehicles within two years. By meeting this goal, it is expected P&G will incur savings for the converted lanes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by nearly 5,000 metric tons (or the equivalent GHG emissions from 1,000 passenger vehicles for a year).

Solar Power in Africa's Supply Chain

June 28, 2013

Fortune

In the developed world, electricity is cheap and as available as the nearest outlet. But in off-the-grid Africa, energy poverty is endemic. With national grid expansion lagging well behind growth in demand, increasingly Africans are looking not to centralized, fossil fuel-based solutions, but to the sun.

Four Experts on How Mobility Solutions Boost Supply Chain Efficiency

June 26, 2013

SupplyChainBrain

Mobility solutions are boosting employee and asset efficiency, increasing safety and reducing risk, especially for trucking companies. These and other mobility-driven changes are discussed by John Favors, specialist in field technical services at CBeyond; Michael Nischan, risk control and safety consultant, The McCart Group; Ryan Barnett, director-market development, XRS Corp; and Chad Oginz, enterprise account executive, Ortec. The conversation is facilitated by SupplyChainBrain Editor Emeritus Jean Murphy.

Kenco Offers Dashboards to Measure Supply-Chain Sustainability

June 12, 2013

Kenco

Kenco, a third-party logistics services provider, has developed a set of dashboards to measure companies' sustainability efforts in their distribution, transportation and supply-chain activities.

Forward-Thinking Apparel Industry Supply Chains

June 12, 2013

GreenBiz

In 2004, a group of forward-thinking fashion and athletic brands with restricted substances lists (RSL), featuring such major players as Adidas, C&A, Gap, Levi's, Marks & Spencer and Nike, formed an industry working group with the aim of reducing the use and impact of harmful substances in the apparel and footwear supply chain.

Kenco Offers Dashboards to Measure Supply-Chain Sustainability

June 11, 2013

Kenco

Kenco, a third-party logistics services provider, has developed a set of dashboards to measure companies' sustainability efforts in their distribution, transportation and supply-chain activities.

Who Cares About Conditions in Overseas Factories?

June 10, 2013

Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

On March 25, 1911, fire swept through the Triangle Shirtwaist factory in New York City. One hundred and forty-six garment workers perished in the blaze, many of them trapped in the building because management had locked the exit doors. The youngest of the victims were 14. It was a horrifying tragedy, not atypical of working conditions during the so-called Progressive Era. Can we not, however, take comfort in knowing that those times are far behind us?

Growth in Coal Market Has Been Boon to Dry Bulk Shipping Industry

June 6, 2013

Drewry's

Drewry's latest Dry Bulk Forecaster reports that coal has been the recent saviour of the dry bulk market. Global GDP grew by 3.2 percent in 2012, following growth of 5.2 percent and 4.0 percent in the post-recession years of 2010 and 2011. This slowdown blighted dry bulk cargo volumes and in turn tonnage demand. Global steel production, reflecting industrial and growth activity around the world, grew by only 1.3 percent in 2012, with a subsequent impact on iron ore and coking coal trade.

SEC's New Rule on Conflict Minerals: Clarity and Confusion

June 3, 2013

Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

The fog is beginning to clear. High-tech and other types of manufacturers are getting a better idea of what they must do in order to conform to new requirements for disclosing the presence in their products of conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighboring states. Still, a number of questions remain unanswered.