Manufacturing Today Issue - 214 July 2023 | Page 18

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Investors , stakeholders , customers , and employees are demanding the businesses they deal with operate with a strong environmental and ethical conscience , a shift that is leading towards deeper collaboration between businesses of all sizes and across all sectors . Here , Sara Cattaneo , Head of Supply Chain at ABB Distribution Solutions explores the importance of sharing knowledge and best practices , and the lead role collaboration must take if industry is to truly make sustainability a reality .

Reducing carbon emissions is not something that can be achieved in isolation . While individual companies have a responsibility to manage their energy use , clean up their manufacturing operations and encourage their workforce to adopt more environmentally responsible behavior , focusing solely on what happens within the bounds of one business is vastly underestimating the interconnected nature of the world today . Your company may be in the business of designing products that themselves are helping to facilitate the energy transition , but where are the individual components manufactured ? What do the protocols look like in that factory ? Who are their suppliers ? And theirs ? Do they take these concerns as seriously as you ?
As investors , stakeholders , customers , and employees continue to demand the businesses they deal with operate with a strong environmental and ethical conscience , these are questions that urgently need to be answered . It is a consciousness that is leading to deeper collaboration both within and between businesses across the supply chain .
At ABB , this realization has helped us to evolve our approach to supply chain management . Not only are our sourcing experts involved even earlier in the design process , but we are in the process of implementing a complete transformation .
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