Tag Archives: Environment

Unilever’s Sustainability Measures for its Supply Chain

Posted on April 3, 2012 by aviyer2010

A white paper by Verdantix Ltd (http://www.verdantix.com/uploadedfiles/products/Verdantix%20Unilever%27s%20Strategy%20Leverages%20Value%20Chain%20Influence.pdf) describes specific measures at Unilver e.g., measurement of its environmental impact per unit of consumer usage i.e., per tea bag or per dose of detergent, with a goal to decrease that impact by … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged Consumers, Cost, Efficiency, Environment, Global, Infrastructure, regulation, Supply Chain, Sustainable | Leave a comment

The reuse vs recycling decision at Starbucks

Posted on April 2, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Sustainable Brands (http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/articles/starbucks-increases-recycling-backs-away-reusable-mugs?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=businessweekly&utm_campaign=april2) describes a decision by Starbucks to shift from reuseable to recylclable cups. Reuseable mugs were related to a 5 % increase in water usage in 2011, after and 17 % drop from 2008 to … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged Collaboration, Consumers, Cost, Design, Environment, Infrastructure, Retail, Service, Sustainable | 1 Comment

The impact of natural gas extraction on steel mills

Posted on March 28, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (March 26, 2012) describes the doubling of steel tubes, pipes etc in the last two years – thanks to the demand from natural gas extraction facilities across the US. But the abundant supply … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged Cost, Efficiency, energy, Environment, Global, Growth, manufacturing, natural gas, regulation, Sustainable | Leave a comment

Will Apple succeed in changing supplier working conditions ?

Posted on March 18, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (March 7,2012) describes pressures to improve Apple’s supplier, FoxConn’s working conditions, and the comparison to apparel supply chains. Unlike apparel supply chains, Apple’s products have higher margins, require quick response to design adjustments, … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Cost, Environment, Global, labor, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

Sustainable chemicals sourcing at P and G

Posted on February 9, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the website Sustainable Brands (http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/articles/procter-gamble-developing-sustainable-chemicals-biofuel-company) describes Proctor & Gamble’s use of Zeachem, a cellulosic biorefinery manufacturer that uses raw material from poplar and agricultural residues and uses natural bacteria that produce no Co2 during fermentation. The consumer … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged Environment, manufacturing, regulation, Suppliers, Supply Chain, Sustainable, Trends | Leave a comment

Mongolia’s rapid growth and logistics options

Posted on January 31, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Economist (Jan 21, 2012) describes the rapid growth of Mongolia’s coal mining industry, with output expected to grow from 16 million tons in 2013 to 240 million tons by 2040. Worried about being too dependent on … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged China, Cost, Environment, Global, Growth, Mongolia, Risk, Supply Chain, transport | Leave a comment

Biofuel Use Mandates, regulation across time and Industry Impact

Posted on December 28, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (Dec 28, 2011) describes the Congressional mandate to have 500 million gallons of cellulosic fuel by 2012, the EPA volume set at 8.65 million for 2012, and a plan to reach 16 billion … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged Cost, Environment, Growth, regulation, Risk, Supply Chain, Survival, Trends | Leave a comment

New Chinese rare earth quotas for 2012 and consequences

Posted on December 28, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (Dec 28, 2011) describes China’s announcement of separate rare earth metals export quotas for 2012 – light rare earths (used in magnets) will have quotas separate from heavy rare earths (used in high … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged automobiles, Capacity, China, Cost, Environment, manufacturing, Rare Earths, regulation, Sustainable | Leave a comment

Costa Rican Pepsi bottler’s triple bottom line and growth

Posted on October 1, 2011 by aviyer2010

A report by the World Economic Forum and the Boston Consulting Group (http://reports.weforum.org/new-sustainability-champions/#view/new-sustainability-champions/case-studies/florida-ice-farm/) describes efforts by Floria Ice & Farm, a Pepsi bottler in Costa Rica that links 60 % of CEO pay to the triple bottom line. The impact … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged Environment, Global, Growth, Supply Chain, Sustainable, Water | Leave a comment

Cold water laundry, consumer preferences and environmental impact

Posted on September 17, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (Sept 16, 2011) describes continued resistance by consumers to doing their laundry in cold water – just 7 % of US white laundry loads. About 75 % of the energy used,and greenhouse gases … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged coldwater, Consumers, detergent, Environment, greenhouse gases, laundry, preferences, Sustainable | Leave a comment