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Article

7 Feb 2014

Author:
Andrea Vittorio, Bloomberg

Big Companies Step Up Efforts to Trim Environmental Risks in Supply Chains

Multinational corporations have traditionally conducted facility audits to make sure their supply chains are complying with local regulations and their own supplier standards. But many facilities lack the technical skills and management expertise to meet those standards. To fill the gap in local expertise, General Electric, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. are providing more training and education programs to help suppliers learn how to manage a range of EHS issues, from energy and water use to fire safety, company officials told Bloomberg BNA. They said the companies are also implementing new tools to track their suppliers’ performance…GE…has focused its supply chain auditing on countries where government enforcement is weak…[In] 2011, GE added a requirement for suppliers to move from a “find-it-and-fix-it mode to more of a management-system mode,”…Wal-Mart and EDF are working with farmers in 18 U.S. states, as well as Central America and South America, to optimize fertilizer usage, which saves money for farmers while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water quality impacts…While local regulations for greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts have a role to play in supplier oversight, McMahon [HP's director of global social and environmental responsibility] said harmonized approaches from industry can have more impact…