The Sustainability Journey - Environmental Defense Fund Supply Chain Solutions Center

The Sustainability Journey

Corporate sustainability leadership: the journey

Successful business leaders understand that a thriving economy depends on a thriving environment, and vice versa. Your customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders and potential investors are well aware that the myth of an “either/or” tradeoff between sustainability and profitability no longer exists. Now, more than ever, the world is your business.

Yet, while the need for corporate sustainability has long been proven, following a clear pathway to leadership — where your company’s business and sustainability goals are in alignment — can be challenging.

The Supply Chain Solutions Center roadmap to leadership can help you navigate that path.

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Explore The Sustainability Journey

Sustainability 101

Sustainability needs to be weaved into your business, not bolted down. These resources will help you learn how to start the sustainability journey for your company.

View All Sustainability 101 Resources

Level 1: Engage

The genesis of your company’s commitment to corporate sustainability, this stage is about getting informed on the issues, understanding the landscape (both internally and externally), assessing your areas of opportunity and influence, and discovering where you need help (and how you can get it).

View All Level 1: Engage Resources

Level 2: Execute

This stage is about advancing and innovating across your company’s landscape — from your own operations to your suppliers'. It’s a multi-faceted process that ranges from building sustainability plans and proving the business case to implementing, measuring, reporting, scaling and beginning to take a public stand on issues and policies.

View All Level 2: Execute Resources

Level 3: Lead

Leading on corporate sustainability means bringing your company’s business and environmental goals into seamless, transparent alignment. You’re accelerating environmental innovation, actively advocating for smart environmental policies, and advancing sustainable business practices to alter the landscape across entire industries and business sectors.

View All Level 3: Lead Resources
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  • Sustainability 101
    • Intro and overview 101
      • Overview: Agriculture 101
        • Introduction
        • Get Informed
        • Understand the Landscape
      • Overview: Forests 101
        • Introduction
        • Get Informed
        • Understand the Landscape
      • Overview: Chemicals 101
        • Introduction
        • Get Informed
        • Identify Key Stakeholders
      • Overview: Energy 101
        • Introduction
        • Get Informed
        • Understand the Landscape
      • Overview: Freight 101
        • Introduction
        • Get Informed
        • Understand the Landscape
      • Overview: Waste 101
        • Food Waste 101
          • Introduction
          • Get Informed
          • Understand the Landscape
        • Packaging Waste 101
          • Introduction
          • Get Informed
          • Understand the Landscape
    • Build a Sustainability Plan 101
      • Introduction
      • Assess Impact & Opportunity
        • Impact: Agriculture
        • Impact: Forests
        • Impact: Chemicals
        • Impact: Energy
        • Impact: Freight
        • Impact: Waste
      • Identify Stakeholders
        • Stakeholders: Agriculture
        • Stakeholders: Forests
        • Stakeholders: Chemicals
        • Stakeholders: Energy
        • Stakeholders: Freight
        • Stakeholders: Waste
      • Set Goals
        • Goals: Agriculture
        • Goals: Forests
        • Goals: Chemicals
        • Goals: Energy
        • Goals: Freight
        • Goals: Waste
      • Establish Objectives & Metrics
        • Objectives: Agriculture
        • Objectives: Forests
        • Objectives: Chemicals
        • Objectives: Energy
        • Objectives: Freight
        • Objectives: Waste
      • Identify Pilot Projects
        • Pilot Projects: Agriculture
        • Pilot Projects: Forests
        • Pilot Projects: Chemicals
        • Pilot Projects: Energy
        • Pilot Projects: Freight
        • Pilot Projects: Waste
      • Make Business Case
        • Business Case: Agriculture
        • Business Case: Forests
        • Business Case: Chemicals
        • Business Case: Energy
        • Business Case: Freight
        • Business Case: Waste
      • Pitch & Launch Plan
        • Pitch & Launch: Agriculture
        • Pitch & Launch: Forests
        • Pitch & Launch: Chemicals
        • Pitch & Launch: Energy
        • Pitch & Launch: Freight
        • Pitch & Launch: Waste
    • Build a Business Plan 101
      • Business/environmental alignment
      • Drivers of change
      • Stakeholder motivation
      • Activate stakeholders
      • Identify data
  • Level 1: Engage
    • Engage: Agriculture
    • Engage: Forests
    • Engage: Chemicals
    • Engage: Energy
    • Engage: Freight
    • Engage: Waste
  • Level 2: Execute
  • Level 3: Lead
    • Advocate
      • Green Freight
      • Safer Chemicals
      • Sustainable Agriculture
      • Sustainable Energy
      • Thriving Forests
      • Zero Waste
    • Collaborate
      • Green Freight
      • Safer Chemicals
      • Sustainable Agriculture
      • Sustainable Energy
      • Thriving Forests
      • Zero Waste
    • Commit
      • Green Freight
      • Safer Chemicals
      • Sustainable Agriculture
      • Sustainable Energy
      • Thriving Forests
      • Zero Waste
    • Innovate
      • Green Freight
      • Safer Chemicals
      • Sustainable Agriculture
      • Sustainable Energy
      • Thriving Forests
      • Zero Waste

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    • Retail Supplier Packaging Entry-level
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    • Retail Supplier Product Design and Use - Low-GWP Refrigerants
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    • Retail Supplier Targets Advanced
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Main Library

The Sustainability Journey Resources

Filter by our "Sustainability 101" categories for a concise, high-level overview of Agriculture, Forests, Chemicals, Energy, Freight or Waste. You can also view all of the Engage (Level 1), Execute (Level 2) and Lead (Level 3) resources by filtering for interest areas that are relevant to your company.

Filter Library

Title

Date

Type

iPoint: product compliance and sustainability

Software and consulting for environmental and social product compliance and sustainability, helping companies manage, track, analyze and report data.

02/22/2019

Initiative

Supply Shift: supply chain intelligence, organized

A responsive platform to gather and analyze your supplier network, helping you make business decisions and solve supply chain problems.

02/22/2019

Initiative

Ecochain: easy-to-use environmental software

Software to help you gain complete visibility into your environmental performance, with applications that empower you to head for sustainable growth.

02/22/2019

Initiative

EcoVadis: business sustainability ratings

A web-based collaborative platform for companies to assess the environmental and social performance of their global suppliers.

02/22/2019

Initiative

EPA SmartWay: truck electrification webinar

This webinar explores how companies are collaborating with logistics service providers and vehicle and equipment manufacturers to invest in solutions that will help move their products and supplies as quickly, safely and efficiently as possible.

02/22/2019

Webinar

EPA SmartWay: improving freight efficiency

EPA’s SmartWay program helps companies advance supply chain sustainability by measuring, benchmarking, and improving freight transportation efficiency.

02/22/2019

Initiative

Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB)

GRSB is a global, multi-stakeholder initiative developed to advance continuous improvement in sustainability of the global beef value chain.

02/22/2019

Initiative

The blind spot: climate policy leadership

Numerous sustainability rankings have emerged to help stakeholders assess corporate environmental performance and identify leaders. Our new report reveals a troubling blind spot in how rankings agencies and organizations pick winners: the vast majority don’t factor in corporate policy advocacy – which is an essential element of sustainability leadership.

02/21/2019

Report

How2Recycle: standardized recycling labeling

How2Recycle® is the first and only comprehensive recycling labeling system for packaging in the US, designed specifically for consumers.

02/21/2019

Initiative

Strategic energy management for organizations

How to identify, analyze and prioritize energy efficiency investments, clean energy procurement and other strategic energy management opportunities.

02/21/2019

Handbook

Companies making RE100 commitments

Case studies on the 161 RE100 companies that have made commitments to go 100 percent renewable.

02/21/2019

Case Study

Ikea: building a sustainable supply chain

How Ikea reduced coal use in the factories of its suppliers in China with the help of EDF Climate Corps.

02/21/2019

Case Study

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