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.

Continue Reading

gradient

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
The Sustainability Journey Events

No upcoming events found.

See All Events
Expert Organizations
The Sustainability Journey Resources

Filter Results

  • 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

Filter by:

  • Content Type
    • Article
    • Blog
    • Case Study
    • Database
    • Guide
    • Handbook
    • Infographic
    • Initiative
    • Podcast
    • Presentation
    • Report
    • Tool
    • Video
    • Webinar
    • Worksheet
  • Expert Organizations
    • BSR
    • CDP
    • Climate Collaborative
    • Conservation International (CI)
    • Department of Energy (DOE)
    • Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)
    • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
    • Field to Market
    • Further With Food
    • GreenBiz
    • Project Gigaton
    • ReFED
    • Shelton Group
    • Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC)
    • Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC)
    • The Sustainability Consortium (TSC)
    • Walmart
  • Additional Tags
    • Apparel
    • Beef
    • Best Practices
    • Build a sustainability plan 101
    • Carbon
    • Category managers
    • chemicals
    • chemicals packaging
    • chicken
    • Circular Economy
    • Cleaning
    • Communication
    • Consumables
    • Consumer Use
    • contaminants
    • Corn
    • Corporate Sustainability
    • Cosmetics
    • Design
    • Distribution
    • Electronics Hardware
    • End-of-Life
    • Engage
    • Execute
    • Farming
    • Food
    • Food contaminants
    • food packaging
    • Food Systems
    • Formulations
    • Freight
    • Furniture
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    • Grocery
    • Health
    • Home Products
    • Home Textiles
    • In-Field
    • Ingredients
    • Innovation
    • Investors
    • Lead
    • Logistics
    • Management
    • Manufacturing
    • Packaging
    • Pharmacy
    • Photo
    • Plastics
    • Podcast
    • Poultry
    • Procurement
    • Produce
    • Protein
    • Purchasing
    • Re-Use
    • Recovery
    • Recycle
    • Recycling
    • Regenerative Agriculture
    • Retail
    • Retail Supplier Agriculture Basics
    • Retail Supplier Agriculture Next-Level
    • Retail Supplier Agriculture Organizations
    • Retail Supplier Energy
    • Retail Supplier Energy Basics
    • Retail Supplier Energy Efficiency
    • Retail Supplier Energy Renewables
    • Retail Supplier Energy Transport
    • Retail Supplier Forests Commodities
    • Retail Supplier Forests Get Informed
    • Retail Supplier Forests Partners
    • Retail Supplier Packaging
    • Retail Supplier Packaging Entry-level
    • Retail Supplier Packaging Next-Level
    • Retail Supplier Product Design and Use - Low-GWP Refrigerants
    • Retail Supplier Product Design and Use - Material Innovation
    • Retail Supplier Product Use
    • Retail Supplier Targets Advanced
    • Retail Supplier Targets Basics
    • Retail Supplier Targets Organizations
    • Retail Supplier Waste
    • Row Crops
    • Safer Alternatives
    • Safer Food Pillars of Leadership
    • safer packaging
    • Safer Products Pillars of Leadership
    • Soil Health
    • Sourcing
    • Specialty Crops
    • Staff Picks
    • Testing for contaminants
    • Testing for heavy metals
    • Testing for ortho-phthalates
    • Testing for perchlorate
    • Testing for PFAS
    • Use
    • Waste
    • Water
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

Safer chemicals 101: get informed - solutions

While chemicals in your supply chain expose your company to risk, here's a high-level overview of solutions you can explore.

02/24/2019

Guide

Safer chemicals 101: get informed - strategies

A high-level overview of current strategies for tackling toxic chemicals in your supply chain

02/24/2019

Guide

Safer chemicals 101: identify key stakeholders

When pursuing a safer chemicals strategy, there are many stakeholders — both inside and outside of your company — that you may need or want to engage.

02/24/2019

Guide

Safer chemicals 101: understand the landscape

Explore some of the organizations, initiatives, and advocacy groups that use corporate engagement and/or market activism to advance safer chemicals in consumer products.

02/24/2019

Guide

Sustainable energy 101: introduction

By going beyond one-off lighting upgrades and renewable projects to a comprehensive, strategic energy management program, your company can make energy sustainability part of its DNA.

02/24/2019

Guide

Sustainable energy 101: problem & opportunities

Gaining an understanding of the issues surrounding energy and environmental sustainability is the first step in reducing your company’s carbon footprint.

02/24/2019

Guide

Sustainable energy 101: get informed - strategies

Companies embarking on energy management have two main strategies at their disposal: energy efficiency and renewable energy.

02/24/2019

Guide

Sustainable energy 101: understand the landscape

When reducing your company’s carbon footprint, there are many stakeholders — both inside and outside of your company — that you may need or want to engage.

02/24/2019

Guide

Green freight 101: introduction

Reducing freight’s impact on greenhouse gas emissions is a major, long-term challenge for logistics professionals. Critical progress can be made, though, starting today.

02/24/2019

Guide

Green freight 101: get informed

The first step to greening your freight transport is to understand the issue and how it impacts your business.

02/24/2019

Guide

Green freight 101: understand the landscape

There are many stakeholders — both inside and outside of your company — that you may need or want to engage.

02/24/2019

Guide

Food waste 101: introduction

As much as 63 million tons of food is wasted in the U.S. each year. 52 million tons are sent to the landfill and 10 million tons are discarded or left unharvested, generating as much CO2 emissions as 212 million cars.

02/24/2019

Guide

Load More

Learn how to use the site

Watch Tutorial

Thanks for subscribing to our newsletter!

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Cras fermentum ultrices varius. Vivamus cursus turpis sed finibus ultricies. Nullam id mauris accumsan tellus facilisis eleifend. Vivamus sed lorem sit amet nisi gravida maximus. Suspendisse consequat auctor lacus et laoreet. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Praesent ultricies elit sagittis felis lobortis, nec aliquam arcu gravida.