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

State of Green Business, 2019

Each year, we take a step back from the headlines and conferences to assess how, and how much, companies were integrating sustainability into business strategy and operations.

02/23/2019

Report

Low carbon lessons: Smartly & WWF

An interactive, online tool that will help your business save money... while saving the planet.

02/23/2019

Tool

WWF's work on climate and energy

Governments and communities are coming together to act – and we can still escape the worst impacts of climate change, and build a safer future for all. WWF can help your company move along the pathway to sustainability.

02/23/2019

Initiative

Science based targets case study: Kellogg's

A case study about how the Kellogg Company made a series of science based targets across its value chain.

02/23/2019

Case Study

Retail supplier resources: setting a target

A collection of resources on setting science based targets.

02/23/2019

Guide

Science based targets case study: P&G

A case study about how Procter & Gamble committed to reduce emissions from operations 30% by 2020 from a 2010 base-year.

02/23/2019

Case Study

Driving profits through carbon reduction

A video about how carbon reduction helps U.S. businesses chart a new path forward. This path is tremendously profitable, practical and helps curb climate change.

02/23/2019

Video

Setting science based targets

Kellogg’s, Enel, and Thalys explain how setting science based targets helped them to plan for a sustainable future with positive implications for the planet and the long-term health of their business.

02/23/2019

Video

GAIA supply chain assessment tool

The Genesis Advancing Innovating Accelerating (GAIA) Maturity Model is designed to help you better understand your company’s capabilities and develop a roadmap for improving sustainability across the supply chain.

02/23/2019

Tool

Blog post about Smithfield exceeding grain goal

A blog about Smithfield Foods explains how supply chain partnerships generate shared value for businesses, farmers and the environment.

02/23/2019

Blog

Supply chain partnership: Smithfield case study

A case study about Smithfield Foods explains how supply chain partnerships generate shared value for businesses, farmers and the environment.

02/23/2019

Case Study

Sustainable ag supply chain players

An infographic with major players in agriculture supply chains.

02/22/2019

Infographic

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.