Overview
In organizations, sustainability can be loosely defined as using resources to meet current needs without compromising the ability to meet future needs. Supply chain managers are in a natural position to spearhead sustainability initiatives because of the cross-functional and inter-organizational nature of their roles. To expose students to the considerable breadth and depth of issues in developing sustainable or “green” supply chains, this course spans several critical functional areas—logistics/transportation, marketing/distribution, and operations and purchasing—as well as the three elements of the triple bottom line: environmental, economic, and social.
Objectives
After completing this course, learners will be able to:
- discuss the functional breadth and topical scope of supply chain sustainability;
- evaluate supply chain sustainability tools and metrics that would work for their organization;
- describe and suggest applications for the role of purchasing in sustainable supply chain management;
- explain how sustainability reporting and social responsibility reporting can be used to support supply chain sustainability;
- discuss how transportation affects supply chain sustainability, and how inter-organizational relationships can help increase transportation sustainability;
- outline the possible trade-offs between sustainability, safety, and efficiency.
Evaluation
Students will be evaluated based on their participation in weekly online discussions (50%) and one comprehensive written assignment (50%). To pass the course, students must achieve 60% or more on each of the credit activities.