Page 246 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

234 LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT HANDBOOK
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select and retain . There is increasing interest and publication of theories and
case studies related to this concept of managing suppliers and supply chains to
improve efficiencies, cost, and environmental and social responsibility (Krause
et a\. 2009, Burritt et ah 2011).
For this reason, the Purchases (or Procurement) function can be critical in
a company's sustainability effort. Through sustainable supply chain man-
agement (SSCM), a company can achieve a variety of goals, such as creating
more sustainable sources for their materials, services and equipment through
the company's purchasing policies and practices. A recent literature review
identified multiple triggers for the development of SSCM programs, such as
regulation, customer demands, competitive advantages, and to protect their
reputation (Fava et al. 1991). The authors also found that SSCM generally has
two distinct strategies: supplier management for risks and performance, and
supply chain management for sustainable products. Most of those SSCM pro-
grams appeared to focus on environmental issues, and rarely integrate the
three dimensions of sustainability (environment, social, economic aspects).
This case study presents the LCA results that triggered development of
P&G Purchases' environmental sustainability approach, how its SSCM system
integrates the three dimensions of sustainability, and current statistics on the
sustainability of its top suppliers. This study appears to be the largest of its
kind to date, revealing the current capability of global supply chains to use
a variety of sustainability metrics and to find ways to improve for economic,
social and environmental reasons. Data are collected from approximately 500
companies, large and small, multinational and local, which represent more
than 50% of supplier cost inputs for the materials and services P&G purchases.

P&G is the largest consumer products company in the world (in 2011).
Company statistics indicate the scale and potential influence that large
global corporations can have, like countries, and the positive or negative
impacts they can cause:

• 127,000 employees working in about 80 countries
• -300 brands sold in -180 countries and used by about
4.4 billion people
• materials and services provided to P&G by -80,000 of suppli-
ers from every country
• $83.5 Billion annual sales (like 'gross domestic product'). In
GDP, this puts P&G between the Slovak Republic ($74.9 billion)
and Kuwait ($102.1 billion).

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The supply chain encompasses all activities associated with the flow and transformation of
goods from raw material stage (extraction) through to the end user and associated information
flows. This definition includes not only raw materials production, but transportation (i.e. the
flow of materials), and services (e.g., advertising).