BSR Insight Articles About Supply Chain

Report Calls on Global Apparel Companies to Address Water Pollution in China

Julia Robinson, Communications Associate

Five environmental organizations—including China’s Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, founded by Ma Jun, who was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize on Monday—sent letters to the CEOs of 48 apparel companies, calling on them to address wastewater pollution and the inefficient use of water in their Chinese supply chains. According to the groups’ “Cleaning Up the Fashion Industry” report (available in Chinese, with an English press release, and an English version of the report forthcoming), the Chinese textile industry, which accounts for half of the global total, lags “way behind” other industries in the reuse of water and produces close to 2.5 billion tons of wastewater and other pollutants every year. Fifteen companies responded to the letter, and seven of them had already initiated remedial measures. The report culled data from more than 6,000 textile company records collected since 2006. BSR’s Sustainable Water Group, which focuses on responsible water use in the supply chain, recommends that companies use public data and share best practices with industry peers to conserve and reuse wastewater. _Read the summary from Ma Jun’s session at the BSR Conference 2011._ Read more →

Posted: April 17, 2012 | Topics: Consumer Products, Supply Chain, Water

The New Reality of Water in China: Informed Activism and No Guarantees

Laura Ediger, Associate Director, Advisory Services Ryan Flaherty, Manager, Advisory Services

While the carbon dioxide emissions of China’s manufacturers may receive international attention, water pollution and scarcity hit much closer to home. Local governments, communities, and consumers in China are putting more pressure on factories to clean up their waste streams and use less water. Read more →

Posted: January 31, 2012 | Topics: Environment, Supply Chain, Water

Four Key Sustainability Trends in Retail

The Retail Industry Leaders Association’s first sustainability report on the industry’s environmental, social, and community impacts features company case studies and identifies four key trends: Read more →

Posted: January 31, 2012 | Topics: Community Engagement & Development, Consumer Products, Environment, Reporting & Communications, Stakeholder Relations, Strategy & Integration, Supply Chain

New California Regulation Spurs Greater Supply Chain Transparency

Sasha Radovich, Former Manager, Advisory Services

In a recent roundtable discussion that BSR and San Francisco’s Department on the Status of Women led on California’s new anti-human trafficking law—which requires retailers and manufacturers to disclose information related to labor and human trafficking in their supply chains—Verité Southeast Asia Founder and Director Maria Apostol said her organization found debt-bonded forced labor in every single one of its audits in Taiwan and Malaysia where foreign workers were present. Read more →

Posted: January 10, 2012 | Topics: Human Rights, Reporting & Communications, Supply Chain

Helping Your Suppliers Improve Their Sustainability Efforts

Jessica Davis Pluess, Manager, Research

To increase the reach of sustainability efforts, companies are using sophisticated questionnaires, scorecards, and indices as tools for supplier engagement. However, companies often superimpose their own sustainability goals on suppliers without considering how these tools could enable stronger governance structures, systems, and strategies for suppliers. Read more →

Posted: December 13, 2011 | Topics: Consumer Products, Strategy & Integration, Supply Chain