In a competitive business environment that requires strategy and innovation to improve the bottom line, supply chain management has been vital in creating competitive advantage. Increasingly, companies are also identifying sustainability as an opportunity to create competitive advantage. This project explores supply chains as a leverage point in advancing sustainable development. Corporations have developed different tools to interact with their suppliers on sustainability. Three of these devices were analyzed against a framework for strategic sustainable development to identify some of their strengths and weaknesses. A general set of criteria for sustainable supply chain management devices that employs a strategic, whole-systems perspective was then developed.

Background: Entrepreneurship is dependent on innovation and entrepreneurial activities increase competition. The world is facing many problems concerning sustainability, especially in the food industry. There are challenges such as climate change and ethical issues, and to stay competitive in an industry faced with multiple challenges, a sustainability-driven innovation practice could be one way to do so. The food industry is of great importance to society and although there are research done in the area of sustainable innovation in the food industry there is still a need for clarification on how it can be applied. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to contribute with a deeper understanding and develop further knowledge about sustainable innovation in SSCM within the food industry. Methodology: This study is a single-case study and has a qualitative and abductive approach where data was collected through in-depth semi-structured online interviews. Conclusion: We found in this study that there is a challenge when it comes to getting acceptance and a common understanding of sustainability both externally and internally. We have contributed by shedding light on challenges and solutions concerning sustainability and therefore we have also developed the understanding of the triple bottom line within the food industry. A link was thus found between internal and external sustainability-work with the dissemination of information. Keywords: Sustainability, supply chain management, innovation, entrepreneurship, foodindustry, sustainable supply chain management, sustainable innovation.

Freight transport is a large contributor to emissions of CO2 and to mitigate its environmental impact is essential in strive for a sustainable future. Existing reports usually discuss the issues from a national or global perspective, but rarely provide any concrete or practical information on an organizational level. This report aims to describe the key driving factors of CO2 emissions caused by freight transport and recommend suitable measures for organizations to mitigate their environmental impact. To do this, a case study at Atlas Copco’s business area Industrial Technique (ITBA) is performed, four different business scenarios are created and the emissions from the scenarios are simulated. ITBA is a decentralized organization with most of the production sites and sub suppliers in Europe. Over 90% of the finished goods are sent to a distribution center in Belgium and then delivered to the customers. Today, most customers are located in Europe and this market accounts for nearly 80% of the distributed weight. However, ITBA believe in a strong growth in the North American and Asian markets and that the customer base will look much different in 2020. More customers at longer distances from the distribution center will lead to a heavily increased use of air freight, resulting in higher emission levels. This study shows a clear correlation between the total CO2 emissions and the share of air freight. In order for ITBA to expand their business and at the same time lower their emissions, actions are required. This report shows that a lower share of air freight and the use of several decentralized distribution centers can reduce the emissions significantly. Other means to lower the emissions include relocation of production sites, education to increase the awareness within the organization and including environmental performance when evaluating third party logistics.

Global supply chains feature multi-tier systems encompassing many geographically dispersed and sequential partners operating across diversified product chains. This research attempts to examine the different mechanisms that reinforce the management of sustainability throughout complex multi-tier supply chain. Using a multi-case study of a sample of eight firms and relying on the foundations of complexity theory, this research recognises the complex operating environment of global multi-tier supply chains and reveals various mechanisms to effectively manage and facilitate the relationships with first- and lower-tier suppliers. Although institutional controls are important to manage the sustainability of first-tier suppliers, the findings posit that due to the inherent complexities of global multi-tier supply chains, duplicating institutional controls to lower-tier suppliers might not be effective. Therefore, firms should attempt to foster modest mechanisms that reinforce adaptation and self-organisation, for example, collaboration and guiding mechanisms, to effectively manage the sustainability of lower-tier suppliers. The research contributes to multi-tier sustainable supply chain management literature by exploring the different mechanisms to manage multi-tier supply chains and the inherent complexities that may impact on firms’ endeavours in achieving their sustainability goals. Managers can utilise different contingent mechanisms to effectively manage the relationships with suppliers that are beyond their immediate visibility.

Syfte: Genom ett ökat intresse för hållbarhetsfrågor världen över har företag krav på sig att vara transparenta och visa hur de jobbar med hållbarhetsfrågor. Samarbete och kommunikation med leverantörer är en viktig faktor för att företag ska kunna få insikt i, och kunna påverka de processer som används av dess leverantörer. Fokus ligger på skogsindustrin för att den är en av få industrier i Sverige som redovisar en positiv påverkan på klimatet. Studien syftar därför till att skapa förståelse för relationshanteringens roll i upprättandet av en hållbar leverantörskedja inom skogsindustrin. Forskningsfrågan lyder: Hur styr företag inom skogsindustrin sina leverantörer med hjälp av relationshantering för att skapa en hållbar leverantörskedja? Metod: Studien har grundats på en kvalitativ metod med utgångspunkt i tolkning och analys av organisatoriska dokument som kompletterats med semistrukturerade intervjuer av tre personer som har insikt i inköpsprocessen på tre utvalda företag inom skogsindustrin.   Resultat och Slutsats: Studien visar att relationshantering har en stor roll i skapandet av en hållbar leverantörskedja inom den svenska skogsindustrin. Slutsatsen som kan dras från resultatet är att företag inom den svenska skogsindustrin arbetar på liknande sätt för att främja relationer till leverantörer och att detta bidrar till en ökad hållbarhet, även om företagen kan skilja sig åt i användning av metoder och prioritering av hållbarhetskriterier.  Examensarbetets bidrag: Arbetet bidrar med ytterligare argument för att företag genom en bra hantering av relationer till leverantörer kan påverka hållbarheten och göra mer hållbara val som gynnar såväl det egna företaget som omvärlden. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Det hade varit intressant att se på den faktiska påverkan som relationshantering har på hållbarheten. Det tycks också intressant att gå djupare in på leverantörskedjan och studera relationshanteringens effekter på fler parter i leverantörskedjan, såsom underleverantörer.

The rapid increase in the adoption of global sourcing practices that took place in 1980’s led to significant transformations in traditional value chains, which were encompassed by single, vertically integrated organizations, and became globally dispersed networks of independent buyers and suppliers, where each of these firms performs specific value-adding activities that will ultimately result in that value chain’s final output. As concerns over the negative social and environmental impacts caused by industrial activity continue their rise to prominence, stakeholders are starting to realize that the changes through which value chain structures underwent have shifted the locus of corporate sustainability from individual focal firms to entire supply networks. This wider scope of stakeholder expectations has, thus, created a necessity for corporate sustainability initiatives to be diffused to all members of the supply network. Chapter one constitutes a theoretical investigation of the strategic relevance of corporate sustainability diffusion in global supply networks for both focal and non-focal firms within global supply networks, as well as the determining factors of a firm’s capacity to diffuse and performance in diffusing corporate sustainability within its supply network? The theoretical contributions of this study are divided into two parts. The first part seeks to establish a more solid cause and effect relationship to explain why firms that are more highly exposed to stakeholder scrutiny (i.e. focal firms) should necessarily face a higher risk of being held responsible for the sustainability-related misconducts of lesser exposed members of the network (i.e. supplier sustainability risk). The first part also proposes an expansion of the dichotomous categorization of corporate sustainability initiatives as either mandatory or voluntary, to add what we termed: semi-voluntary corporate sustainability initiatives. This addition serves to explain why certain firms adopt non-mandatory corporate sustainability initiatives, which apparently destroy shareholder value. We argue that this distinction is important because cases concerning semi-voluntary initiatives are likely to involve higher levels of supplier sustainability risk. In part two of the theoretical development we introduce a theoretical framework to explain the existing heterogeneity among different firms within a supply network in regards to their ability to implement the diffusion of corporate sustainability initiatives in the network (i.e. network dominance) and propose that it results from the interaction among three network-related firm characteristics: relative resource value, resource substitutability, and relative network position. Lastly, we discuss why higher levels of network dominance increase the likelihood that firms will be able to ensure a high level of corporate sustainability diffusion in the network. Chapter two aims at empirically testing a set of hypotheses derived from the propositions put forth in the second part of chapter one’s theoretical development Therefore, it seeks to answer questions, such as, who is responsible for ensuring that all network members meet the necessary corporate sustainability standards in order to adequately fulfill the demands of stakeholders? Why do some firms engage in corporate sustainability and others do not? What contributes to the effective diffusion of corporate sustainability in a supply network? These hypotheses are tested on a sample of 10,728 firms in the automotive sector, linked by 45,044 inter-firm relationships. Strong support for our hypotheses provides both researchers and managers with an interesting discussion of how this emerging business paradigm, where corporate sustainability is becoming the norm and no longer the exception, may have significant implications on how value chains are structured within this sector. / Business Administration/International Business Administration

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What other means of influence exist in business other than economic? That is the question we set out to answer in regards to the fashion industry and the specific supply chain of cashmere. The cashmere industry has been described as complex, therefore the research has taken a complex adaptive systems approach to investigate how relationships between parts give rise to the collective behaviours of a system and how the system interacts and forms relationships with its environment. This paper describes a qualitative case study research conducted to identify the potential influence that a small to medium enterprises can have on their supply chain actors to steer them towards sustainability. Looking specifically at the supply chain of one Scottish cashmere manufacturer within the luxury fashion industry we have assessed this company’s current reality to the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development. This paper aims to present enablers and barriers towards influence, their correlations and complexity when looking at sustainability. In addition it will provide prescriptive thoughts for SMEs to support internal and external transition through sustainable development towards a sustainable cashmere supply chain.

Some business leaders in the manufacturing industry lack strategies to optimize green supply chain management strategies that increase profitability while reducing the carbon footprint. The lack of green supply chain strategies sub optimizes the use of resources business leaders use to meet their financial goals. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore successful green supply chain strategies leaders used to increase profitability while reducing the carbon footprint. The participants were 7 business leaders in one manufacturing organization headquartered in Massachusetts who have sophisticated green supply chain strategies in place. The natural resource-based view theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and organizational documents. Through thematic analysis, 3 key themes emerged: environmental management strategies, profit-increasing strategies, and governance strategies. The findings of this study might be of value to business leaders to reduce costs and create sustainable, competitive supply chains using responsible methods. The implications for social change include the potential for leaders to preserve finite natural resources for future generations and reduce the carbon footprint of manufacturing organizations.

Supply chain practitioners in developing economies, like Nigeria, experience challenges in implementing sustainable supply chain management practices. Poor sustainability implementation engenders the negative effects of supply chain operations on people, the environment, and business continuity. The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to explore and describe the experiences of supply chain practitioners in the consumer goods manufacturing industry in Nigeria about sustainable supply chain management based on the theoretical foundations of stakeholder and general systems theories. The focus of the research question was to examine the experiences of supply chain practitioners to understand the challenges in implementing sustainable supply chain management practices. Data were collected through semistructured face-to-face interview of 21 practitioners with a minimum 3 years of professional experience using the purposive sampling strategies of key knowledgeables and snowball to achieve saturation. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed guided by the Husserlian transcendental phenomenological approach for essences. The major finding was that the cost of implementing sustainability initiatives and poor government policies and regulations were the most significant barriers. Sustainability in the supply chain is still at its infancy in Nigeria, with room for improvement. The findings could contribute to positive social change as supply chain practitioners may better engage stakeholders and implement sustainability practices that minimize the negative effects of their supply chain operations on society and the environment.