Special Guest Speaker: James Gray-Donald, Associate VP & Sustainability Leader, Sears Canada

Researchers estimate that 40-60 percent of a business' environmental footprint stems from its supply chain. Consequently, businesses serious about operating in an environmental and socially sustainable manner are turning their spotlight on their suppliers.

Best Practice companies have proven that a strategic approach to supply chain sustainability creates a cascade of positive financial, environmental and social benefits. They include:

• reputation and brand equity protection and enhancement

• sales and profitability increases

• costs and environmental footprint reduction

• employee engagement and productivity improvements

• product quality and innovation breakthroughs

• risk management (financial, environmental and social) and raw material security increased

• competitiveness sharpened with positioning as a green supplier/partner of choice

While the right approach to sustainability in the supply chain can promote innovation and competitive advantage, the wrong approach can have long term impacts that limit future growth and revenue opportunities. Those who seize the opportunities that are presented in this new era of sustainable business are the innovators who build industry leading competitive advantage.

This workshop will follow the practical guide: "Supply Chain Sustainability: A Practical Guide for Continuous Improvement", released in 2010 by the United Nations Global Compact and Business for Social Responsibility.

This workshop will provide a proven approach that aligns a green supply chain strategy with a broad corporate sustainability strategy. You will learn what actions to take, what mistakes to avoid and how to design corporate policies that motivate and direct employees to act and make decisions in a way that supports the corporate commitment to sustainability.

By attending this workshop you will learn how to:

1. Align your purchasing/supply chain strategy with your overall sustainability strategy
2. Assess the sustainability risks and opportunities for your particular business and sector
3. Prepare for Sustainable Supply Chain Score Cards like those at Wal-Mart, P& G and other industry Supply Chain Standards.
4. Identify sustainability metrics to establish your organization's baseline
5. Build synergy in your efforts by ensuring that your policies and people are aligned
6. Identify immediate cost saving opportunities (low-hanging fruit)
7. Scrutinize your organization's processes (e.g. purchasing, manufacturing, packaging, sales, transportation, waste handling) through a new lens of sustainability
8. Position your organization as a green supplier/partner of choice
9. Identify continuity concerns and environmental risks in your supply chain

Using case studies, small and large peer group discussions, and hands-on exercises you will experience the process of:

1. Building and presenting the business case for a sustainable supply chain
2. Mapping your supply chain
3. Evaluating your supply chain using Materials Flow Analysis:

• Supply chain optimization/continuous improvement (eg. waste reduction)

• Targeted opportunities for process improvement/innovation: 

• identifying the changes in your supply chain that offer the greatest economic and environmental ROI
• removing a target material (e.g. PVC, BPA, petroleum products, water)

4. Developing a checklist to assess the sustainability claims of suppliers
5. Developing a method to assess progress towards a more sustainable supply chain (i.e. current performance of supply chain vs. ultimate goal). Assessment method may include such factors as policy development, policy implementation, eco-certification, training, increased specificity of sustainability metrics, waste and target material reduction, increased market recognition as sustainability leader.

This workshop will help attendees think strategically and build upon their own strengths and experiences. Throughout the workshop we will emphasize the benefits of integrating a sustainable supply chain into a broad corporate sustainability strategy and how this leads directly to a reduction in costs and an increase in profitability.

Brad Zarnett, MES
Senior Sustainability Consultant,
Watters Environmental Group Inc.

Brad Zarnett and the Watters Environmental team actively work with organizations to help them with all of their Environmental issues. The Sustainability Division assists companies in their efforts to green their operations and find the economic opportunity in "going green." Regardless of the organization, its size or the industry, Brad's approach is always the same: meet clients where they are on their own sustainability journey, identify best practices unique to the client's industry and organization, outline the steps to building a sustainability strategy and empower the client to go forward and find their own future eco-opportunities.

Brad has assisted organizations and companies such as the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association, Nienkämper Furniture, Silverbirch Hotels and Toromont Industries to realize their sustainability vision. He has worked with clients to achieve cost savings and establish competitive advantages through such business practices as supply chain optimization, waste reduction and employee engagement. Brad has a Masters degree in Environmental Studies (MES) from York University and is the founder of the Toronto Sustainability Speaker Series, a forum where stories are shared of companies that have found economic advantages by integrating sustainability into their corporate strategy. These stories serve as real world examples that show how following a vision to reduce environmental and social harm invariably results in greater profitability.

Special Guest Speaker: 

Dr. James Gray-Donald, Associate VP and Sustainability Leader, Sears Canada

1. Making it easy for Canadians to be green through offering products and services that enable them to: a) use less power, b) have a healthy home, c) save water and d) use renewable resources

2. To reduce Sear's environmental footprint; becoming carbon neutral, with interim goals of 20% energy reduction per square foot by 2013 (from 2008 baseline) and recycle 90% of waste.

3. To nurture a culture of sustainability with associates, customers, and the communities where they live.

Dr. Gray-Donald will speak about "Greening the Supply Chain at Sears".

This course will be of value to industrial, commercial and institutional personnel – including anyone who manages a supply chain, makes purchasing decisions or who is planning to lead the development of a sustainability strategy within business, government or the not-for-profit sector. Some key positions include:

• Supply Chain Managers/Directors

• Purchasing Managers/Directors

• Logistics and Supply Chain Personnel

• Environmental Systems and Quality Assurance/Control Managers

• Sustainability Coordinators

• Sustainability Team Leaders and Members

• Sustainability Coaches and Champions

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