The 2024 edition of Logistics Manager’s Sustainable Supply Chain Conference kicked off this morning [25 June] in London and, after a break for lunch and networking, continued in the same fashion, with plenty of expert speakers sharing their insight into sustainability within supply chains.
Click here to read the highlights from this morning!
Once again, Logistics Manager would like to thank the sponsors of this event: Aurora Insights, CBRE, Datasparq, Enistic, OneAdvanced and Pallet Earth.
The afternoon’s sessions started in style, with Logistics Manager’s editor Emily Uwemedimo moderating a panel discussion entitled ‘Sustainability and responsibility – balancing cost, quality and environmental impact’. The panel was comprised of: Lucy Jeffrey, founder of bamboo sock manufacturer Bare Kind; David Carter, COO of paper products manufacturer The Cheeky Panda; and Esther Knight, founder of fashion house Fanfare Label.
There was a general consensus that sustainability can be overly “confusing” and, as Jeffreys stated, “there’s a lot of pressure put on consumers”. The panel pointed towards increased cost, mixed messaging and greenwashing as some of the issues modern consumers face when trying to shop sustainably.
“Consumers want to do the right thing, but affordability is making this difficult,” Jeffreys added.
Knight accepted that retailers and manufacturers have to accept responsibility for sustainability within the supply chain, saying that these companies need to “effectively communicate” their sustainability strategy and progress to customers and make it “more digestable”.
They touched on the value of B Corp certification, with both Jeffreys and Knight agreeing that it can be useful to have B Corp certification to allow companies to communicate several aspects of their sustainability strategies “in a single logo”.
Carter revealed that, at the moment, “sustainability is not a key factor in selecting a third-party logistics provider”, while Knight noted that it is “important to have a logistics partner with the same values as you”.
Knight went on to say: “Transparency is key and the more information you can share, the better.” She highlighted the need for “open and honest conversations” with all stakeholders, from suppliers to consumers.
On the issue of greenwashing, Jeffreys was clear that facts and figures should take precedence over sweeping statements. She did, however, note that greenhushing – keeping quiet about sustainability to avoid greenwashing accusations – can be equally as harmful. “You need to find a balance and its a really hard balance to strike,” Jeffreys said.
The panellists were unanimous in their statements about balancing cost with sustainability – profitability will always be number one. As Carter put it: “There’s no point being sustainable if we don’t exist any more.”
At 2:30pm, Xinchen Li, research assistant at Aurora Insights, gave a presentation entitled ‘Sustainable supply chains: branching into a greener economy’. She presented the findings of a report which shares its title with Li’s session. This report was produced by Aurora Insights – a knowledge hub specifically designed to inform senior decision-makers and drive business forward – earlier this year .
Her session covered topics such as the trends, motivations and barriers surrounding the adoption of more sustainable business practises, identifying some key pieces of legislation on sustainability, from the 2021 Environmental Act to the 2023 Electronic Trade Documents Act, as well as international treaties like the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement.
She revealed that emissions and waste were amongst the biggest challenges faced by the companies assessed in the report. She spoke about a “triple bottom line” approach and the value of this in building a more sustainable and resilient supply chain.
Li identified five key motivators for the implementation of sustainable business practises: environmental improvement, social pressure, reputation, consumer trust and financial benefits. She also identified renewable energy and movement towards a circular economy as growing supply chain trends, offering financial benefits as well as sustainability improvements.
She explained how the research found that after sustainability improvements, the greatest gains from introducing more sustainable business practises within supply chains are “lower costs, higher customer satisfaction and better data”.
To purchase this report or find out more about Aurora Insights, click here.
Following a short networking break, Fiona Coull, senior programme manager at Cross River Partnership took delegates through an interesting last-mile logistics project launched in the heart of England’s capital, funded by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. Entitled ‘Learnings from the London Light Freight Walking Trial’, her session explored the potential for walking freight to serve the densest areas of the city, offering benefits ranging from decarbonisation and decongestion to reduced noise pollution and reduced road wear.
Coull explained the motivation behind the trial, noting that “450 million parcels were delivered in London in 2020, 80% of which were delivered by road”. With parcel numbers set to double by 2030, she explained that if this reliance on traditional road transport continues, it will “exacerbate issues with pollution and congestion”.
“If used to its full potential, walking freight could account for 10% of logistics kilometres travelled in London,” Coull claimed.
She outlined three different walking freight models: a traditional model in which walking freight “supports non-consolidated van-based deliveries”; a direct B2C delivery model; and a consolidation-based model where “walking freight acts as the final-mile mode of delivery “.
The final of these models formed the basis of the London Light Freight Walking Trial. Coull said that this model is “uniquely suited to dense urban areas” with the volume of people in these areas offsetting the cost. She described this model as “untapped”, offering “the strongest growth potential”.
The London Light Freight Walking Trial – a collaboration between Cross River Partnership, The Fitzrovia Partnership, the London Borough of Camden, UPS and Heal’s – aimed to address this through the use of e-walkers for last-mile deliveries.
Coull noted that the trial has reported a positive impact on air quality, but highlighted challenges such as capacity and accessibility that must be addressed if walking freight is to become a more attractive option for last-mile logistics on a wider scale.
In response to a question from Logistics Manager about the feasibility of walking freight outside of London, Coull shared her view that any area with the appropriate pavement width and sufficient density of consumers and businesses could be eligible for a model like this. She reiterated that these models don’t need to operate as the sole means of last-mile delivery, and can “supplement other models for a more holistic logistics network”.
For the final session of the day, Joseph Hurst, UK&I sustainability lead at Nestlé, gave a presentation entitled ‘Nestlé UK&I transport: on the road to a sustainable future’. In this session, he covered the Nestlé UK&I transport sustainability journey so far, including key learnings from the company’s transfer to a fully diesel-alternative HGV fleet.
Hurst outlined Nestlé’s net zero roadmap, which aims to reach net zero by 2050, through a policy of “honesty, clarity and action”. On the topic of measurement and reporting, he posed the rhetorical question: “If we don’t know where we really are, how do we know which direction we need to walk in?”
He emphasised the value of an “open management structure” and a company culture which allows for the acknowledgement of errors and inefficiencies, so that these can be addressed directly.
Hurst shared Nestlé’s process of taking messages from the company’s wider sustainability roadmap and diluting them into “area-by-area” plans to allow for specific action to be taken across the whole network.
Talking about improving sustainability in Nestlé’s transport operations outside of its owned fleet, he acknowledged the difficulty with this as a result of the size of the company and the number of logistics partners it works with. He explained that “knowledge sharing” is vital in improving sustainability with third parties, as well as the need to be conscious of partners’ requirements and limitations.
As Hurst’s session came to an end, Logistics Manager’s editor Emily Uwemedimo rounded off the conference with her final remarks, thanking the day’s speakers and saying: “It’s been a day filled with valuable insights, engaging discussions and meaningful connections. Let’s carry forward the knowledge gained here today as we continue to innovate and advance sustainability in the supply chain.”
