Kindling the Amber
This year has been a tough year. The count of lost lives alone cannot be escaped. For me: I was made redundant shortly before Christmas 2019 - consequence of restructuring - and had wanted to set up on my own. And then ... you know the story. And yet: there is so much to be grateful for. Parents that are healthy. Mountains that were climbed. Access to natural spaces. The snowflakes in front of my window. And learnings along the way. One thing that particularly stands out to me, from all the experiences in the past months: There are two types of people in this world. Those that champion the achievements of others. Who want to see them succeed and create positive change in and for the world and our global society. And then some. I'm grateful to have learned the difference. To 2021. To 12 more months of opportunities, to learn, to become better versions of ourselves, and to create change. For us. But more importantly, for the generations yet to come.
The design stage is usually the longest, most expensive and riskiest part of the chain. Additionally, research has shown that at least an estimated 80% of a product's environmental (and to a lesser degree also social) impact is locked at the design stage into a product. By integrating the product design with the supply chain, companies can compress non-value adding time and costs in their supply chains, increase responsiveness and mitigate supply chain risks – while simultaneously managing (improving) their sustainability performance without added costs or efforts.
The term sustainability is applied as the responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society. In this context sustainability is about the integration of social, environmental, ethical, human rights, consumer concerns and financial performance into business operations and strategy in collaboration with stakeholders, with the aim of: Identifying, preventing and mitigating any possible adverse impacts of business’ actions on the environment and society while maximizing societal benefit.