Supply Chain Sustainability School Developments – Greater Inclusivity, Relevance and Engagement

Following a highly successful five years since the Supply Chain Sustainability School was launched, the Leadership Groups recently updated the focus and priorities for 2017/18.
In the drive to develop sustainability awareness and more widespread good practice throughout the supply chain, the school has recently developed a more inclusive approach. This will offer wider resource access across the sectors represented by members.

A new ‘One School’ approach will bring several advantages:

• All resources will be available to all members. Previously, members could only access resources related to a single designated sector. Many members work across sectors.
• The numbers of members attributed to each sector are now more accurate.
• It will be easier to collaborate and share knowledge across sectors.

Each partner now has one administrator for the portal. They can see how many assessments have been completed and the resources that have been accessed within their company. This helps with internal CPD measurement.  Staff with ‘sustainability’ in their title will receive extra sustainability related modules in their action plans.

Additionally, the self-assessments within each company will be averaged to provide an overall score.

Several key objectives for the SCSS have been identified by the Leadership Group. The aim is to build on the excellent foundations that have been laid. The focus this year is on the quality of the membership and deeper engagement, as opposed to allocating more resources to member recruitment.

Specifically, there will be activities aimed at expanding the supply chain. The School will analyse the sectors and identify key trades in Tier 1 where there is a shortage of representation. The marketing and engagement plan will be developed to engage suppliers not already enlisted in the school.

It is also a priority to engage the design community. All sector supplier days will have representation and presentations from a designer. There will be greater opportunities for designers to engage with the school and provide feedback on their specific requirements.

The plan also aims to develop sectors including Rail, Nuclear, Energy, Roads and Airports. Further projects such as HS2 and Hinkley Point will be identified and engagement plans developed.

The school will continue working closely with the materials group to identify opportunities for synergies and material development to align within supplier days, workshops and e-learning modules

Most importantly the school will create a support network among the partners. This will include a buddy system allowing partners help each other to make the best use of the school and resources.