Supply chain leaders are stealth weapons in the drive to net zero
Recent appointments by Levi's, Apple and others reflect the growing clout of procurement work — and a muted forward-march for sustainability. Read More
- With sourcing responsible for the bulk of corporate emissions, procurement leaders are now pivotal to hitting climate targets.
- Companies may be taking political cover by embedding sustainability inside supply chain functions to downplay ESG branding.
- Surveys show supply chain chiefs outperform CSOs on sustainability, but procurement teams are stretched thin and struggling to fill critical talent gaps.
Last week, Chris Callieri became Levi’s first chief supply chain officer, reporting directly to the CEO. He’s one of the latest corporate appointments to reflect the increasingly heavy weight that supply chain leaders bring to the C-suite.
“This move exemplifies that supply chain roles are being significantly elevated in the corporate world, especially in retail and consumer goods companies,” said Nada Sanders, a professor of supply chain management at Northeastern University. “Supply chain leadership is now seen as critical to navigating costs, disruptions, innovation and sustainability, with these roles now reporting directly to the CEO.”
The topsy-turvy, tariff-centric U.S. trade policy of the past eight months provides obvious reasons why businesses need to throw their brightest, most nimble leadership behind procurement. Apple’s Sabih Khan is another recent example. Credited for driving down emissions when he oversaw the company’s supply operations, Khan became the chief operations officer in July.
Such leaders are essential to businesses that are sincere about moving past grand sustainability commitments and tackling the near-term nitty-gritty of net zero transitions. As Sainsbury’s recently named chief retail, logistics and supply officer, for example, Tracey Clements faces a to-do list that likely includes helping to reach net zero in its value chain by 2050.
Hiding in plain sight
Come Sept. 15, when Callieri starts reporting to CEO Michelle Gass, he will not only have to keep the sourcing trains running in a high-stakes, high-tariff trade environment, but also be responsible for driving down 99 percent of the company’s emissions, which originate from sourcing.
“Supply chain is an essential function of sustainability, and can be connected to the same key issues like sourcing, energy use and worker’s rights,” said Ellen Weinreb, chief executive officer of Weinreb Group Sustainability Recruiting in Berkeley, California. “So it makes sense for sustainability to ‘live’ in that function.”
Of course, it’s quite possible that White House attacks on “woke” language related to climate and ESG are driving such efforts underground. That is to say, there’s good reason to think that C-suites are quietly hiding their most important sustainability functions within procurement.
In fact, chief supply chain officers do more true sustainability work than even the chief sustainability officer, according to a 2023 survey of 250 professionals in the field by North Carolina State University.
In another survey of 500 chief supply chain officers in 2022, two-thirds called sustainability core to business value. That matters, because matching sustainability strategy with business strategy is one of the biggest issues sustainability leaders face. “Shifting sustainability leaders into supply chain roles supports that ambition while also reducing the external appearance of sustainability as an ESG initiative,” said Weinreb.
Weinreb added: “Based on my conversations with sustainability leaders, I am confident that environmental and social impact work continues, but many companies are looking for ways to tone down the external appearance of the work.”
