Striving for Enterprise Sustainability through Supplier Development Process

Patrycja Hąbek,Juan J. Lavios

doi:10.3390/en14196256

Patrycja Hąbek, Juan J. Lavios

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/en14196256

Copy DOI

Journal: Energies	Publication Date: Oct 1, 2021
Citations: 1	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Silesian University of Technology, University of Burgos

Abstract

Much research has already been dedicated to the impact of the supply chain, but less attention has been paid to the potential of supplier development (SD) processes in strengthening enterprises’ sustainability performance. This study aimed to indicate how the approach to socially responsible supplier development has changed over the years (2010–2019) in the automotive sector considering the types of practices and the applied areas of social responsibility. The study was based on original and empirical content analysis research of sustainability reports of car producers. To identify changes in the approach to socially responsible supplier development (SRSD) practices, 17 criteria were identified within direct as well as indirect types of supplier development practices. Considering areas of social responsibility, we applied the core subjects of social responsibility based on the ISO 26000 standard. The findings revealed that during the analyzed period, there has been a recursive use of both direct and indirect SD practices by the car producers but to varying degrees. The environmental protection, human rights, labor practices, fair operating practices, and organizational governance issues were the major concerns. When comparing 2010 and 2019, a clear increase was observed within all identified SRSD initiatives. The study outputs and examples of SRSD practices of car producers can act as a role model for automotive suppliers as well as other industries regarding how to incorporate sustainability into supplier development processes.

Highlights

IntroductionCompanies worldwide are practicing sustainability to achieve improvement in the economic, environmental, and social performance of their operations [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
The paper aims to indicate how the approach to socially responsible supplier development has changed over the years
To find out how the approach to socially responsible supplier development has changed over the years in the automotive sector, it was necessary to select a sample of reports that spanned a long time range

Summary

Introduction

Companies worldwide are practicing sustainability to achieve improvement in the economic, environmental, and social performance of their operations [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. When considering corporate social responsibility (CSR), the need to care about relations with key stakeholders lies at the core of the concept [8,9,10,11,12]. A socially responsible company should embrace responsibility for the impact of its operations on society and environment but should consider the impact through its supply chain. Engagement with suppliers is fundamental to practice social responsibility and integrating social responsibility into supply chain may bring long-term environmental, social, and economic value for all stakeholders [13,14]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion