Good Planets are Hard to Buy

Sustainable Supply Chain Management Practices:

Facilitator: Larry Berglund, SCMP, MBA

Seminar Context
What appears to be an emerging issue has been around for a long time - a concern for the planet and its people. What is changing is the ability to affect these issues through supply chain management practices. When global leaders in the resource sector (BHP Billiton), retail clothing (H&M Clothing), and manufacturing (Interface Inc), as examples, take increased responsibility for sustainable business practices, others are taking notice and are beginning to accept this role.

Society needs businesses to be profitable but the expectations are that the profits will be generated through the principles of sustainability. Sustainability and its corollary, corporate social responsibility (CSR), is becoming mission critical to manage in today's business climate.

How can a company prepare to implement a CSR policy and change its business practices to meet customer or client expectations? This program will provide the context for CSR and means to affect positive results while being fiscally responsible.

The debate on the role of business to meet social needs was set years ago by the late economist Milton Friedman. Business must focus on the interests of its shareholders - not stakeholder interest groups. The debate for and against CSR continues today.

Can companies include corporate social responsibility and still remain as viable, profitable organizations? Will public sector organizations break the budget with sustainability policies and practices?

And what is the role of the supply chain management professional?

The seminar closes with a challenge to supply chain professionals to affect social values in business agreements. The challenge is not given without sharing insights on pragmatic means to deal with the issues inherent in sustainable business practices.

Who should attend?
Public, private and not-for-profit organizational staff that want objective information on the issues to make their own informed decisions for their respective organizations. Organizations that want to know what are the pragmatic steps they can take and how to begin this process. Which sustainability issues continue to be fraught with problems and where are the easier wins? Why should a company get involved with CSR and what are the caveats?

Topics include:

About Larry Berglund, SCMP, MBA

Larry is an experienced supply management professional. He has worked in the forest industry, public healthcare, municipal government, and university operations. He has taught the Principles of Buying, the Principles of Quality, as well as the PMAC Better Ways to Better Deals seminars on negotiations, based on his book of the same name. His most recent book is Food, Finance, and Philosophy: A Role for Supply Management in Corporate Social Responsibility.

He has taught accredited courses for APICS, BCIT, and Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Larry has written case studies, articles for Canadian and U.S. business publications, facilitated workshops, and is a recognized speaker on supply chain management topics. He attained his C.P.P. designation in 1982 and his MBA in 2003.

Larry drafted and implemented the first sustainability policy for a Canadian municipality in 2005.