Serious about sustainability? Delve into your supply chain!
-Barbara Nebel, CEO thinkstep-anz
Supply chains are ‘having a moment’ – and not an easy one. As a manufacturer, you’re likely to be facing supply chain challenges due to Covid-19 and global unrest.
The current situation highlights the critical role supply chains play in manufacturing. Read on to learn how Kawerau-based manufacturer Essity Australasia (formerly Asaleo Care) is future-proofing its supply chain, with benefits to its business, the natural environment and local communities.
Zooming out: the global picture and SDG12
But first, let’s start with the global picture. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognise that supply chains play a critical role in creating a more sustainable world.
In fact, supply chains have their own SDG. It’s SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, and it’s linked to many other goals in the SDG framework.
Why the link? Because, by purchasing responsibly, manufacturers can have positive impacts far beyond their own businesses. For example, by ‘buying local’, they can help build sustainable cities and communities (SDG11).
By using renewable energy, they can contribute to affordable and clean energy (SDG7) and promote climate action (SDG13).
Essity Australasia: SDG12 in action
Essity Australasia is a good example of SDG12 in action. The manufacturer produces personal care and hygiene products and is the only New Zealand manufacturer of toilet and hand towel tissue products.
The company is serious about understanding and managing its environmental and social impacts, including through its supply chain.
Understanding the sustainability of its supply chain
Essity Australasia uses Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to review the environmental impacts of its products across their life cycles. LCAs measure the impacts, including carbon emissions, involved when the manufacturer makes its personal care and hygiene products (using resources like trees, water and energy and services like transport).
They also calculate the impacts involved when consumers use its products and dispose of them. The LCAs provide Essity Australasia with data and benchmarks to guide its decisions as it continues to make its products more sustainable.
Managing the sustainability of its supply chain
All the pulp Essity Australasia processes at its Kawerau plant comes from sustainable local and international sources. These sources meet Forest Stewardship Council® standards for environmental and social responsibility.
The company has expanded its sustainability reporting and management activities to carry out due diligence on all its forestry suppliers, supplier by supplier.
By meeting the FSC®’s No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation (NDPE) policies, the company is contributing to SDG12 and many other SDGs too, including SDG8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG13: Climate Action and SDG15: Life on Land.
SDG7: Clean and Affordable Energy features strongly too. Through a supply chain partnership with Ngāti Tūwharetoa Geothermal Assets, the company sources local geothermal steam to power its manufacturing process. (This is SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals in action too.)
Communicating the sustainability of its supply chain
Armed with the information from its LCAs, Essity Australasia has produced three Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) which it shares with customers on its product packaging.
An EPD is a communication tool which summarises a product’s environmental footprint over its life cycle. EPDs are based on international standards and independently verified. They are registered in a central system and publicly available.
Essity Australasia is the first company in New Zealand to publish EPDs for tissue products. These EPDs are registered with EPD Australasia:
How does Essity Australasia benefit from managing its supply chain responsibly?
In many ways. Here are some examples.
Reduced business risk
Supply chains are notorious sources of environmental and social ‘hotspots’. Essity Australasia uses supply chain tools such as Sedex and forestry due diligence, coupled with its LCAs, to look closely at the full length of its supply chain. It understands the risks and is managing them.
A more resilient business
With local supply of timber and packaging and local renewable energy partnerships, Essity Australasia is well set to withstand major supply chain shocks. A resilient business is appealing to investors. It also encourages suppliers and customers to sign long-term agreements.
Marketing its products with confidence
By understanding and managing its supply chain, Essity Australasia can market its environmental and social credentials confidently. (No greenwash here!) It can also gain third-party certifications which help build market share and brand loyalty.
For example, the wrapping on its Tork® toilet paper includes icons, under the heading ‘environmental credentials’, for FSC®, Tuwharetoa Geothermal (renewable energy), Environmental Choice and EPD Australasia.
Stronger relationships with suppliers
Delving into its supply chain has helped Essity Australasia better understand its suppliers’ businesses and how best to work with them.
Continuing to improve
Essity Australasia’s LCAs set benchmarks for the business to ‘continuously improve’ its supply chain. Continuous improvement is central to any credible environmental management system.
Strong employee engagement and retention
Employees increasingly want to work for a business that ‘plays its part’ in managing social and environmental challenges. Essity Australasia can show it is serious about sustainability. 
Helping customers reduce their Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions
And there’s more. Here we see again the magic of SDG17: Partnerships for the Goals.
Many organisations are tackling their Scope 3 (value chain) Greenhouse gas emissions. As the goods and services they buy are generally a major source of these emissions, they’re asking questions like these: How much energy goes into making that product? What’s its carbon footprint? If they’re taking procurement seriously, they’ll also be asking: Did you source your raw materials responsibly?
As toilet tissue and kitchen towels feature in most organisations’ supply chains up and down the country, many people are asking these questions about these hygiene products. Essity Australasia’s verified EPDs provide answers that they can trust.
In other words, by purchasing Essity Australasia’s products, Procurement Managers across New Zealand can quantify the Scope 3 emissions involved.
They can also be comfortable that their supplier is working hard to reduce its carbon footprint and manage other aspects of its products responsibly too.
As Essity Australasia continues to reduce its own carbon footprint, their customers’ footprints will be lower too. It’s a win for everyone – and the planet.
