Dive Brief:

• The Environmental Defense Fund has partnered with 10 other organizations — including The Sustainability Consortium, BSR and GreenBiz — to launch the Supply Chain Solutions Center, a website where sustainability professionals can find resources on topics ranging from sustainable agriculture to green freight. 

• The website will serve as a tool to connect supply chain professionals with resources, Karley Kranich, a spokesperson for EDF, told Supply Chain Dive. "And the resources could be leading them to CDP, which is where they could learn about how they could be reporting more. Or it could be sending them to an organization like Conservation International who could maybe help them set sustainability goals."

• The platform can recommend what resources would be valuable to different users based on an assessment of sustainability efforts users can fill out on the site. The resources are from EDF and its partners, and it plans to grow the number of resources on a rolling basis.

Dive Insight:

A PWC survey of more than 700 companies from last year found 72% mention sustainable development goals in their corporate or sustainability report, and 54% of total businesses mention it in their business strategy.

"Sustainability might never have been part of their company’s business plan, but it is now because of the serious risk to company supply chains and demand from consumers, investors and even employees," EDF Managing Director Elizabeth Sturcken wrote in a blog post. "These professionals have a steep learning curve ahead of [them] and need help navigating their complex supply chains."

This is where EDF and its partners see their website lending a helping hand. It can provide resources for the seasoned suitability officer who wants to keep up with best practices or provide a valuable baseline of knowledge for people new to the field.

The Brookings Institution notes successful sustainability goals require buy-in from the C-suite down to the loading dock, so employees at every level will need to become well versed in the mission when a company takes on these initiatives.

As many companies adopt sustainability policies it seems that doing so may have more to do with the business than the environment. The same PWC survey found 31% of respondents are concerned about climate change and environmental damage, but 50% have prioritized the SDGs they believe are most important to their business.

"I commend EDF for creating a resource that provides access to meaningful information for companies to learn more about best practices and initiatives that can aid them as they seek to advance their sustainability efforts," Laura Phillips, senior vice president for global sustainability at Walmart, said in a statement. "Integrating sustainable practices into our operations and supply chain has enabled Walmart to lower costs, spur innovation, inspire customer loyalty and help reduce impact on the environment."