Responsible Supply Chain Practices and Performance

Despite multinational firms’ continued investments in factory audits and other practices aimed at tackling social and environmental issues in their supply chains, lapses in employee labor standards, health and safety standards and environmental protection remain an issue in many industries. In an effort to explore these challenges and gain a better understanding of the responsible supply chain practices 1 likely to be most effective in reducing labor and environmental violations, the Stanford Graduate School of Business launched a research project, the Stanford Initiative for the Study of Supply Chain Responsibility (SISSCR). The research was based on two main sources of information: the “Social and Environmental Responsibility (SER)” section of SCM World’s 2012 Chief Supply Chain Officer Report (based on input from 334 companies), and a smaller, more comprehensive survey conducted by the Stanford Graduate School of Business(completed by 33 companies).