Managing Supply Chains

🌱 How does consumption impact the climate?

The mass consumption of products is considered “a major cause of climate change and pollution”. This means that by producing less or producing products in more sustainable ways, it is possible to reduce pollution and protect the climate.[i]

🌱 How can supply chains be made more transparent?

One way of bringing transparency and some accountability into how sustainable products are, or are not, is by using supply chain tools, such as digital product passports (DPPs). DPPs are in essence a type of “supply-chain tracker”. They make the outcomes of a life cycle analysis more accessible for both corporate buyers and end consumers.

🌱 What similar tools are there?

Past examples of tools used to track supply chains in the EU include the plant passports found on potted plants and the pink codes printed on eggs. Plant passports have been used in the EU to “identify the origins of plants and plant products, ensuring traceability and compliance with plant health regulations” since 1993.[ii] Egg markings in the EU have been used since 2004. They consist of a code that tells you the farming method, the country of origin, and the exact premises where the egg was produced.[iii]

🌱 Has there been voluntary action?

Some companies have already voluntarily taken considerable steps to improve their supply chain transparency and have also factored this into their design process. A few well-known examples include Fairphone, Patagonia, and Tony Chocoloney.[iv]

🌱 What tools are there to manage supply chains?

There are numerous smaller startups that help trace and help manage supply chains. This even holds true for the food sector, which is exempt from the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). A few examples include Palau, Reath, Freshflow, and GreenBytes.[v] Palau is an app that helps consumers understand the supply chains of food products and their impacts.[vi] Reath has set up a platform that creates “digital passports” for packaging items and tracks these throughout their lifecycle.[vii] Freshflow uses artificial intelligence to trace food supply chains and to reduce food waste through “advanced order forecasting, replenishment, and inventory control”.[viii] GreenBytes has created a restaurant management tool to reduce food waste, which uses “artificial intelligence to help restaurants optimize ordering, manage inventory, and break down menus”.[ix]

This post has been adapted from a newsletter written by Saskia Tykkyläinen and Christine Nikander for a collaboration between Palsa & Pulk and The E-Waste Column. The newsletter titled “How can digital product passports create more transparency in supply chains?” was originally published in both “The Just Transition Newsletter” and “The E-Waste Newsletter”.

[i] https://www.theewastecolumn.com/database/circular-design-ecodesign/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation; https://commission.europa.eu/energy-climate-change-environment/standards-tools-and-labels/products-labelling-rules-and-requirements/sustainable-products/ecodesign-sustainable-products-regulation_en; https://green-business.ec.europa.eu/implementing-ecodesign-sustainable-products-regulation_en; https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1781/oj; https://environment.ec.europa.eu/strategy/circular-economy-action-plan_en

[ii] https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/plh4l/plant-passports#:~:text=A%20plant%20passport%20is%20a,compliance%20with%20plant%20health%20regulations.

[iii] https://www.gov.uk/guidance/egg-marketing-standards

[iv] https://www.palsapulk.com/post/what-is-the-role-of-design-in-a-just-transition

[v] https://www.eu-startups.com/2022/06/10-europeans-startups-fueling-the-transition-to-a-circular-economy/; https://www.eu-startups.com/2023/09/turning-waste-into-wealth-10-promising-european-startups-tackling-the-food-waste-crisis/

[vi] https://www.palauproject.com/app

[vii] https://www.eu-startups.com/2022/06/10-europeans-startups-fueling-the-transition-to-a-circular-economy/

[viii] https://www.eu-startups.com/2023/09/turning-waste-into-wealth-10-promising-european-startups-tackling-the-food-waste-crisis/

[ix] https://www.eu-startups.com/2023/09/turning-waste-into-wealth-10-promising-european-startups-tackling-the-food-waste-crisis/