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Almost every company’s operations are supported by a global supply chain. To accurately assess risk, every business needs to consider the end-to-end operations in that chain. And it’s not just about the environment, it’s also about how a company complies with all the sustainability principles along the product journey, from production to the shelf.
To get this right, we need to understand what’s happening in the supply chain now. To do this, in June 2022, the Green Brands League conducted research into the SME segment. We carried out this work together with our partners: IFORS Research and Business Solutions and Technologies, as well as the ANO Russian Quality System (Roskachevo).
We assessed the degree of penetration of ESG topics in the SME segment. We found that 65% of small firms in Russia are part of the supply chain (i.e. they are currently service providers to medium and large businesses), but 68% of those surveyed do not know what ESG is.
At the same time, according to the Higher School of Economics, 16 out of the top 25 Russian companies (64%) have separate requirements for the ESG profile of their suppliers, of which 25% require suppliers to be sustainable across all groups of ESG indicators. This is a good trend for the market that needs to be maintained and developed. It is something that will ensure that the topic of sustainability is integrated end-to-end into the supply chain.
The Green Brands League developed a sustainability assessment methodology for SMEs at the end of 2021. This methodology is open to the market (brands and companies can get a score for free). And all interested SMEs can join the Green Brand League ranking this year.
It is intended to evaluate brands and companies on three levels of detail. The first level is a minimal questionnaire of 28 questions, applicable to any type of business (without industry-specific topics). The questionnaire is designed to cover compliance, human resource management, general approaches to sustainability management.
The second level is an extended questionnaire of 38 questions that will allow a deeper assessment of the company’s sustainable practices. The questionnaire will have additional questions for those who have completed the minimum questionnaire and secured a ‘basic’ level or higher.
The third level is another 30 specific questions that depend on the type of business (e.g. product quality or waste). These questions go in addition to the minimum and extended questionnaire. But it is the relevant additional blocks that can be chosen.
Cover photo: izusek / iStock
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