Ep. 99: Sustainability & Supply Chains (Ft. The Association for Supply Chain Management)

In this episode of Sustainability Defined, we're switching things up! Before diving into one of our classic storytelling-style breakdowns, we sit down with Abe Eshkenazi, CEO of the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM), to unpack the world of sustainable supply chains. If you've been following our Hot Commodities series, you know we've become a little obsessed with supply chains, because behind every matcha latte, chocolate bar, banana, or t-shirt is a massive global system shaping emissions, labor, water use, waste, and more. So we realized: we've talked about supply chains constantly…without doing a deep dive into them.  In the first half of this episode, Abe helps us break down what supply chains are, why sustainability and supply chains are inseparable, and how climate change, pandemics, and geopolitical tensions are forcing companies to rethink the way the world moves goods. Then, inspired by ASCM's new docuseries The Chain: How the World Works, we'll take you through the life cycle of a cotton t-shirt, from raw material extraction to landfill, unpacking the environmental and human impacts hidden behind one of the most everyday items in our closets. This episode is part explainer, part documentary breakdown, and part supply chain deep dive, and honestly, one of our favorite conversations we've had on the podcast!