The global shift towards outsourcing and offshoring have posed new challenges and opportunities for retailers and suppliers. Taking into consideration “capable suppliers”, companies are able to exert their leverage in sustainability by adding social and environmental criteria when considering their sourcing options. Host Jerry Michalski of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is joined by Andrew Hutson of EDF's Corporate Partnerships Program and Gary Gereffi of Duke University's Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness, in a conversation about the broad trends in global supply chains and their ongoing work with sustainable development. The Future of Green open call series is an initiative of EDF in collaboration with the Center for Social Innovation at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Andrew Hutson is the Corporate Partnerships Program Manager at EDF where he applies insights from supply chain management to drive environmental change with corporate partners. He co-leads EDF’s on-site engagement with Wal-Mart in Bentonville, Arkansas advancing sustainable business practices throughout their operations and supply chain. Before joining the Corporate Partnerships Program, he was a strategic research consultant in the operations practice of the Corporate Executive Board in Washington, DC where he helped launch the Manufacturing Leadership Board, a program for senior-most manufacturing executives.
Gary Gereffi is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness at Duke University, where he teaches courses in economic sociology, globalization and comparative development, and international competitiveness. He received his B.A. degree from the University of Notre Dame and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Yale University. Gereffi has published extensively on economic development and business-government relations in various parts of the world. Gereffi's research interests deal with the competitive strategies of global firms, the governance of global value chains, industrial upgrading in East Asia and Latin America, and the emerging global knowledge economy.
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This free podcast is from our The Future of Green: Defining the Next Generation of Sustainable Business series.
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