Global supply chains – crucial to our economies – have experienced massive disruptions since COVID-19 broke out. We are not in the clear yet: businesses will continue to face challenges as they try to build more viable supply chains in a world economy increasingly focused on sustainability.
While 90 per cent of companies said sustainability and resilience are strategic imperatives, the research revealed a significant gap: for nearly two thirds of companies, real world performance lags the importance they place on meeting each of the indicators. If companies are to achieve their goals, they will need an expanded approach to supply chain management, improving their flexibility and financial robustness, while also managing ESG-related risks.
Financial institutions have a crucial role helping to bridge this gap: by improving access for more financially resilient supply chains, particularly for lower tier suppliers who often do not get adequate financing; by making trade finance transactions more transparent and secure for better supply chain visibility; and by driving the adoption of sustainable practices across entire supply chains. We address these requirements with a range of sustainable trade finance solutions, helping our clients meet their resilience and sustainability aspirations.
The aim for all of us is to make global trade more responsible and more inclusive. We are working towards this through partnerships between our technical experts, industry bodies and non-government organisations to establish frameworks for applying international standards and best practices in growth markets.
We hope the new insights in this report will help companies frame the challenges they face and help them increase the visibility of, and reduce the risks to, their supply chains as we enter this new chapter in the world economy.
Simon CooperChief Executive Officer,Corporate, Commercial & Institutional Banking
Figure 1: Five indicators of a sustainable and resilient supply chain
For each indicator, we tested companies’ views on its importance and their own performance across ten elements that contribute to the sustainability and resilience of supply chains.
