Global Supply Chains have profoundly shaped the economic model, releasing the full potential of our society. However, the intense and geographically widespread exploitation of natural and human resources has raised a new challenge: finding a new paradigm for sustainable growth. The key players in this scenario are large multinational corporations which would be able to foster sustainability, by spreading it along the portion of the supply chain over which they can exert their influence. The aim of this paper is to assess the sustainability practices and strategies for a group of multinational companies. My research will be multidimensional considering five macro-categories: “Strategy”, “Economic and Governance”, “Environmental Indicators”, “Social Indicators” and “Supply Chain”. While investigating all these five dimensions, my focus will be on the “Supply Chain”. For the five macro-categories I have analysed 21 topics such as “Emissions” for “Environmental Indicators” and “Logistics design” for the “Supply Chain”, just to mention a few. The sample is made of 32 multinational corporations, selected to have a comprehensive coverage of the main industries. The 32 companies are divided equally into 8 clusters, representing their economic domains. Firstly, I examine the individual companies, then I provide results based on comparative analyses. The point of view, from which the study will be conducted, is that of a stakeholder interested not only in the state of the art, but also in the company's progress in relation to the context of reference. The inputs to my research are mainly based on the published Sustainability Reports, along with other corporate documents which helped to better profile the companies under examination. The main finding of my research is that, although the large multinationals are concerned about sustainability, a shared approach is lacking. Moreover, the potential of the supply chain as a means of spreading the sustainability across the network is not fully exploited. Keywords: Global Supply Chain; Sustainability; Supplier assessment; Multinational corporations.
Le Global Supply Chains hanno profondamente cambiato il modello economico permettendo di sprigionare il pieno potenziale della nostra società. Tuttavia, uno sfruttamento intenso e geograficamente diffuso delle risorse naturali e umane ha fatto emergere una nuova sfida: trovare un nuovo paradigma per crescere in modo sostenibile. Gli attori chiave in questo scenario sono le grandi multinazionali le quali sarebbero in grado di farsi promotrici della sostenibilità, diffondendola lungo la porzione di supply chain sulla quale possono esercitare la propria influenza. Lo scopo di questo lavoro è quello di valutare le pratiche e le strategie di sostenibilità di un gruppo di aziende multinazionali. La mia ricerca sarà multidimensionale considerando cinque macro-categorie: "Strategy", "Economic and Governance", "Environmental Indicators", "Social Indicators" e "Supply Chain". Pur indagando tutte queste cinque dimensioni, la mia attenzione si concentrerà sulla "Supply Chain". Per le cinque macro-categorie ho analizzato 21 topic tra cui "Emissions" per gli "Environmental Indicators" e "Logistics design" per la "Supply Chain", solo per citarne alcuni. Il campione è composto da 32 multinazionali, selezionate per avere una copertura significativa delle principali industry. Le 32 aziende sono divise equamente in 8 cluster, che rappresentano i loro domini economici. In primo luogo, esamino le singole aziende, poi presento i risultati basati su analisi comparative. Il punto di vista, dal quale verrà condotto lo studio, è quello di uno stakeholder interessato non solo allo stato dell’arte, ma anche ai progressi dell’azienda in relazione al contesto di riferimento. La mia ricerca si basa principalmente sulle informazioni pubblicate dalle aziende nei loro Sustainability Report e altri documenti aziendali funzionali a completare il profilo aziendale con ulteriori dati sulla sostenibilità. Il risultato principale della mia ricerca è che, sebbene le grandi multinazionali siano attente al alla sostenibilità, manca un approccio condiviso. Inoltre, non viene sfruttato a pieno il potenziale della supply chain come mezzo per diffondere della sostenibilità nel network. Parole chiave: Catena di fornitura globale; Sostenibilità; Valutazione dei fornitori; Multinazionali.
Global Supply Chains and Sustainability. A Comparative Study on Multinational Corporations
PIAZZOTTI, LEONARDO
2020/2021
Abstract
Global Supply Chains have profoundly shaped the economic model, releasing the full potential of our society. However, the intense and geographically widespread exploitation of natural and human resources has raised a new challenge: finding a new paradigm for sustainable growth. The key players in this scenario are large multinational corporations which would be able to foster sustainability, by spreading it along the portion of the supply chain over which they can exert their influence. The aim of this paper is to assess the sustainability practices and strategies for a group of multinational companies. My research will be multidimensional considering five macro-categories: “Strategy”, “Economic and Governance”, “Environmental Indicators”, “Social Indicators” and “Supply Chain”. While investigating all these five dimensions, my focus will be on the “Supply Chain”. For the five macro-categories I have analysed 21 topics such as “Emissions” for “Environmental Indicators” and “Logistics design” for the “Supply Chain”, just to mention a few. The sample is made of 32 multinational corporations, selected to have a comprehensive coverage of the main industries. The 32 companies are divided equally into 8 clusters, representing their economic domains. Firstly, I examine the individual companies, then I provide results based on comparative analyses. The point of view, from which the study will be conducted, is that of a stakeholder interested not only in the state of the art, but also in the company's progress in relation to the context of reference. The inputs to my research are mainly based on the published Sustainability Reports, along with other corporate documents which helped to better profile the companies under examination. The main finding of my research is that, although the large multinationals are concerned about sustainability, a shared approach is lacking. Moreover, the potential of the supply chain as a means of spreading the sustainability across the network is not fully exploited. Keywords: Global Supply Chain; Sustainability; Supplier assessment; Multinational corporations.È consentito all'utente scaricare e condividere i documenti disponibili a testo pieno in UNITESI UNIPV nel rispetto della licenza Creative Commons del tipo CC BY NC ND.
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14239/1175