I recently read in the newsletter “McKinsey Quarterly” an interesting article about managing global supply chains.

Operations and other senior executives worldwide were asked about their supply chain strategies, goals and the factors that influence the strategies and goals and how their corporations react to these factors. The results speak for themselves: Supply chain risks are increasing and supply chain goals are hard to meet due to product and service complexity, higher energy prices and increased financial volatility.

What grasped my attention was the result that environmental concerns, like climate change seem to have only minor influences on supply chain strategies. Reducing a company’s carbon footprint is rather at the end of supply chain priorities. At the top of the list are cost reduction, improving customer service and bringing products faster to the market.

I guess the reason for this result lies in the complexity of the issue. A research report sponsored by Fujitsu shows that the majority of CIOs surveyed find carbon footprint calculations unclear and confusing. There is a disagreement on which outsourced activities should still be included in the carbon footprint calculations.

I would like to pose the question here of how you deal with the complexity of calculating your company’s carbon footprint. I am looking forward to your comments.

Jeannette Weisschuh, Head of Global Citizenship, HP EMEA