EY Center for Sustainable Supply Chains launches in Singapore

• Comprises team of 50+ climate change and sustainability professionals
• Focus areas include traceability, supply chain decarbonisation, circular business models & tax incentives

The EY organisation recently launched the EY Center for Sustainable Supply Chains. Based in Singapore, the Center provides tailored service offerings that help organizations at every stage of their supply chain journeys, providing them with practical guidance on achieving quick wins and executing long-term strategies and offering technology solutions that are supported by research insights on the latest in supply chain and sustainability trends to help businesses stay ahead of the curve.

The Center is co-led by Atul Chandna (pic), EY Asia-Pacific Supply Chain leader, and Praveen Tekchandani, partner, Climate Change and Sustainability Services at Ernst & Young LLP and comprises a team of over 50 Climate Change and Sustainability Services and Supply Chain Consulting professionals.

With escalating concerns over climate change and stakeholders placing greater emphasis on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, companies are under greater impetus to work toward net-zero goals. Supply chains account for a significant proportion of an organization’s greenhouse gas emissions and operating costs.

“The EY Center for Sustainable Supply Chains is well-positioned as a hub to support companies in the region to develop and elevate sustainable practices for their supply chains. We hope to also contribute to the broader supply chain ecosystem and help the sector and its workforce deepen capabilities in sustainability through the innovative technologies and collaborative approaches that the Center offers” says Liew Nam Soon, EY Asean Regional managing partner, and Singapore Country managing partner, Ernst & Young LLP.

Many organisations struggle to embark on a sustainability journey due to lack of visibility of their supply chain and emissions data, as well as comprehensive ways to measure sustainability progress. The key barriers for businesses in implementing a sustainable supply chain include technological limitations, a lack of visibility, regulatory complexities and scalability concerns.

“Southeast Asia, as one of the major trading and manufacturing hub, plays a key role in global decarbonisation efforts. More than 70% of an organisation’s footprint is from indirect emissions from its upstream and downstream supply chain activities, hence supply chain management is an essential part of any corporate decarbonisation roadmap. Net Zero can only be achieved with an effective stewardship approach across the supply chain, and while this is challenging, it is a necessary step for companies to achieve their sustainability goals” added Praveen Tekchandani, partner, Climate Change and Sustainability Services at Ernst & Young LLP.

Through the EY Center for Sustainable Supply Chains, companies will benefit from the ability to achieve sustainable and diverse sourcing; decarbonisation of the value chain; traceability and real-time visibility of supply chain information, as well as the development of circular business models.

“Supply chains can be very complex and transparency is an issue that many companies face. Following the supply chain disruptions from the pandemic and global geopolitical disputes, resilience and sustainability in the supply chain have become more important than ever. However, beyond the commitment from the board and management, there needs to be the right strategies, systems and processes on the ground to put intention into action” says Atul Chandna, EY Asia-Pacific Supply Chain leader.