THOMSON REUTERS

Businesses battling to overcome supply problems by scaling up their network of vendors could be facing an environmental , social and governance time-bomb , Reuters Thompson warns . This is what it urges business to do to avoid compromising ESG aims :

• Create ESG metrics for suppliers . Few companies can monitor every supply chain vendor . Use the Supply Chain Resource Cooperative Management Index to determine what metrics should be used .

• Use supply chain mapping . This allows firms to react quickly when a supplier is facing an issue but can also reveal ESG weak points that may go otherwise undetected in an audit .

• Ensure contractual clarity . Use language in contracts with supply chain vendors that spells out your ESG goals and what you expect of your vendors - and that any violation will result in contract termination .

� WALMART A change in shopping habits during lockdown has prompted the retail colossus to build a 730,000-sq-ft grocery distribution centre and also hire 20,000 more people .

� AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS The US-based clothing retailer is buying a digital fulfillment firm in a $ 350 million cash deal , as it looks to take greater control of its supply chain .

� INTERNATIONAL RETAILERS The price of shipping a 40-foot container from Asia to the West has increased from $ 2,100 in 2019 to $ 23,000 today .

� DFC The Development Finance Corporation was tasked by the Trump administration with distributing $ 100 million to help fix supply chain issues . It ’ s yet to distribute a single cent .

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