Infusing sustainability throughout your entire supply chain requires a thoughtful approach. The initiative must be purposeful future-focused and, most importantly, personal to the individuals involved. Responsible supply chains meet standards deliberately, always bearing in mind the unique needs of each stakeholder and sustainability’s fundamentally holistic nature.

Following are some key considerations:

Organization-wide engagement. A successful sustainability initiative starts with ensuring everyone knows and understands the objectives, as well as how they apply to all employees and job functions. Information-sharing, training and education are proven strategies. Consider implementing a global e-learning platform that includes a module about sustainability. Some supply-chain organizations also implement a network of sustainability teams, which disseminate valuable lessons and concepts.

In addition, industry standards such as the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM) Enterprise Certification are a powerful tool for assessing your supply-chain organization. The ASCM Enterprise Certification framework is the world’s first comprehensive evaluation of a supply chain. The standards, available as a free download, enable you to evaluate your organization’s alignment to the three pillars of social responsibility, economic sustainability and ecological stewardship. This unbiased offering validates supplier quality, development and selection; helps identify gaps for continuous improvement; and validates your overall supply-chain strategy.

Responsible supply chains meet standards deliberately, always bearing in mind the unique needs of each stakeholder and sustainability’s fundamentally holistic nature.

Delivering the message. Another important aspect of tackling the sustainability learning gap is communicating with employees in an authentic manner. Be sure your messages are reaching people of different profiles and backgrounds at all levels of the business. Diversity and inclusion increases empowerment, drives goals and helps achieve and maintain a sustainability culture. Furthermore, when talking about sustainability, the information you share should be well-defined, consistent and aligned with the core concepts of the vision.

Keep in mind that sustainability success comes from both the top down and the ground up. Whether it is a directive from the CEO or a grassroots movement within a company, driving lasting transformation entails both executive sponsorship and organizational readiness.

Digital supply chain. Uniting digital capabilities and sustainable processes is critical to success. Numerous digital tools can advance sustainability initiatives: artificial intelligence to optimize forecasting and save resources; supply-chain control towers and other dashboards for supply-chain monitoring and transparency; the internet of things, sensors and analytics for real-time reporting and enhanced visibility; and 3D printing to reduce waste and miles on the road.

Perhaps the most critical point is this: When you know where everything is, all the time, you are able to make smarter decisions based on actual data. Likewise, you are better equipped to match supply and demand, therefore using less energy and expending fewer resources.

Outside the walls. Inspiring employees to support sustainability efforts is a great beginning — but it’s just a beginning. When you achieve something alone, you make an impact; when you involve your entire network, that impact is multiplied exponentially. The greatest advantages come from working with others.

To engage your external partners in your sustainability journey, go beyond transactional relationships based on rules and compliance. Instead, communicate with them just as authentically as you do with employees. Ask how you can help them make their businesses more sustainable. Focused collaboration and coordination, with a view toward realistic goals and steady progress, make transformation much more possible.

Sustainability can transform an entire supply chain. As such, you must involve the entire supply chain. Creating a sustainability culture through all levels and functions demands everyone’s participation. That is the only way to create meaningful progress.