On December 13, 2018, the Value Chain Innovation Initiative and the Center for Social Innovation at Stanford Graduate School of Business co-hosted “Responsible Supply Chains: Building Positive Impact in a Changing World.” Some 80 academics, entrepreneurs, and practitioners attended the all-day event, exploring recent trends and technological innovations aimed at improving social and environmental performance. A range of speakers from industry and academia discussed current issues in the fields of labor relations, corporate social responsibility, economic development, risk management, and environmental sustainability, and offered insights into addressing these issues. Speakers at the December conference generally agreed that while companies continue to face many challenges to increasing corporate social responsibility in their supply chains, targeted initiatives combined with promising new technological platforms help businesses create a positive impact on workers’ well-being and the environment, as well as on organizations’ business performance. The following summary highlights some of the main ideas presented at the conference.
Copyright held by Hau L. Lee, Neil Malhotra, Bernadette Clavier, and Barchi Gillai. Further inquires about reproduction and use should be directed to the Value Chain Innovation Initiative.
