We met Rex Ryan Magadia at a event with the San Francisco chapter of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP). His interest in supply chain management stems both from his experience growing up in the Philippines and a personal mission to protect the environment. His recent blog post provides an interesting perspective on the intersection of manufacturing, sustainability, and globalization.

His post was originally published on “The Bridge” the blog for Golden Gate University on April 28th, 2017.

In one of my favorite books, Connectography by Parag Khanna, the author states that “Supply Chains are the greatest blessing and the greatest curse for civilization. They are an escape from the prison of geography, creating economic opportunities where none existed, bringing ideas, technologies, and business practices to places that lack the advantages of good climate and soil or other propitious variables. Now for the bad news: Supply chains are “…also a conduit for plundering the world’s rain forests and pumping emissions into the atmosphere.”

Businesses are here to stay. Thus, looking through this paradigm, the next logical step is to ensure that businesses are run in the most sustainable and ethical way possible. This is done by developing good governance practices and taking a holistic approach when it comes to managing the social, environmental, and economic impacts of a business’s product and service life cycles. Examples include any policy or business practice that addresses human rights and labor, the environment, and anti-corruption in supply chain operations. An example may be creating more sustainable products that have fewer environmental impacts and ensuring that worker rights are respected throughout the supply chain.

It is not just the world’s rain forests which are at risk. For example, in the Philippines where tens of millions of people rely on healthy oceans/reefs for food, income, and protection from storms, supply chains are the mechanism that enables overfishing. Fish is the primary source of protein in the Philippines and if the global supply chains which operate in the Philippines are not managed in a more sustainable way, this vital life-support system will eventually disappear, leaving tens of millions of people in a state of low food security. My family is from the Philippines, and it’s been a goal of mine to teach environmental and supply chain sustainability there someday.

Read more about Rex’s Career transition and personal mission statement at https://ggu-business.com/2017/04/28/supply-chain-and-sustainability/.