Develop and implement strategies for embedding sustainability into your supply chain and procurement practices with these 14 training options.
By Trish Kenlon
April 4, 2024
Source: Shutterstock/chayanuphol
Editor’s note: This is part of a series on closing the sustainability skills gap with the resources we have available right now. Read the previous articles in this series, which cover training on climate literacy, scaling corporate climate literacy, corporate sustainability strategy, measuring and managing GHG emissions, climate and net-zero strategy, regenerative agriculture, circular economy, professional certifications, creating a sustainability upskilling strategy for your company and free training.
The supply chain is an area of incredible opportunity for improving the sustainability performance of most organizations. According to CDP, on average, an organization’s supply chain emissions are 11.4 times higher than its operational emissions, but Scope 3 targets make up only 15 percent of all new corporate emissions reductions goals. If we are serious about reducing overall emissions, we need to make decarbonizing global supply chains a much higher priority; fortunately, the 14 training offerings below are designed to help you learn how to develop and implement strategies for doing exactly that.
Two things to consider before you dive into this list:
As is often the case with these types of lists, I’m sure I’ve missed some. If your favorite offering isn’t included here, I warmly invite you to join the conversation on LinkedIn to tell me and your fellow readers about it. Thanks in advance for your help with bringing these resources out into the open so that more people can get to work on advancing sustainable business practices.
These on-demand courses are organized by price, starting with the most affordable options.
While the primary intended audience for the Supply Chain Sustainability School is professionals within the built environment industry and related supply chains, most of the course content delivered in topics such as sustainable procurement, sustainability strategy and energy and carbon is directly applicable to other industries. For example, the Embedding Sustainable Procurement course offers a great overview of ISO 20400, the international standard for sustainable procurement, which would be helpful to professionals in any industry. ISO 20400 guidance encompasses environmental considerations such as product life cycles, resource efficiency, pollution prevention, and climate change mitigation and adaptation, and social considerations such as respect for human rights, fair business practices, worker well-being and community engagement and development.
This course is taught by the professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is designed to teach learners how to transform their organization’s climate pledges into actionable strategies through better supply chain management. While the live online course is not currently running, the course materials are available to access and watch for free on edX.
This course from the circular economy experts at the UnSchool teaches learners to bring a systems mindset to reducing the ethical and environmental impacts of an organization’s supply chain. This is one of many offerings from the UnSchool at the intersection of sustainability, design and the circular economy.
This pathway is designed for individuals interested in understanding the complexities of sustainable supply chains and the importance of promoting sustainability within them. These videos are part of a collection of 1,000-plus modules on the Sustainability Unlocked learning platform, which covers a wide variety of corporate sustainability topics.
This course is designed to teach purchasing professionals how to lead procurement initiatives that further major organizational strategic goals relating to sustainability. The Sustainable Procurement Institute also offers a shorter course, Sustainable Procurement Essentials, that teaches these concepts at a higher level for busy contract management, project management and functional managers who are supporting these initiatives.
This online diploma program enables professionals to start a sustainable supply chain strategy, comply with key ESG ratings and reporting standards requirements, support transparency in their supply chains and understand important topics such as the circular economy and sustainable packaging. This is one of almost a dozen offerings in ESG and sustainability training from the Sustainability Academy.
This course is designed to help procurement and sourcing professionals in transitioning their portfolio and business toward sustainability while maintaining high profitability. The four modules provide a step-by-step action plan for the development of a personalized sustainable procurement strategy.
This program comprises three courses designed to prepare students for successful completion of the Certified Sustainable Supply Chain Professional (CSSCP) exam. Students learn how to add sustainable practices to existing supply chains or develop strategies for rebuilding current supply chains with sustainability in mind. You can take all three courses and the exam as a single training experience through the ISCEA site, or you can audit one or more of the individual courses on edX for free. This is one of many supply chain-related offerings from the ISCEA.
This course is an elective within the Certificate in Corporate Citizenship Practice and was designed to help corporate citizenship professionals develop or refresh their company’s corporate social responsibility strategy. Participants learn how to connect with partners throughout the value chain to increase participation in voluntary and reporting programs and improve environmental impacts.
These courses include live lectures, workshops or assignments that have specific due dates, adding a time-sensitive element to the learning experience. They are arranged in order of their start dates.
This workshop teaches enrollees how to interpret and apply the ASCM Supply Chain Sustainability Standards, which cover ethical considerations such as anti-corruption, antitrust, codes of conduct, confidentiality, human rights and labor practices and environmental considerations such as circular economy, climate strategy, energy, water, waste, and product life cycle stewardship. This is part of ASCM’s larger training catalog that includes programs such as the Supply Chain Resilience Certificate, which also incorporates sustainability principles. Workshops are available online or in-person in cities around the world.
This course teaches professionals how to integrate the sustainable procurement guidelines of ISO 20400 at their organization and prepares them for successful completion of the PECB Certified Lead Sustainable Procurement Manager exam, one of several certifications from PECB related to ISO sustainability standards.
This logistics-focused course uses creative business models, integrated supply chain analytics, key performance indicator (KPI) formulations and the latest technology to teach students how to enact meaningful changes in their organizations.
This course teaches learners how to make supply chains climate-resilient, implement sustainable procurement practices and engage cooperatively with stakeholders. The four weekly assignments culminate in a climate action roadmap for an example company’s supply chain.
This comprehensive virtual training and coaching program is designed to equip procurement, supply chain and sustainability professionals with the knowledge, tools and strategic approach they need to develop and reach meaningful greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals. The coaching work supports participants in prioritizing and strategizing action on highly relevant categories and suppliers and culminates in the completion of a Strategic Climate Plan and Supplier Engagement Plan for your organization. While the next full version of the signature course won’t start again until February, a compact edition will be available Oct. 2.
I hope this article has helped you find at least one great new resource to help you incorporate more sustainable supply chain and procurement practices. Remember, if I’ve missed one of your favorites or if you want to tell me about a resource that could be relevant to a future article, please join the conversation on LinkedIn. Until next time!
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