Sustainable supply chains research
Effective supply chains are essential to the operation of the global economy – and our research reflects the diversity of challenges we face.
From basic food commodities, fast moving consumer goods in the retail economy, critical pharmaceutical supplies to strategically important industrial goods, all of these sectors are reliant on international supply chains.
Our research covers all aspects of supply chains and is addressing issue such as the risks of modern slavery and contemporary food supply chains. We carry out supply chain and network analysis, with ethical and sustainable supply being a strong theme.
We are providing solutions to real-world business problems, seeking ways to improve operations, logistics and supply chain management process.
Raising standards in the construction industry
Professor Thomas Chesney and Dr Alexander Trautrims, have employed a variety of research methods to raise procurement standards in the construction industry.
Dr Trautrims’ research into supply chains investigated how to identify and minimise the slavery risks in supply chains, sustainable purchasing and procurement practices. His findings included recommendations for mapping the supply chain, assessing it for the risk of modern slavery, including antislavery measures in contracts, and auditing of managerial systems.
In 2015, the Supply Chain Sustainability School (SCSS) - a membership organisation for UK construction companies - established a special interest group on modern slavery. As a member of this group, Dr Trautrims contributed to the development of procurement guidance and training materials for the industry.
This included advice for procurement professionals on how to identify slavery risk and the auditing and management of supply chains. Since its implementation in 2016, the guidance has been used by companies to help them introduce modern slavery policies, or to inform and update their procedures. For example, one of the UK’s largest water and wastewater companies used the guidance to change how it screens suppliers and assesses their level of risk.
The Supply Chain Sustainability School has assessed the impact of the guidance over the last three years, and has found that over 65% of its members have raised their awareness of modern slavery practices. In 2018, Dr Trautrims again worked with the Supply Chain Sustainability School, contributing to the development of the People Matter Charter, which aims to raise standard in construction. Signatories pledge to meeting the standards outlined in the Charter and provide annual evidence of its impact on their supply chain.
Supporting transitions to better food systems
Consumer disconnect to food creates a system where the production of ‘cheap’ food is unchallenged and food waste continues to increase. There is a lack of easily accessible consumer information on food provenance as well as a lack of access to healthy food. Dr Anne Touboulic’s work on food poverty in the UK has highlighted the importance of education as a key component in the development of effective approaches to transitioning to more healthy diets. Based on the findings, and with the support of ESRC Impact Accelerator Account funding, the platform inclusivefood.org aims to engage and reconnect the public to questions of food provenance, agriculture and farming.
Dr Touboulic aims to drive change for nature-friendly and equitable food supply chains, and to influence policy with regards to the future of farming in the UK. She has worked on multiple projects focused on raising public awareness of and engagement with everyday food items, engaging young people with questions of food justice and climate, and encouraging representatives from across the food industry to work together to co-create stories of the future of food.
Together with a team of academics from the Universities of Nottingham and Bristol, Dr Touboulic is working on the development of the Circular Agriculture Hub. This digital hub will allow farmers to connect with new users of their surplus to reduce food waste, create new valorisation opportunities, and address issues of food inequality and food insecurity in local communities.
Establishing Modern Slavery Risk Assessment and Due Diligence in Adult Social Care
This project was facilitated by Dr Caroline Emberson of the Rights Lab and Nottingham University Business School’s Operations Management and Information Systems department. Working in collaboration with representatives from the Local Government Association, and social care teams from East Ridings, Nottinghamshire County and Portsmouth City Councils, Caroline produced guidelines to support the development of modern slavery risk assessment and due diligence procedures in English local authorities commissioning adult social care services.
The impact from Dr Emberson’s work in this area includes:
- a recommendation from the Health and Social Care Select Committee that local authorities introduce due diligence procedures to address modern slavery risk in their adult social care services
- acceptance of this recommendation by the UK Government in March 2023
- a webinar hosted by the Local Government Association and attended by 180 local authority representatives to promote the publication of the guidelines in October 2023
- expansion of the workshop process to address challenges in the construction sector
