During the past twenty-five years, global trade has been transformed by highly sophisticated supply chains, through which firms could efficiently produce and procure all sorts of goods and materials. As concerns about sustainability and ESG goals have become the norm, companies are being forced to reconsider some of their business practices and investors have started to favour greener portfolios. Yet, some companies (e.g. SMEs) are not well equipped to shift towards better sustainable practices as quickly or as boldly as their larger partners, which risks incurring in efficiency losses and therefore, further supply chain disruption.

Digital transformation and big data can play a pivotal role in driving up ESG compliance and resilience. On this event we look at the current state and future prospects for companies with direct ties to the supply chain apparatus, as pressure for improved performance and ESG-compliance continues to mount. Especially in international trade, some of the ESG principles are presenting thorny challenges for business leaders, as alternatives to certain core parts of the business are limited (e.g. fuel).

This session is part of our new programme, CSCO Foresight, designed for Chief Supply Chain Officers and senior professionals with supply chain roles from companies within The Economist Intelligence Corporate Network.

Sponsored by Accenture:

Accenture's global team of experts in end-to-end digital supply chain transformation work together at speed to help companies build future-ready intelligent supply chains that create change and drive value.

Time:

9am - South Africa

11am - Dubai

12.30pm - India

3pm - China / Hong Kong / Singapore / Malaysia

4pm - Japan / South Korea

5pm - Sydney, Australia

7pm - New Zealand