Submit an individual report in which you evaluate specific aspects of an industry in depth, reporting on the level of sustainability seen in the present day and making recommendations for future improvements.

Strategies for Sustainable Business Logistics

Assignment Brief

In this item of assessment you are required to submit an individual report in which you evaluate specific aspects of an industry in depth, reporting on the level of sustainability seen in the present day and making recommendations for future improvements.

For the January 2022 instance of the module, the industry under study is the ready-made garment industry: you can select any part of the supply network that produces garments, or footwear, or materials such as the fibres are made into garments. Your work will be a 3,000 word report, submitted via Canvas.

 

Background:

The ready-made garment industry forms an important part of the economy of some nations. It’s a vast, global undertaking… but its operation has accompanied by concerns and even scandals.

From factory disasters and sweatshop conditions to forced labour where cotton is grown; from toxic emissions to the wasteful practices of retailers and consumers… our consumption of garments has a significant impact on society and the natural world.

There is a need for a better understanding of the impacts resulting from the production of garments. Only when this is done on the basis of evidence and good science can policymakers decide upon what parts of the industry to promote, develop and subsidise – and which to tax and discourage.

Your job, in this assignment, is to choose any one part of the supply network for garments and conduct a quantitative analysis, putting this a report to share your findings.

For your quantitative analysis, select an appropriate methodology such as measuring the water footprint, measuring the carbon footprint, etc. It is a key requirement of this assignment that you present original work in which you make calculations on the basis of evidence.

Additional Guidance:

The garment industry as a whole is far too complex for meaningful analysis. Instead, you should focus your attention upon a single facet of the industry where you can offer insights. For example, you might choose to report on the production of fibres, on logistics operations, tanning or dyeing etc. …any aspect you like.Discuss your choice with your tutor if in doubt.

The aim is to produce a worked example, using reasonable assumptions, to assess the environmental harm arising from the production (or harvesting, or processing) of the item(s) you have chosen. This may be a calculation of contrbution to climate change, or some other quantifiable mode of harm such as water use, worker safety, toxic emissions etc.

You should provide an overview of the organisations (or types of organisation) that work in the supply network for your chosen item, define appropriate boundaries for your study and discuss the practices that take place, presenting evidence and reasoning such that you quantify the impacts of supply chain activities.

Conduct original analysis using appropriate tools and methodologies. You might, for example, apply a life cycle assessment methodology such as PAS2050, using published conversion factors as a basis for your calculations, e.g. estimating carbon footprint based on the weight of an item, the distance and the modes of transport employed. Use the academic literature to find additional evidence of quantified economic, environmental and/or social harm.

Having reported this information, propose and justify a new strategy for the supply network: ideally a creative solution that changes such factors as the business model, the configuration of the supply network or the specification of key products of services.

Cite the sources that gave you information about the sector as a whole, and about your chosen commodity. Use evidence to construct reasoned arguments that lead to workable solutions.

Suggested Structure:

A recommended structure for your report follows. You can depart from these recommendations if you wish, but be sure to structure your report logically, and to cover all requested elements. Use numbered sections, with decimals for subsections.

Ideally, your report will include the following:

A brief Introduction to the report, stating its purpose. (Do not expend too many words on descriptive writing and context-setting – but be sure to justify the material or component that you have chosen to study.)

Application of a tool or methodology to evaluate the sources of harm arising within the supply network for your selected material or component type.

Interpretation and discussion of the results of your analysis.

Recommendations for how the supply network can be improved, reducing or eliminating the sources of harm that you have identified. Identify any policies that should be enacted to ensure compliance, perhaps by the companies purchasing the item(s) or by government.

Include a brief conclusion to the report.

Add a list of Harvard references. Ideally, you will have cited 15+ sources within the text. This section does not count towards your word limit for the assignment.

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