Certifiable: How Businesses Operationalize Responsible Sourcing
Chris Van Bergen, Wiley, 2023

There can be no doubt that global supply chains are undergoing great transformation – by myriad forces both within and outside of our control. From the impact of Covid-19, trade wars, real wars and materials shortages to digitalisation and sustainability focused drivers, the networks, systems, costs and approaches to supply chain management are changing fundamentally. As the rules are being rewritten, what better time to embed responsible sourcing to create the more reliable, agile and ultimately more sustainable supply chains of the future?

In Certifiable: How Businesses Operationalize Responsible Sourcing, Chris Van Bergen tackles the subject of creating, implementing and auditing transformative, socially responsible sourcing practices, whilst at the same time safeguarding sustainable competitive advantage.

With extensive experience in corporate social responsibility, author Van Bergen is a supply chain transparency expert and adjunct professor at the New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business. He is also CFO and COO at US-based non-profit, Nest, through which he developed the Ethical Handcraft programme.

In Certifiable, Van Bergen interviews a number of business leaders in a variety of industries to explore the impact of corporate finance, Covid-19, shifting consumer attitudes and demographics, and information sharing policies on supply chain transparency and transformation. He also examines the history of supply chain transparency, the creation of standards and development of auditing, looks at the work that goes on behind the scenes in responsible sourcing, and goes on to tackle more recent phenomena including greenwashing and woke washing. In a separate chapter, he puts Unilever and Patagonia under the microscope, to examine the brand values that make these two companies such a success.

Readers of this magazine will be particularly interested to read the chapter ‘Wake-Up Calls: The Dual Disasters of Rana Plaza and Covid-19’, at the beginning of which Van Bergen quotes the Dalai Lama: “There is a saying in Tibetan. Tragedy should be utilised as a source of strength. No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that’s our real disaster” – a sentiment that will surely resonate with all those who are interested in learning from the mistakes of the past to build a brighter, more resilient future.

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