uropean companies see sustainability ascritical success factor for their futureeconomic growth. The environmentalfactor, which previously was of lowpriority, is gaining a whole new meaning, and willenduringly and effectively change the existing logisticsand production networks. BearingPoint's 2011 Supply Chain monitor, with morethan 500 companies joining the survey, has focusedon how the green Supply Chain concept has spreadamong the companies and how it came into realactions and changes. The major outcome of this survey shows that European companies have embarked on the green Supply Chain train to minimise risks and be compliant, but also because they see it as a tremendous opportunity to create value for their activities in the long term. What used to be seen as a constraint is now considered as an opportunity.Below: MatthiasWohlfahrt (L) and YvonDonval (R)SUPPLY CHAIN: SUSTAINABILITY AS ACHANCE FOR GROWTH094SUPPLY CHAINYVON DONVAL, PARTNER, FIRMWIDE SUPPLY CHAIN LEADER, BEARINGPOINTMATTHIAS WOHLFAHRT, SENIOR MANAGER, GREEN SUPPLY CHAIN LEADER, BEARINGPOINTE

GREEN SUPPLY CHAIN: A STRATEGICCHALLENGE FROM PRODUCT DESIGNTO SECOND LIFE Supply Chain strategy is about aligning themanagement of all physical and information flowsbetween partners involved in making a product orservice available to customer, with corporatestrategies. In the past, Supply Chain management wasonly driven by the right balance between costoptimisation and service levels. Nowadays, a thirddimension comes into the game: the environmentalimpact of the Supply Chain. In 2008, green SupplyChain motivation was dominated by environmentalregulations. Two years later, a shift in motivation hascome, with a clear top-down path: corporate image andexecutive board decision are now more important thanregulatory constraints. Green Supply Chain is nowconsidered by a majority of companies as a long-termstrategic challenge.Two combined paths to a sustainable Supply Chainemerge; one being a continuous improvement of theenvironmental footprint of existing activities, thesecond asking the very question of product lifecyclefrom design to second-life, also expressed as "cradle-to-cradle".SUPPLY CHAIN095THE GREEN SUPPLY CHAIN MODELCONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT OF THEENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT: ACLASSICAL CHALLENGE WITH NEWTARGETSIn the recent past, due to the direct link to the endconsumer, CPG and retail companies have been at the forefront of the move. Now more and more B2B companies are starting with green or sustainable. It comes as no surprise then that our survey highlights Logistics Network & Transport optimisation as the most popular way to reduce the Supply Chain environmental footprint. Green manufacturing, aiming to reduce energy and water consumption as well as harmful emissionsand waste production, is key for most of theinterviewed companies. Every increase in energy costs drives the need for such optimisations, and the cost factor remains the key driver, along withregulatory compliance. Applying the Kaizen way of continuous improvementdoes not mean that the changes are easy to drive or notpainful, however they do not challenge the veryfoundations of the Supply Chain.?