Supply Chain Management Supply Chain Management Sustainability 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does the term 'green supply chain management' (GSCM) primarily focus on?
- Reducing environmental impact across all supply chain activities (Correct answer)
- Increasing profit margins through cost-cutting
- Expanding into international markets
- Automating warehouse operations
Correct answer: Reducing environmental impact across all supply chain activities
Green supply chain management integrates environmental thinking into all supply chain processes, from design and sourcing to end-of-life disposal.
Question 2: Which concept refers to designing products so that materials can be recovered and reused at the end of their life cycle?
- Linear economy
- Circular economy (Correct answer)
- Demand-driven economy
- Closed-bid economy
Correct answer: Circular economy
A circular economy model emphasizes keeping materials in use as long as possible through reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling rather than discarding them.
Question 3: What is 'reverse logistics' in the context of sustainability?
- Shipping products to overseas markets
- Moving goods backward through the supply chain for reuse, recycling, or disposal (Correct answer)
- Automating outbound shipment processes
- Reversing supplier contracts to reduce cost
Correct answer: Moving goods backward through the supply chain for reuse, recycling, or disposal
Reverse logistics manages the return flow of products from consumers back to manufacturers or recyclers to recover value or ensure proper disposal.
Question 4: Which US regulation requires companies to disclose conflict minerals used in their products?
- OSHA 1910 Standard
- Dodd-Frank Act Section 1502 (Correct answer)
- EPA Clean Air Act
- Sarbanes-Oxley Act Section 404
Correct answer: Dodd-Frank Act Section 1502
Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act requires SEC-reporting companies to disclose if their products contain conflict minerals sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo region.
Question 5: What is a carbon footprint in supply chain management?
- The total land area used by warehouses
- The total greenhouse gas emissions generated by supply chain operations (Correct answer)
- The cost of carbon-based raw materials
- The physical footprint of manufacturing plants
Correct answer: The total greenhouse gas emissions generated by supply chain operations
A supply chain carbon footprint measures all greenhouse gas emissions expressed as CO2 equivalents across sourcing, manufacturing, transportation, and distribution activities.
Question 6: Which sustainability certification evaluates a supplier's environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance?
- ISO 9001
- SA8000
- EcoVadis (Correct answer)
- Six Sigma Black Belt
Correct answer: EcoVadis
EcoVadis is a globally recognized platform that rates companies on their sustainability performance across environment, labor, ethics, and sustainable procurement dimensions.
What does the term 'green supply chain management' (GSCM) primarily focus on?