Unisource’s Sustainability Scorecard Program has its foundation in Walmart’s Sustainability Scorecard, which is generally acknowledged as the leading tool of its kind in the area of corporate sustainability. (The Walmart tool was formally adopted in May of this year, but Unisource had been using a less sophisticated scorecard since 2009.)
The scorecard consists of 15 questions, grouped into four categories: Energy & Climate; Material Efficiency; Nature & Resources; and People & Community. By answering these questions, and providing supporting documentation, Unisource’s paper, packaging, and facilities-maintenance-supply vendors offer up a comprehensive picture of their environmental performance. Points are awarded based on how the supplier's response to each question aligns with the company's performance criteria.
Unisource has added its own twist to the Walmart scorecard through the provision of “innovation credits,” essentially bonus points that a supplier can earn by a number of means, including reporting its carbon inventory to the Carbon Disclosure Project, constructing and operating in green-certified buildings, investing in renewable energy, partnering with environmental NGOs, and earning sustainability awards. Unisource’s scorecard is structured to encourage suppliers to go into great detail about their sustainability initiatives, including such things as fiber sourcing. This information will be added to the Unisource database that tracks the source of fiber in the paper and packaging products it distributes.(Unisource is the only distributor to maintain such a database, according to Nancy Geisler, Unisource Worldwide’s VP of Sustainability.)
The 2010 Supplier Scorecard program closes at the end of the year, but, Geisler says, 100% of the company’s supply base have already agreed to participate.
Geisler notes that the Unisource scorecard is intended to be a “simple but effective tool” to drive improvement in supply chain sustainability. “We want this to be motivational,” she told WhatTheyThink | Going Green, “We don’t want to bang anyone over the head.”
Once a completed sustainability scorecard is submitted to Unisource, it goes through a three-step grading process. During the first grading pass (which happens this month), Geisler will review each scorecard to indentify gaps in the information provided. Unisource category managers will then contact each supplier to report the initial score, note what information is lacking, and suggest ways that the supplier can improve its score. No supplier ranking information will be disclosed during the initial grading phase, but companies will be informed if they are meeting Unisource’s performance target, going above and beyond the standard, or failing to meet the target.
During the second grading phase (scheduled for October), the revised scorecards will be evaluated and the first “official scores” will be reported to suppliers along with their ranking relative to other suppliers. Suppliers will then have until the end of the year to improve their performance and report back with supporting documentation or information about newly implemented initiatives.
The year-end scorecards will be given a third evaluation in January, 2011, and final “report cards” will be issued to the supply base. Unisource intends to make a point of publicly recognizing those suppliers that outperform its standards, providing both accolades for a job well done and an incentive for continuous improvement.
A short video about the Unisource Sustainability Scorecard is available on the company’s website. (Note: Website registration is required.)
Commentary & Analysis
Unisource Scorecard Program Helps Suppliers Make the Grade
Scorecards are nothing new - they've been used to see how corporations and products stack up on everything from responsible fiber sourcing to carbon footprint. Sometimes, a report card is all you get. But Norcross, GA- based Unisource Worldwide is using a scorecard program to move its entire supply chain toward greater sustainability.
The use of scorecards is nothing new. A host of environmental NGOs has been using the scorecard technique to see how corporations and products stack up on everything from responsible fiber sourcing to carbon footprint. In some cases, these scorecards are used to generate a public “report card” on corporate performance (and on the willingness of a company to take part in the scorecard program), and that is as far as it goes. But Norcross, GA- based Unisource Worldwide is using its industry-standard supplier scorecard as a tool to help move its entire supply chain toward greater environmental and social responsibility.
Unisource’s Sustainability Scorecard Program has its foundation in Walmart’s Sustainability Scorecard, which is generally acknowledged as the leading tool of its kind in the area of corporate sustainability. (The Walmart tool was formally adopted in May of this year, but Unisource had been using a less sophisticated scorecard since 2009.)
The scorecard consists of 15 questions, grouped into four categories: Energy & Climate; Material Efficiency; Nature & Resources; and People & Community. By answering these questions, and providing supporting documentation, Unisource’s paper, packaging, and facilities-maintenance-supply vendors offer up a comprehensive picture of their environmental performance. Points are awarded based on how the supplier's response to each question aligns with the company's performance criteria.
Unisource has added its own twist to the Walmart scorecard through the provision of “innovation credits,” essentially bonus points that a supplier can earn by a number of means, including reporting its carbon inventory to the Carbon Disclosure Project, constructing and operating in green-certified buildings, investing in renewable energy, partnering with environmental NGOs, and earning sustainability awards. Unisource’s scorecard is structured to encourage suppliers to go into great detail about their sustainability initiatives, including such things as fiber sourcing. This information will be added to the Unisource database that tracks the source of fiber in the paper and packaging products it distributes.(Unisource is the only distributor to maintain such a database, according to Nancy Geisler, Unisource Worldwide’s VP of Sustainability.)
The 2010 Supplier Scorecard program closes at the end of the year, but, Geisler says, 100% of the company’s supply base have already agreed to participate.
Geisler notes that the Unisource scorecard is intended to be a “simple but effective tool” to drive improvement in supply chain sustainability. “We want this to be motivational,” she told WhatTheyThink | Going Green, “We don’t want to bang anyone over the head.”
Once a completed sustainability scorecard is submitted to Unisource, it goes through a three-step grading process. During the first grading pass (which happens this month), Geisler will review each scorecard to indentify gaps in the information provided. Unisource category managers will then contact each supplier to report the initial score, note what information is lacking, and suggest ways that the supplier can improve its score. No supplier ranking information will be disclosed during the initial grading phase, but companies will be informed if they are meeting Unisource’s performance target, going above and beyond the standard, or failing to meet the target.
During the second grading phase (scheduled for October), the revised scorecards will be evaluated and the first “official scores” will be reported to suppliers along with their ranking relative to other suppliers. Suppliers will then have until the end of the year to improve their performance and report back with supporting documentation or information about newly implemented initiatives.
The year-end scorecards will be given a third evaluation in January, 2011, and final “report cards” will be issued to the supply base. Unisource intends to make a point of publicly recognizing those suppliers that outperform its standards, providing both accolades for a job well done and an incentive for continuous improvement.
A short video about the Unisource Sustainability Scorecard is available on the company’s website. (Note: Website registration is required.)
Unisource’s Sustainability Scorecard Program has its foundation in Walmart’s Sustainability Scorecard, which is generally acknowledged as the leading tool of its kind in the area of corporate sustainability. (The Walmart tool was formally adopted in May of this year, but Unisource had been using a less sophisticated scorecard since 2009.)
The scorecard consists of 15 questions, grouped into four categories: Energy & Climate; Material Efficiency; Nature & Resources; and People & Community. By answering these questions, and providing supporting documentation, Unisource’s paper, packaging, and facilities-maintenance-supply vendors offer up a comprehensive picture of their environmental performance. Points are awarded based on how the supplier's response to each question aligns with the company's performance criteria.
Unisource has added its own twist to the Walmart scorecard through the provision of “innovation credits,” essentially bonus points that a supplier can earn by a number of means, including reporting its carbon inventory to the Carbon Disclosure Project, constructing and operating in green-certified buildings, investing in renewable energy, partnering with environmental NGOs, and earning sustainability awards. Unisource’s scorecard is structured to encourage suppliers to go into great detail about their sustainability initiatives, including such things as fiber sourcing. This information will be added to the Unisource database that tracks the source of fiber in the paper and packaging products it distributes.(Unisource is the only distributor to maintain such a database, according to Nancy Geisler, Unisource Worldwide’s VP of Sustainability.)
The 2010 Supplier Scorecard program closes at the end of the year, but, Geisler says, 100% of the company’s supply base have already agreed to participate.
Geisler notes that the Unisource scorecard is intended to be a “simple but effective tool” to drive improvement in supply chain sustainability. “We want this to be motivational,” she told WhatTheyThink | Going Green, “We don’t want to bang anyone over the head.”
Once a completed sustainability scorecard is submitted to Unisource, it goes through a three-step grading process. During the first grading pass (which happens this month), Geisler will review each scorecard to indentify gaps in the information provided. Unisource category managers will then contact each supplier to report the initial score, note what information is lacking, and suggest ways that the supplier can improve its score. No supplier ranking information will be disclosed during the initial grading phase, but companies will be informed if they are meeting Unisource’s performance target, going above and beyond the standard, or failing to meet the target.
During the second grading phase (scheduled for October), the revised scorecards will be evaluated and the first “official scores” will be reported to suppliers along with their ranking relative to other suppliers. Suppliers will then have until the end of the year to improve their performance and report back with supporting documentation or information about newly implemented initiatives.
The year-end scorecards will be given a third evaluation in January, 2011, and final “report cards” will be issued to the supply base. Unisource intends to make a point of publicly recognizing those suppliers that outperform its standards, providing both accolades for a job well done and an incentive for continuous improvement.
A short video about the Unisource Sustainability Scorecard is available on the company’s website. (Note: Website registration is required.)
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