Before starting this class I had little knowledge on the green supply chain. I have taken multiple environmental classes in high school but those classes never mentioned the business side. I feel recently the concept of a green supply chain has gained more attention from businesses as people are beginning to see the outcome of unsustainable habits. A green supply chain refers to the integration of eco-friendly practices and initiatives throughout the entire supply chain. This includes sourcing raw materials and proper product disposal. The goals of a green supply chain is to minimize environmental impact, protect resources, and encourage environmentally sustainable habits. It was disappointing to learn how harmful a company’s supply chain can be on our planet. When going down each process in a company’s supply chain there is a great amount of unnecessary waste that is accumulated. Often this waste is single use and never disposed of correctly. 

Green washing was an interesting topic I never knew about. Essentially greenwashing is when a company lies about claiming they are taking part in environmental friendly actions. It is a way to promote their business and make people want to choose them because they are “sustainable”. I feel it is a totally unethical concept that will only hurt the company more when they get exposed for being untruthful. 

I learned about a certain type of supply chain management, a forward supply chain. A forward supply chain emphasizes on the flow of goods from the supplier to the customer. The process ensures that the correct product is being delivered to the right customer at the right time. Forward supply chain is a more linear and less complex process of producing goods and services. Reverse logistics is the opposite of a forward supply chain. It is the supply chain management that moves goods from customers back to the seller/manufacturer. An example of this would be a customer processing a return. Reverse logistics is a more difficult process which I did not know. I often return things through amazon so it was interesting to learn the complexity of a return and how it is completed. 

Furthermore, I learned the evolution of the traditional 3 R’s. I found it fascinating that the 3 R’s I grew up knowing are now not the most efficient way to be sustainable. Remanufacturing is now being introduced. Remanufacturing a method of remaking a product to its original requirements utilizing a combination of new, repaired, and old parts. greece