Every business and organization has an impact on the environment, society, and the economy. For responsible organizations seeking to address sustainability issues in a positive manner, procurement is a powerful and effective tool. Through sustainable procurement policies and practices, procurement practices can modify the potential impacts of their activities throughout the entire life cycle and strive to minimize adverse impacts, contributing to the achievement of sustainable development goals. Therefore, the supply chain plays a crucial role, and effective supply chain management is crucial to enhancing an organization's competitiveness. Beyond quality and cost considerations, supply chain sustainability practices are also a key consideration in supplier management. To strengthen supply chain sustainability, institutional approaches are necessary. Beyond establishing a Supplier Management Code, coupled with mechanisms such as evaluations and satisfaction surveys, suppliers must sign a relevant "commitment letter" to jointly advance towards sustainable development. The recent coronavirus pandemic has severely impacted the operations and economic development of organizations worldwide. Besides the tourism and aviation industries, which have been hardest hit, other global industries have been more profoundly impacted by supply chain disruptions, such as the semiconductor chip shortage. Therefore, how to manage and transform supply chains towards sustainability has become one of the most critical issues facing organizations today. In the past, supply chain management typically began with establishing a "supplier management" mechanism, encompassing the following: New supplier surveys. Written and on-site supplier reviews. Supplier screening and grading. Supplier quality assurance system audits. Supplier performance evaluation systems. Today, driven by the growing trend toward sustainability, supplier management has expanded to include the following considerations: Optimizing the supplier selection process. Identifying key suppliers. Corporate sustainability and social responsibility audits. Supplier process quality audits. Management systems are established and monitored in accordance with relevant international standards. Commonly used international standards include: Value Chain Management (VCM) Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) Business Environmental Performance Initiative (BEPI) Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainable Procurement Guidelines (ISO 20400:2017) United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Organizations typically implement the following approaches to address these standards: Procurement of raw materials that adhere to environmental protection, animal welfare, and prioritize the use of agricultural products from sustainable sources, and provide guidance to raw material suppliers on establishing corresponding sustainable management philosophies. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosure of suppliers' sustainable management practices. Annually increasing the proportion of key sustainable suppliers. Sustainable supply chain management extends to ESG issues such as environmental protection, social co-prosperity, and corporate governance. Labor rights, health and safety, environmental protection, business ethics, and management systems are all included in supplier selection and audit criteria, as shown in Table 1. Table 1 Supplier Selection and Audit Criteria Future directions for promoting international supply chain sustainability codes of conduct are as follows: 1. Leveraging green procurement principles to encourage supply chain engagement in sustainable development. SDGs 8 (Good Work and Economic Growth) and 12 (Ensuring Sustainable Consumption and Production) will be established as long-term implementation targets. 2. Balancing customer needs and green design, collaborating with upstream and downstream supply chains aims to enhance the overall supply chain's technological and competitiveness through the development of new materials, processes, technologies, and applications, thereby fulfilling the principles of corporate social responsibility and sustainable development. 3. Leveraging digital technology for global supply chain collaboration, we will develop stable partnerships with suppliers, fostering effective communication and collaboration to achieve win-win outcomes, emphasizing risk and benefit sharing. 4. Build the capabilities of sustainable supply chain members, focusing on four aspects: assessment, coaching, communication, and collaboration. Assist suppliers to continuously improve their competitiveness and conduct risk assessments on suppliers, using quality, cost, delivery, service, technology, and sustainable management as evaluation criteria. 5. Leverage organizational influence to promote the formulation of carbon reduction targets and carbon neutrality plans within the supply chain, implement these plans, and review progress. 6. Continuously strengthen supplier resilience to ensure uninterrupted operations and implement projects related to supplier co-growth to create a sustainable supply chain. References 1. ASE Group Supplier Code of Conduct URL: https://ase.aseglobal.com/ch/supplier/supply_chain_development_policy__coc 2. ISO 20400:2017 3. The pandemic has highlighted new challenges for businesses: sustainable governance and supply chain management URL: https://cgc.twse.com.tw/latestNews/promoteNewsArticleCh/3861
