Can you imagine buying jeans that come with their own travel documents? Target has introduced a system to enhance product traceability for reuse and repair by embedding Digital Product Passports (DPPs) into 35 million items from its Universal Thread apparel line. These QR codes, printed on tags near the brand label, allow consumers to access details about materials, manufacturing, care instructions, and options for resale or recycling. The initiative aligns with Target’s goal of designing all its brands for an extended usability and circular future by 2040.
In today’s global economy, a product’s journey from raw material to consumer is often long, complex, and hard to trace, but with some effort, journalists can start putting the pieces together to assist readers in making informed decisions about their purchases.
Why does the supply chain matter?
A company’s supply chain encompasses everything from sourcing raw materials and manufacturing to logistics, transportation, and distribution. Ideally, this chain will incorporate the so-called circular economy: reduce, reuse, recycle, or recover – extending the life of products, as in Target’s case.
Supply chains have real-world impacts at the social, economic, and environmental levels. Socially, they can include unethical labor practices, human rights violations, and harm to local communities. Economically, any disruptions or inefficiencies in the system can lead to significant financial losses and reputational damage. And at the environmental level, these activities and supply chain systems have an impact through greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, pollution, and resource depletion. As climate change accelerates and global temperatures rise, governments, businesses, and investors are growing more concerned about the environmental impact of business activities.
Supply chain operations significantly contribute to a company’s carbon footprint. According to a 2024 report on the “State of Supply Chain Sustainability,” they account for an average of 75% of a company’s total emissions, classified as Scope 3 emissions under the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol.
Understanding a company’s supply chain provides a clearer picture of its impact. As pressure increases from investors, regulators, non-governmental organizations (NGO), and climate-conscious consumers, transparency and sustainability in supply chains have become crucial factors in evaluating corporate responsibility and long-term business viability.
This led to the emergence of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting, following a 2004 landmark report by the United Nations Global Compact titled “Who Cares Wins.”
Company reports on ESG demonstrate how they manage risks and contribute to sustainable development. Investor expectations, regulatory requirements, consumer demand, and public scrutiny increasingly drive these disclosures. The purpose is to ensure accountability, support responsible investment, and provide stakeholders with the information needed to assess a company’s long-term value and resilience in a changing world.
Why should journalists cover supply chains?
Journalists play a critical role in verifying sustainability claims, tracking progress, and holding companies accountable. Media reports frequently follow investigations by NGOs like Fashion Revolution, which found that 53% of major fashion brands lack decarbonization plans.
Journalists can investigate how companies respond and whether partnerships, such as Nestlé’s with the Rainforest Alliance, truly benefit communities and ecosystems.
Tracing sustainable supply chains poses challenges, but innovation is providing new opportunities. Blockchain enhances product traceability, allowing consumers and journalists to track products’ journeys more transparently. Artificial intelligence (AI) improves logistics and minimizes waste, and the circular economy revolutionizes how we produce and consume.
Sustainability software and consulting firms such as Sphera offer valuable tools, data, and expertise to assist companies in achieving their supply chain objectives.
How to find supply chain information?
When looking for a company’s supply chain information, it can be helpful to start with any company-provided sustainability sources. These are often publicly available on corporate websites, such as the Coca-Cola Company’s 2023 Environmental Update, or a report by the Marubeni Corporation, which offers detailed data on the company organized by supply chain activity.
Another example is Rivian, an electric vehicle company, which states it is focused on “accurately accounting for the comprehensive impact of our business through transparent impact reporting.” Transparent reporting means that the company has consistently shared carbon reports and policies about its entire value chain publicly on its website, through what it calls an “impact library.”
The CarbonSuite website is also a valuable resource. It provides links to the supplier sustainability policies of several of the largest U.S. and international companies, helping journalists and researchers identify corporate commitments and track implementation.
NGOs and industry initiatives pushing for transparency
The next place for journalists to look is NGOs or industry groups, as many conduct research, survey supply chains, and work directly with suppliers to assess environmental and social impacts, especially for commodities such as cocoa, palm oil, copper, water, and fossil fuels.
For example, the Rainforest Alliance certifies over half of the global cocoa supply and partners with brands like Nestlé and Hershey to promote regenerative farming. The organization has launched a supply chain risk assessment tool for commodities such as cocoa, coffee, tea, and palm oil.
Wild Asia, a social enterprise based in Asia, works with companies and communities to enhance environmental practices and has conducted supply chain risk assessments for brands such as Cargill, HSBC, and Nestlé.
Other industry-led programs offer benchmarks, certifications, and tools to assess sustainability in many industries, such as:
- Electronics: Responsible Business Alliance (RBA)
- Fashion: Cascale (formerly Sustainable Apparel Coalition), Textile Exchange
- Mining/Metals: Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA)
- Shipping/Logistics: Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC)
These organizations can be valuable resources for journalists looking for industry sustainability performance.
Official government disclosure platforms
Finally, journalists can also turn to official public disclosures to find supply chain emissions data to investigate and information on a company’s supply chain sustainability.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has mandated that starting in 2026, companies must disclose specific climate-related risks and emissions in their 10-K filings, which will be accessible to the public through the SEC’s EDGAR database.
In the European Union, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) requires companies to disclose sustainability information in their annual management reports, which must be published on company websites. This aligns ESG data with financial reporting under EU law.
But in a sign that journalists still have their work cut out for them, the SEC and EU have both backed down from requiring companies to disclose their indirect emissions, such as from their supply chain and customers’ use of their products.
