Identify and map your product value chain
By Ann-Christin Pålsson, Ellen Riise, Johan Widheden, Johan Tivander & Ulrika Palme
The first step of working with sustainability in your value chain is to identify and map your chain:
- What role does your company play for your suppliers and customers in the value chain
- Who are your suppliers and what does their upstream chain look like?
- Who are your customers and customers’ customers and /or consumers?
- How are your products handled at the end of life and by whom?
In practice, the identification of the value chain can be done by following the flows of materials and energy both upstream and downstream, i.e. follow the production of raw materials used in your product upstream to your suppliers, and follow the use and end of life of your product downstream from you. Each company / product / flow of material in the chain plays a role for the receiving company and risks and opportunities can be identified by mapping the flows and actors in the chain.
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a useful tool in mapping the flows of your supply chain. An overview and introduction to this tool is available in the Getting started guide section of this website.
