Oritain Take Centre Stage at Verdantix Sustainability Summit in Brussels

Oritain delivered the keynote speech and shared a special panel discussion at the recent Sustainable Supply Chain Summit Europe hosted by analyst house Verdantix.

Held in Brussels, Belgium on October 10, 2024, the summit was designed to help organizations embed sustainability into their supply chain operations to enable long term business success.

The event attracted more than 150 people in the supply chain and procurement space, including senior executives from the fashion and apparel, food and beverage, and automotive industries.

As Title Sponsor of the event, Oritain took a leadership position in raising awareness of the importance of transparency, traceability, and resilience in developing future-focused supply chains.

The contingent of Oritain’s senior leaders and specialists in attendance reflected the importance of Oritain’s services to address wider issues of sustainability in business. Oritain’s profile was significant at the event, delivering the keynote presentation, featuring on a special panel discussion, and hosting attendees at the Oritain booth.

 

Engagement and transparency top themes

The summit featured a series of sessions covering a range of topics related to supply chain sustainability, but issues concerning climate, mapping, circularity, traceability, and ESG were common threads throughout.

One of the key themes addressed was supplier risk management and engagement. Speakers believed that supplier engagement isn’t just about keeping track of what your partners are doing on the ground – it also requires building long-term, collaborative relationships that lead to better outcomes for everyone.

Speakers also reinforced the necessity for a transparent end-to-end value chain. Having transparency beyond simply the closest tier one suppliers was essential to avoid the penalties associated with regulatory noncompliance.

In the current age of increasing environmental and social regulation, speakers affirmed the importance for businesses in fully understanding the processes and actions of their suppliers – both upstream and downstream.

Another key theme concerned data validation and traceability. Attendees spoke of the importance of having sufficient reporting mechanisms in place for businesses to accurately monitor their environmental footprint and the impact of operational improvements introduced. Traceability systems which verified the origin of products and their journey through the supply chain were an important tool in supporting this reporting.

 

 

Revitalizing the supply chain in keynote presentation

The summit’s keynote was delivered by Oritain’s Chief Revenue Officer, Frank Brilliant, and Senior Science Advisor, Dr Kate Jones. Together they presented an enthralling and insightful session on ‘Revitalizing the Supply Chain: Integrating Sustainability, Resilience and Transparency in the Modern Era’.

The duo’s presentation discussed the issues surrounding supply chain transparency and showed how sustainability can be embedded into supply chain operations.

A key focus area was the importance of moving from traditional to sustainable supply chains, recognizing that traditional models are fragile and susceptible to risk.

“Part of the solution is to build more informed, collaborative partnerships with your suppliers,” explained Frank. “Setting clear expectations of what you expect from them, providing support to enable this, and conducting regular training to keep their staff upskilled and compliant.

“But it also comes from introducing an ongoing traceability program that provides oversight of where your raw materials are sourced from and delivers assurance that they’re free of association with forced labor, deforestation, or other such practices.”

The presentation was extremely well-received by the event’s large, attentive audience.

 

 

Addressing complexity and change on panel discussion

Oritain also appeared on a panel discussion, represented by Oscar German, Senior Vice President Commercialization & Strategy, alongside sustainability leaders and a Verdantix industry analyst.

The panel topic was the rather tongue-twistingly titled ‘Navigating the Symbiotic Relationship Between Supply Chain & Sustainability to Ensure Compliance, Guarantee Resiliency & Achieve Commercial Success’.

Panelists addressed such issues as how to manage the increased complexity in supply chain operations given uncertainties around sustainability regulations such as the CSDDD, how to use supplier data to showcase sustainability achievements, and how to anticipate future changes to stay ahead of the game.

The panel wrapped up a highly successful event which helped to bring the value of origin verification and sustainability to the fore.

 

See a list of all coming events Oritain are appearing at and contact us about scheduling an in-person meeting on our Events page.