Diving into Supply Chain Sustainability

DIVING INTO SUPPLY CHAIN SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability in supply chain operations has been a critical focus in business due to high carbon emissions, resource usage and costs associated with supply chains.

It also is of interest to CMU Honors student Mary Selasky, a double major in logistics management and purchasing and supply management. While exploring topics for her senior capstone project, Selasky was drawn to research related to her field of study and her interest in sustainable business operations, which is why she identified GreenToken by SAP as a technology solution she wanted to study.

Mary Selasky (Left) and Adam Stone (Right) working in the SAP NextGen Lab.

“GreenToken is a blockchain solution by SAP that is designed to help companies improve visibility into carbon emissions by increasing transparency and traceability, enabling them to achieve their sustainability goals,” said Business Information Systems Professor Vishal Shah.

In addition to receiving support from faculty advisors and access to test environments and training by managers at SAP, Selasky partnered with Dow in Midland, Michigan.

“I am extremely grateful to leaders at Dow who helped provide a greater perspective on their sustainability goals and how they want to leverage technology to achieve those goals,” Selasky said. “I was able to examine how GreenToken could help Dow and other chemical companies meet International Sustainability and Carbon Certification standards and improve product sustainability.”

At the end of the project, Selasky presented her findings to key leaders at Dow.

“We are not going to make this world better, at the rate we need to, without digital solutions or the skills today’s students will need to apply,” said Melanie Kalmar, Dow’s Chief Information Officer and Chief Digital Officer. “Collaboration is critical in assessing possible solutions. Mary’s research was instrumental in helping Dow understand how GreenToken enables circularity and provides transparent reporting, while also including the challenges we may face when implementing this solution.”

Providing relevant applied learning opportunities for students through collaboration between corporations and higher education significantly increases the impact on students.

“This experience had a profound impact on my education at CMU and provided me with the knowledge and experience to prepare me to make an immediate impact in my career,” Selasky said.