Integration of sustainability principles into supply chain management processes and practices

The special issue was motivated by the unyielding speed of business activities organized into supply chains to take advantages of rapid globalization. These supply chains have led to enhanced shareholder values by the way of streamlining their business processes with the objectives of reducing response times, eliminating non-value added activities, reducing costs, improving flexibility, improving customer satisfaction, increasing profits, and deriving a host of other ripple effects. While we have seen the benefits to organizations shore up due to supply chains, we have seen deterioration in managing supply chains to conserve our environment, protect vulnerable sections of our societies, create even playing fields for organizations to compete across countries, value dignity of labor, create opportunities for our next generation to flourish in the way we did, and overall, to make our planet"sustainable."There are a lot of opportunities for our businesses to learn from each other as to how they use their supply chains to foster "sustainability" in their business processes. As thought leaders, our academic researchers should analyze, assimilate, and synthesize such "best practices" to the benefit of fellow researchers and contemporary businesses.