New guidance enables manufacturers to navigate upcoming regulations of “forever chemicals” and forced labor across their supply chains
Assent, Inc. (Assent), the leading solution provider in supply chain sustainability management, released a new eBook, “Budgeting for Compliance: Supply Chain Sustainability in 2024”, to help manufacturers plan for product compliance programs that will be defensible to changing regulatory standards. The 2024 Budgeting eBook provides an easy-to-follow guide for manufacturers to implement effective supply chain sustainability cost management approaches in the coming year.
The resource also serves as a comprehensive guide to developing a business case for implementing supply chain sustainability solutions, resulting in year-over-year cost reductions. In a study commissioned by Assent, Forrester Consulting found a supply chain sustainability management solution can provide a 304% ROI over three years compared to in-house solutions (value realized by a composite organization, an aggregate of four Assent customers).
Assent’s new guidance is released at a critical time as a lack of compliance strategy leaves organizations vulnerable to cost overruns, reputational damage, loss of market access, and investor scrutiny. With numerous regulatory changes impacting legal requirements, such as the expected TSCA PFAS reporting rule, proposed climate disclosures to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, manufacturers face unprecedented regulatory risk in the coming year, requiring new levels of supply chain due diligence and visibility.
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“We are excited to launch this valuable resource that delivers actionable guidance to help manufacturers engage suppliers and report on their data so they avoid significant disruptions to their market access and business continuity.”
In the 2023 Gartner/SPP Sustainable Procurement Pulse Survey, 83% of respondents said the importance of sustainable procurement has increased in the past 24 months. Assent’s new eBook helps manufacturers effectively plan to anticipate regulatory challenges while saving time and resources by proactively addressing compliance program requirements.
“The need for sustainable manufacturing is here — but not every company is taking the right steps to properly budget and forecast to create an effective chain sustainability program. Assent is a trusted partner to manufacturers, ensuring they’re ready to engage suppliers and report on their data, so they avoid significant disruptions to their business,” said Cally Edgren, Senior Director, Sustainability at Assent, and eBook contributor. “We are excited to launch this valuable resource that delivers actionable guidance to help manufacturers engage suppliers and report on their data so they avoid significant disruptions to their market access and business continuity.”
Summary of key takeaways from the 2024 Budgeting for Compliance eBook:
- Manufacturers must track current and upcoming regulatory trends such as PFAS, EU REACH, RoHS, Conflict Minerals reporting, and climate impact reporting while engaging with suppliers to ensure budgets remain accurate and up-to-date.
- An expert-led, comprehensive approach to data and compliance management is essential to make sustainable decisions, drive cost savings, improve operations, and ensure supply chain continuity.
- Companies must take a proactive compliance approach with continuous supplier engagement to anticipate requests and requirements and break down silos in data collection before reporting is needed.
- When manufacturers automate data collection, they can identify blind spots in their supply chain and ultimately save time and resources.
Assent provides manufacturers with insights and strategies on the global regulatory landscape, proactive strategies to gain executive buy-in to proactive compliance programs and steps for leveraging program efficiencies and technology to budget for and build a scalable compliance program.