The COVID-19 pandemic drew attention to how central supply chains are to the global economy. It also exposed the human rights abuses that can occur up and down supply chains before goods arrive in our hands.
By contrast, the environmental impacts of supply chains and the disproportionate burdens they place on the world’s most vulnerable people have been overshadowed in public debate.
Some observers assert these impacts rise to the level of environmental injustice – situations in which supply chains actively harm people, communities and the environment. They argue that the companies managing supply chains should be held responsible for reversing these effects.
