IN Brief:
- Blue Yonder found that 66% of surveyed leaders are actively working to reduce supply chain impact.
- Nearly half of large enterprises now have dedicated sustainability teams, yet only one in five leaders feel confident about meeting their objectives.
- Data, traceability, forecasting, and planning are emerging as the practical levers linking sustainability to day-to-day operations.
Blue Yonder has published new survey data suggesting that sustainability remains active inside large supply chain organisations, even as inflation, labour pressure, tariffs, and disruption continue to dominate the operational agenda.
The company surveyed 678 senior supply chain professionals at enterprises with annual revenue above $500 million across North America and Europe. Two-thirds of respondents said they are actively working to reduce the impact of their supply chains, while 47% said their organisations now have dedicated sustainability teams in place. At the same time, confidence remains limited. Only one in five leaders said they feel confident about achieving their sustainability objectives, even though 56% believe supply chain operators carry responsibility for helping address wider pressures including inflation and climate change.
The detail is revealing. Only 12% of respondents placed sustainability among their top three strategic priorities, down from 24% a year earlier, while 68% said economic challenges such as labour and inflation were among their biggest concerns. That does not suggest sustainability has disappeared. It suggests it is being absorbed into broader operational programmes rather than treated as a stand-alone initiative competing for attention on its own terms.
That interpretation is reinforced by where respondents say progress is most likely to come from. Twenty-six per cent identified data and traceability as the main actions needed to move sustainability forward, and 33% pointed to forecasting technology as a major opportunity. Those are not abstract environmental commitments. They are core planning and execution disciplines. Better forecasting reduces waste, unnecessary movement, and poor inventory positioning. Better traceability improves reporting quality and makes it easier to identify where emissions or inefficiencies are actually being created.
The same pattern appears in how leaders view AI. Respondents associated AI most strongly with better planning and predictability, faster decision-making, and improved risk management. Far fewer linked it directly to sustainability outcomes. That gap is important because the operational benefits they value most are often the same mechanisms that can reduce emissions, shrink waste, and improve asset utilisation. The challenge is less about whether the tools can contribute and more about whether organisations are measuring those gains in sustainability terms rather than purely financial or service-level terms.
Blue Yonder has used the survey alongside updates to its own sustainability software stack, including a logistics emissions calculator and tighter integration between carbon metrics and planning tools. That focus fits the broader direction of travel. Sustainability programmes are moving closer to the decision points that shape transport plans, replenishment, and inventory policy, rather than sitting in a separate reporting layer after the fact.
The survey ultimately points to a supply chain market that has matured, but not yet settled. The dedicated teams are in place, the intent is still present, and the technology links are becoming clearer. What remains unresolved is execution. Many businesses appear to understand that sustainability can no longer sit apart from cost, risk, and service. The harder task is embedding it deeply enough into planning logic, procurement choices, and operational discipline for the targets to survive the next period of disruption rather than being pushed aside by it.
