www.tsc10.sustainabilityconsortium.orgThe Sustainability Consortium Celebrating 10

Years DONATE SUBSCRIBE SHARE TSC MAIN Home Our Story Our Pioneers Videos Q & A Our Impact Donate Search Menu × Add Impact to Your Inbox Stay up to date about what is going on at The Sustainability Consortium: metrics, reporting, special announcements, new campaigns, and more. Thanks for signing up! Email Address SUBSCRIBE × Sharing is Caring! The Sustainability Consortium’s sole purpose is to enable all parts of the consumer goods sector to integrate sustainable practices throughout business strategy so that we all can have more sustainable products. You can be a TSC advocate simply by sharing our story! Share TSC10 – Celebrating 10 Years One in a Million An organization so unique and so necessary, that, 10 years later, the impact of TSC is already changing the way the sustainability industry thinks and functions. Hear About TSC’s Impact The Sustainability Consortium began with a bang – a one million dollar check in seed funding from Walmart, two universities coming together to combine forces, and the overwhelming call from an industry demanding clarification for the definition of sustainability. In 2009, consumers were paying attention, some for the first time, to where their products and food were coming from, what brands where producing them, and what those brands were saying. Greenwashing” became a term to describe the confusion and chaos of messaging to consumers of what was sustainable. Walmart, the University of Arkansas, and Arizona State University made history that year, creating an organization so unique and so necessary, that, 10 years later, the impact of TSC is already changing the way the sustainability industry thinks and functions. Core Work TSC offers tools and services to help companies address product sustainability in their supply chains. At our core are ways for companies to measure and improve on sustainability progress, together, with other like and unlike collaborators in the industry. This ecosystem of companies and retailers, combined with concerned non-profits and industry services, creates a unique place to set goals and meet them. Sustainability Measurement and Reporting System Implementation Services for Suppliers and Retailers Collaboration and Leadership Opportunities Membership Future thinking: IT solutions and ecosystem Our Story The creation and evolution of TSC began in the mid-2000s with the rise of the importance of sustainability in business and increased transparency in supply chains. As a response to growing consumer demand for sustainable products coupled with confusing green” labels, TSC’s founders brought two university partners together to tackle the monumental task of creating a product category level measurement and reporting system. Like a supply chain, TSC’s story has major markers along our timeline where we saw major successes and some paths where we needed to refocus. All along the way, our members and partners have helped and supported us. TSC was uniquely created to, and today is the only organization that can, tackle these issues: Proliferation of eco-labels and increase in green-washing Confusion about what is a sustainable product No set standards for suppliers to measure product sustainability throughout the lifecycle Lack of data and transparency Unrealized potential in efficiency and economic value of sustainability Lack of harmonized approach between measurement systems Need for scientifically grounded and transparent data and methodologies This timeline displays the seminal moments in TSC’s history. Thank you for celebrating with us! 2007 Seed money awarded from Walmart to the University of Arkansas Johnson, University of Arkansas professor and TSC founder, talks about the Applied Sustainability Center, which was TSC in its early form before 2009. 2009 University of Arkansas and Arizona State University sign MOU to create TSC The MOU signing between ASU and University of Arkansas was in some ways a landmark for both organizations because even though these were big state universities, they had never engaged with something like this before. 2010 TSC develops first product category life cycle assessments What is a life cycle assessment? TSC’s Carole Mars breaks down the definition of an LCA. Related Stories The Sustainability Consortium Members Vote to Adopt the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Product Standard The Sustainability Consortium Completes Enhanced Open Input-Output Open IO Project 2011 TSC launches European hub with partnership with Wageningen University Click to enlarge photos. Related Stories TSC Advances Position in Europe Through Partnership with Wageningen UR Grand Opening of TSC’s European Office in the Netherlands Princess Maxima to Open European Branch of World Wide Sustainability Consortium 2012 The Sustainability Consortium Ranks on Scientific American Top 10 World Changing Ideas for 2012 The Sustainability Consortium has been recognized as a superior sustainability measurement and reporting system due to its comprehensive nature and cross-sector approach. 2012 World Changing Ideas Innovations Radical Enough to Alter Our Lives” View Story 2013 TSC creates first key performance indicator and completes batch 1 of the Category Sustainability Profile Goldstein discusses the early days of TSC planning in the food beverage and agriculture sector. Early work on flipcharts led us to the system TSC currently uses today. Related Stories How a Walmart Brainchild is Helping 80 Companies Reduce Their Environmental Impacts 2014 Launch of first Sustainability Index, primarily used by Walmart and Sam’s Club Walmart’s Phillips uses the Sustainability Index to measure Walmart suppliers and help them tackle sustainability issues one at a time. Related Stories TSC Tools Go Live: Walmart Integrates TSC’s Knowledge Products to Guide Supply Chain Engagement Walmart Global Sustainability Mile Stone Meeting September 2012 2015 TSC signs MOU to jointly promote Green Supply Chain Development in China Murray, TSC CEO, traveled to China in 2015 to sign an MOU to promote green supply chain development. It is important for TSC to be in China to help our global mission of creating more sustainable consumer products. Click to enlarge photos. Related Stories The Sustainability Consortium Signs Memorandum of Understanding to Jointly Promote Green Supply Chain Development in China 2016 TSC helps with launch of Amazon Fresh in the U.K. TSC member, Amazon, uses TSC implementation services to launch their Amazon Fresh program in the U.K. TSC launches first Impact Report, Greening the Global Supply Chain The report – Greening Global Supply Chains: From Blind Spots To Hotspots To Action” – showcases a consistent, science-based measurement and reporting system that can serve as an important barometer for the entire consumer goods industry globally. Click to enlarge images. Related Stories TSC Releases Landmark Report To Drive More Sustainable Consumer Products— Greening Global Supply Chains: From Blind Spots to Hotspots to Action” PDF: TSC Impact Report 2016 2017 The Sustainability Consortium Publicly Releases Coffee Product Sustainability Toolkit as a Commitment to the Sustainable Coffee Challenge By allowing everyone access to our metrics and research around more sustainable coffee, we can engage even more stakeholders to implement change across coffee supply chains and drive improvement across the entire product lifecycle,” states TSC Chief Executive, Euan Murray. He continues, Although TSC’s science-based metrics, database, and research remain exclusively available to TSC members and partners, we wanted to publicly state our commitment to the Sustainable Coffee Challenge by sharing our research around coffee to a wider audience.” TSC’s Coffee Product Sustainability Toolkit Click to enlarge photos. Related Stories The Sustainability Consortium Publicly Releases Coffee Product Sustainability Toolkit as a Commitment to the Sustainable Coffee Challenge 2018 Publication of deforestation drivers in Science In 2018,...