You bring up some really good points. The most un-obvious to a casual reader is that there isn't a silver bullet. Even within LCA, carbon footprinting has it's limitations and flaws. I think if done transparently, honestly, and within the spirit of the WRI's methodology, they can serve as a snapshot of data and an indicator. Other than pure mathematics, few things in life are absolutes. My position as an advocate for greener personal living and sustainable business operations is simply to see people make a manageable change. As consumers, 30% last year bought "green" products. That's encouraging. At the same time, only 16% of Americans actually recycle. Now, let me add recycling is an old-thinking process. I get it and want you and readers not to presume that I'm out of touch. My previous example is the really point for consumers and greener personally living - it has to occur at the moment of purchase embedded within the products and services we buy, because waiting for latter stages in the product/service lifecycle is an unlikely time to get change (hence the recycle comment). Since it has to be embedded into the product or service, it has to occur further upstream during the manufacturing process, supplier raw material inputs, and product design and development, just to scratch the surface. This is a big piece of pie, not a cursory buffet item where we as supply chain professionals can pick tidbits selectively and try to address the issue (hence the opportunity and why I love my job). As for the outsourcing thing - tremendous issues that I try not to engage in because I like to focus on progress and not expend energy (pun) on negative discussions. It would be really easy to bash a company over decisions like these. I'd rather see them work to improve these decisions working with the overseas partner. It comes down to we (in the supply chain) have about 70% of the environmental impact for our companies. We have to change to make progress.
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