Mind the Gap: A Journey to Sustainable Supply Chains

Abstract

Many companies still view Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as solely philanthropy rather than addressing their material issues. A few companies that have began to see the strategic advantages of being socially responsible and addressing their social, environmental and economic challenges. Developing an effective strategy can reward companies with reputation enhancement, license to operate, avoiding litigation, recruitment and retention of employees and developing process, product and strategic innovations. One company who has realized the value of investing and integrating CSR into the business model is the apparel retailer Gap Inc. This article will examine the evolution of Gap Inc. and its work developing an effective labor standards assurance program and stakeholder engagement strategy transformed historically adversarial relationships with key stakeholders into collaborative multi-stakeholder partnerships. Particular attention is put towards Gap Inc.’s learnings in the process and how these new insights innovated the company’s CSR strategy over time.