Transparency and sustainability in global commodity supply chains

Over the last few decades rapid advances in processes to collect, monitor, disclose, and disseminate information have contributed towards the development of entirely new modes of sustainability governance for global commodity supply chains. However, there has been very little critical appraisal of the contribution made by different transparency initiatives to sustainability and the ways in which they can (and cannot) influence new governance arrangements. Here we seek to strengthen the theoretical underpinning of research and action on supply chain transparency by addressing four questions: (1) What is meant by supply chain transparency? (2) What is the relevance of supply chain transparency to supply chain sustainability governance? (3) What is the current status of supply chain transparency, and what are the strengths and weaknesses of existing initiatives? and (4) What propositions can be advanced for how transparency can have a positive transformative effect on the governance interventions that seek to strengthen sustainability outcomes? We use examples from agricultural supply chains and the zero-deforestation agenda as a focus of our analysis but draw insights that are relevant to the transparency and sustainability of supply chains in general. We propose a typology to distinguish among types of supply chain information that are needed to support improvements in sustainability governance, and illustrate a number of major shortfalls and systematic biases in existing information systems. We also propose a set of ten propositions that, taken together, serve to expose some of the potential pitfalls and undesirable outcomes that may result from (inevitably) limited or poorly designed transparency systems, whilst offering guidance on some of the ways in which greater transparency can make a more effective, lasting and positive contribution to sustainability

Stadsbrug Nijmegen

Structural EngineeringCivil Engineering and Geoscience

Algumas considerações sobre os índices metabólicos da lagosta Panulirus argus (Latreille)

The investigation of the flsioecological aspects of marine species of commercial interest is of great importance, as some problems related to fisheries could partially or totally be resolved on fisiological basis (Alvarez & Dias, 1971). In this paper, the metabolic demands of Panulirus agus (Latreille) are studied, measured through oxygen consumption in µ1 of O2 /g/h, and compared to the data available for Panulirus laevicauda (Latreille) The study is based in 80 juvenile spiny tobster in several molting stages, hand captured by diving during low tide in coastal waters off the County ofFortaleza. For oxygen consumption determination, the method recommended by Schlieper(1972) was used, the dissolved oxygen measures effected with the aid of an "Oxygen Meter Model 51-A-YSI" The values were refered in µ1 O2 /g/h. The calculation of relationships consumption O2/weight were made using the linear model y = a+ bX, by the method of least squares. The following conclusions were obtained: 1. The O2 consumption, in the different molting stages dim inished as the animal weight increased. 2. No significant difference in O2 consumption was found between males and females. 3. The spiny lobster in study nas in the differents molting stages, low metabolic demands stages D presenting the highest O2 consumption. 4. For each molting stage equation relating weight and O2 consumption were calculated as follows: P. argus P. laevicauda molt A C = 97.55 - 1.36 W r = 0,97 molt A C = 86.17 - 0,99 W molt B C = 87.96 - 1.02 W r = 0.95 molt B C = 87.51 - 1,08 W molt C C = 86.03 - 0.92 W r = 0.98 molt C C = 91.03 - 1,20 W molt D C =107.47 - 1.84 W r = 0.98 molt D C = 87.77 - 0,97 W 5. The calculated values based on the equations are quite similar to those values obtained, thus the utilization of me equations being vali