Resilience that Lasts: Bridging Sustainability through Adaptation and Transformation

Motivation and Goals The project aims to bridge the gap between supply chain resilience and environmental sustainability, two domains traditionally addressed separately. Environmental disruptions and sustainable regulations increasingly affect conventional resilience practices, requiring a shift in supply chain resilience from persistence and redundancy to adaptation and transformation. The project explores how organizations can align resilience strategies and practices with an evolving regulatory framework and impending slow-onset, long term environmental disruptions, ensuring long-term business continuity while meeting regulatory and societal expectations. Activities and Work Packages The research identifies two main use cases: (i) resilience as adaptation to evolving environmental regulations and (ii) resilience as transformation in the face of slow-onset, long term environmental disruptions. For each use case, we have identified a sample of relevant companies together with whom we execute the project: “resilience champions” for use case one (Bauwatch, Yong Li Belting, Scania and Veneta) and “sustainable champions” for use case two (Agrifac, Blibco, Interface, and VHZ). Those two use cases are addressed through three work packages (WPs): 1. Causal process tracing, which includes conducting exploratory case studies and a necessary conditions analysis to identify factors that are necessary for synergistic or conflicting interaction between sustainability and resilience to materialise. 2. Experimental validation, which includes developing realistic scenarios of different resilience approaches across the two identified use cases as well as testing those scenario quantitatively in an experimental vignette study. 3. Dashboard development, which includes creating and testing with project partners a decision-support dashboard for businesses that incorporates the results of WP1 and 2. In addition to the three main WPs, the project focuses on disseminating results to both academic audiences and broader society by engaging companies through networking events (supported by evofenedex), workshops, and practical publications, while also aiming for three conference publications and at least one article in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Innovativeness This project advances practical knowledge in supply chain management by integrating different resilience approaches and practices with environmental sustainability, showing and supporting the relevance of moving beyond traditional ‘bouncing back’ resilience approaches. It employs novel methodologies such as causal process tracing and experimental vignettes to analyse resilience decisions. Additionally, it provides practical tools for firms to navigate regulatory pressures while enhancing long-term adaptability. Valorisation and Implementation Strategy The project ensures practical impact through industry engagement, knowledge transfer, and open-access resources. Key deliverables include:  A decision-support dashboard to assist companies in integrating resilience and sustainability.  Two Research World Café to disseminate results among the broader society  Policy recommendations to influence relevant policies and regulations in environmental sustainability and supply chain resilience.  Academic and practitioner publications to inform both theoretical discourse and business practice. Expected Results The project aims to contribute to the broader goals of sustainable supply chains by supporting businesses to transition towards adaptive and transformative resilience strategies. It does so by developing a dashboard that supports pragmatic decision making in the area of resilience and sustainability. Ideally, the dashboard will support regulatory compliance and enhance corporate sustainability efforts while simultaneously foster resilient, low-carbon supply chains practices. Ultimately, this initiative aligns with Dutch and EU policies on sustainability and environmental risk management, offering actionable insights to corporates and industry, as well as information and knowledge for academia and policymakers.