With the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) strategic plans now in force since January 2023, the European Union has taken a definitive step toward making agricultural supply chains more transparent. The strategic plans for 2023–2027 introduce a layered set of obligations for member states, particularly around reporting data on farm inputs. The intention is clear […]
Anyone who’s worked on urban policy, especially in rapidly growing cities, knows there’s always more going on than the maps let on. The neighborhoods that never quite make it onto official plans—informal settlements, slums, whatever label you use—are often economic engines in their own right. The question isn’t just where these communities are, but how […]
Since the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in January 2021, there has been heightened attention to the vulnerabilities in the rare earth element (REE) supply chains. Section 817, in particular, represents one of the more decisive policy moves aimed at fortifying the United States’ position in securing these critical inputs. The provision […]
If there’s anything the last few years have made clear, it’s that resilience in healthcare isn’t just about having enough hospital beds or the right stockpile of supplies. It’s about the entire architecture—how resources, infrastructure, and personnel come together in the face of crisis. But when policymakers and researchers set out to measure this resilience, […]
The year 2022 marked a significant turning point in the enforcement of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) provisions under the EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive of 2019. For beverage manufacturers, the shift was more than just regulatory noise—it forced a deeper reckoning with supply chain transparency and accountability. Producers of plastic beverage containers, among others, now carry […]
The passage of Canada’s Digital Charter Implementation Act, better known as Bill C-27, in November 2022 has stirred fresh debate among logistics professionals, legal experts, and policymakers alike. Its implications for supply-chain data privacy are only beginning to be fully digested. At its core, the legislation aims to modernize privacy law, introducing stricter standards for […]
It’s easy to get swept up in the big numbers—total exports, year-on-year growth, the headlines about “winning sectors.” But behind every trade success story is a quieter, more intricate reality: how sectors actually stack up, both at home and abroad. For policymakers, investors, and analysts, the real question isn’t just how much a country exports, […]
As corporate social responsibility (CSR) moves from the margins to the mainstream of global business, the challenge for regulators, investors, and the public has become one of substance over style. Almost every large company publishes a glossy sustainability report, but comparing one company’s performance with another—especially across industries—remains notoriously difficult. The International Standard Industrial Classification […]
The issue of e-waste, though hardly new, has in recent years grown into something of an unavoidable topic within both regulatory and corporate circles in Japan. The 2020 Act on Promotion of Resource Recycling was designed with a clear objective: to move beyond scattered initiatives and impose a coherent framework that would drive transparency and […]
By the close of 2022, the first compliance reports under the US Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act had begun to trickle in, offering a preliminary glimpse into how importers—particularly in the apparel and textile sectors—are responding to one of the most stringent supply chain due-diligence mandates in recent memory. The UFLPA, which came into force […]
With the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz, or LkSG) set to take effect in January 2023, the final implementing regulations released in December 2022 offer long-awaited clarity for firms grappling with compliance preparations. These rules, issued after months of consultation and revision, provide more precise direction on risk-assessment thresholds, reporting requirements, and documentation […]
The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) draft, which underwent public consultation during the first half of 2022, has attracted widespread attention across industries, investor circles, and civil society groups. The feedback collated and analyzed by mid-2022 presents, in some ways, a surprisingly coherent set of demands, though naturally the nuances are where things get […]
Ever since the Brexit referendum, stories about businesses leaving London for Dublin, Paris, or Frankfurt have been a constant feature in the news cycle. But behind the headlines and soundbites, the actual mechanics of relocation—who moves, where they go, and what it really means—are more complex. It’s a challenge that lands squarely in the lap […]
It would be difficult, perhaps even reckless, to talk about modern economic policymaking without at least mentioning the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) system. Admittedly, it’s an arcane topic at first glance—a rigid, hierarchical code system, dense with numbers and nomenclature. But scratch beneath the surface and it becomes clear: ISIC codes are something like […]
When Canada’s Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business and the wider federal supplier diversity framework incorporated enforcement of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) reporting requirements in 2022, it represented a quiet but significant shift in the landscape of supply-chain accountability. These principles, adopted back in 2017 and often seen as aspirational guidelines, took on a more […]
The Biden Administration’s Executive Order 14017, issued in February 2021, came at a moment of acute concern over the resilience of the United States’ semiconductor supply chain. It was not just a reaction to the visible disruptions that dogged the auto sector, consumer electronics, and even defense contractors as the pandemic rippled through global manufacturing. […]