{"id":7198,"date":"2017-01-25T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-25T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2017\/01\/25\/building-sustainability-into-the-supply-chain\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T18:16:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T18:16:31","slug":"building-sustainability-into-the-supply-chain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2017\/01\/25\/building-sustainability-into-the-supply-chain\/","title":{"rendered":"Building sustainability into the supply chain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Agata Kostecka, MBA \u201911<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Building<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Agata Kostecka is helping to make sustainability a way of life for stakeholders at Gap Inc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After working on the firm\u2019s supply-chain strategy team in San Francisco for a couple of years, Kostecka, a Park Fellow, collaborated with her boss to create a new role for herself as senior manager for sustainability sourcing strategy in Hong Kong, one of Gap\u2019s key sourcing hubs. Kostecka now links the corporate sustainability team in San Francisco with the managers who are sourcing production in Hong Kong and elsewhere, and also with Gap\u2019s suppliers of garments and fabrics throughout Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019s a team of only one, but welcomes the challenge. \u201cI have the opportunity to define and set a long-term sustainability strategy within our supply chain and with our stakeholders,\u201d Kostecka says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gap holds vendors to its sustainability code of conduct, which specifies labor standards, such as working hours and compensation; working conditions, such as health and safety; and environmental protection, such as management of water, chemicals, and energy. \u201cIf a supplier violates major pieces of our code, it could be a no-go,\u201d explains Kostecka. \u201cBut when we find issues, we work with our suppliers so they understand how to address the issues and make sure they follow through. The supply chain is moving towards a partnership model, where we work with suppliers on innovation, new fabrics, and new ways of doing things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making sure a new product has a high sustainability quotient requires \u201clooking at the design of a garment you\u2019re proposing and considering the sustainability options up front,\u201d says Kostecka, as well as determining \u201cwhich suppliers can give the lowest cost and highest quality, while including the sustainability component.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kostecka loves Hong Kong. \u201cYou\u2019re in the middle of a major metropolis,\u201d she says, \u201cbut it\u2019s a 20-minute bus ride to a beach or beautiful green hillside.\u201d She stays in touch with Johnson classmates located all over the world, especially those with whom she did the Sustainable Global Enterprise immersion. \u201cWe\u2019re a tight cohort and we keep close.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Agata Kostecka, MBA \u201911 Agata Kostecka is helping to make sustainability a way of life for stakeholders at Gap Inc. After working on the firm\u2019s supply-chain strategy team in San…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":7199,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[171],"tags":[196],"ppma_author":[],"class_list":["post-7198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-profiles","tag-archived"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBuilding sustainability into the supply chain - Cornell Business Centers & Institutes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Agata Kostecka, MBA \u201911 Agata Kostecka is helping to make sustainability a way of life for stakeholders at Gap Inc. 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