By admin 
Several major contractors have launched an online supply chain sustainability school in the U.S., designed to educate construction professionals on critical sustainability challenges in the supply chain, Skanska USA, the American arm of the Swedish builder and developer, according to a Monday news release shared with Construction Dive.
The Supply Chain Sustainability School team was created 12 years ago in the U.K. and has since expanded to Ireland and Australia, according to Skanska. It has educated 137,000 individuals across 30,000 companies.
The other founding partners include contractors Burns & McDonnell and Fluor, building materials supplier CRH, geotechnical engineering firm Keller and energy delivery company National Grid.
The school will provide free education opportunities, according to the release. It will facilitate the sharing of knowledge and attempt to promote a collaborative approach to addressing critical sustainability issues including energy and carbon, sustainability reporting, environmental management, waste and circular economy, biodiversity, community engagement and supplier diversity.
“Partnering with the Supply Chain Sustainability School was a natural fit as Skanska aims to make the construction industry more sustainable,” Myrrh Caplan, senior vice president of sustainability for Skanska USA Building, said in the release. “This new resource will provide individuals and businesses with essential resources and educational materials to support their understanding of sustainability strategies that can help scale their business while meeting regulations.”
Caplan, in a video promoting the school, said many facets to sustainability — such as biodiversity — have not been explored very much in the U.S., and the school seeks to “take the mystery out of it” to educate supply chain partners and grow businesses.
The initiative represents a common approach to addressing sustainability within supply chains. A school board comprising elected representatives of founding partners provides leadership for the institution, responsible for fiscal governance and strategic direction.
“We joined the U.S. supply chain sustainability school as a founding partner because we want to bring our suppliers along with us on our sustainability journey and we are proud to offer the school’s free content to all our suppliers helping them prepare for the economy of the future,” Tanner Blackburn, vice president of engineering for Keller, said in the video about the school’s launch.
The Supply Chain Sustainability School will offer access to hundreds of accredited online sustainability training sessions and virtual learning resources. The school and founders are holding a two-hour launch event for interested parties Jan. 29.