Project 3.3

Dependency of global supply chains on critical infrastructure resilience

Project 3.3. ‘Dependency of global supply chains on critical infrastructure resilience’ aims to gain an improved understanding of any gaps or opportunities within the food logistics sector in terms of helping it meet current and future challenges related to the resilience of the critical infrastructure (ports, shipping, road, rail, energy, storage) on which it relies.

Aims

The global supply of food is a highly interconnected system, dependent on multiple sectors. Major disruptions to food supply can have direct impacts on vulnerable communities, and indirect impacts such as civil unrest.

The Resilience Shift has identified potential work on food supply chains – keeping our focus on the elements that rely on critical infrastructure including transportation whether road, rail, or ports, water and power, and communications systems. We will influence stakeholders in the food supply chain and shift their understanding of the importance of resilience.  Decisions made along the supply chain will be influenced by the need for resilience, not only short-term factors.

Project leaders

Xavier Aldea Borruel
Project Leader

Xavier is a chartered mechanical engineer and is Programme Officer for the Resilience Shift. Xavier has 10 years experience as an engineer, researcher and project manager, and has expertise in resilience of critical infrastructure, flood risk management, climate change and sustainability, with a strong professional background in the water sector.

How are we doing this?

  • The work initiated in Q4 2018 includes workshops and preparatory research. This exercise will explore directly the ‘between systems’ aspect of resilience – allowing us to explore the degree to which food industry actors are aware and concerned about their dependency on transportation infrastructure and logistics industry to their overall resilience.
  • This first phase of work aims to provide us with an understanding of any gaps or opportunities within the food logistics sector in terms of helping it meet current and future challenges related to the resilience of the critical infrastructure (ports, shipping, road, rail, energy, storage) on which it relies.
  • We have undertaken scoping and research activities to identify the best area of focus related to the global supply of food.
  • We have leveraged the Arup expertise in the logistics sector, and an existing global network of skills, business and stakeholders to advance our understanding in this sector.

What are the outputs?

  • The expected impact of this project is to influence stakeholders in the food supply chain, and shift their understanding of the importance of resilience, so that decisions made along the supply chain are influenced by the need for resilience and not only short-term factors.
  • The first workshop will be held in Manchester on 6 February 2019 with others to follow across the globe provisionally in New York and San Francisco, London, Madrid, Johannesburg, Hong Kong and Sydney.
  • By the end of Q1 2019 we will deliver a document that contributes to knowledge about resilience of food supply chains, especially the relative importance of critical infrastructure that supply chains depend on.
  • An informed decision will be made towards the end of Q1 2019 in terms of ‘what next’ in this sector, and who we should work with – also which geographies.

Project Resources

Global supply chain workshop brochure

A series of global workshops will be taking place in the United Kingdom, United States, Spain, South Africa, Hong Kong and Australia. See our workshop brochure. The workshops will focus on the resilience of food supply chains with the objective to provide participants with the opportunity to explore real challenges in this sector and to bring together key stakeholders, encouraging inter-sector collaboration and communication. By collaborating on resilience-focused activity at a global level, it is our intention that we can shape possible pathways forward to allow us to improve the resilience of our infrastructure for all.

 

Round-table Ports and Logistics

Our recent round-table explored the resilience of critical infrastructure for ports and logistics. Find out more about the conclusions of the workshop.

 

 

 

Collaborators

The Resilience Shift has partnered with Arup's logistics experts under the leadership of Darren Briggs. Darren is a logistics consultant and Associate Director in Advisory Services at Arup. Darren’s main area of expertise is advising on operational requirements and improvements in the built environment, covering construction and new or existing site logistics operations. He has worked on a variety of projects, both in the United Kingdom and internationally, covering most aspects of operations.

What is the value of resilience?

Our Resilience Shift debate, at the Global Knowledge Exchange in August 2018, put this to the challenge in a lively battle of wits.

Chaired by Mark Fletcher (Arup), the panel included Ruth Boumphrey (Lloyd's Register Foundation), Juliet Mian (Resilience Shift), Fred Boltz (Resolute Development Solutions), Cayley Green (City of Cape Town), Trevor Bishop (OFWAT), and Diego Juan Rodriquez (World Bank).

Find out more.

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