The tension between midtier manufacturers is spot on. Working in product sourcing I saw this exact pattern where companies big enough to damage supply chains but too small to absorb R&D costs into alternatives end up defaulting to whatever wood is cheapest today, no questions asked. The threshold idea is interesting because it shifts sustainablity from being a competitive disadvantage into table stakes, which is really the only way systemic change happens. I do wonder though if implementation would need regional variation since forestry managment and supply chain complexity differ wildly by market.
This is brilliant! You’re pointing to the core constraint: companies large enough to influence supply chains, yet too small to absorb R&D risk. That’s where sustainability breaks down. I believe that a threshold model works because it turns responsible sourcing into table stakes, not a cost penalty. But implementation can’t be uniform. Forestry management, regulatory oversight, and supply-chain complexity vary dramatically by region, so thresholds would need localized standards to drive real, scalable change.
The tension between midtier manufacturers is spot on. Working in product sourcing I saw this exact pattern where companies big enough to damage supply chains but too small to absorb R&D costs into alternatives end up defaulting to whatever wood is cheapest today, no questions asked. The threshold idea is interesting because it shifts sustainablity from being a competitive disadvantage into table stakes, which is really the only way systemic change happens. I do wonder though if implementation would need regional variation since forestry managment and supply chain complexity differ wildly by market.
This is brilliant! You’re pointing to the core constraint: companies large enough to influence supply chains, yet too small to absorb R&D risk. That’s where sustainability breaks down. I believe that a threshold model works because it turns responsible sourcing into table stakes, not a cost penalty. But implementation can’t be uniform. Forestry management, regulatory oversight, and supply-chain complexity vary dramatically by region, so thresholds would need localized standards to drive real, scalable change.