Spotlight on Calathea: Supporting Your Sustainability Journey

14 Jun, 2022

We caught up with Jenny Powell, Managing Director of JDP and Calathea.

What is Calathea and what does it do?

Calathea is a software platform that gathers, analyses, and reports on the sustainability of your supply chain, providing factual insights to help companies manage their supply chain risk and make effective supply chain decisions to drive sustainability improvements on the journey to net zero.

It drives transparency and sustainability into every step of the supply chain by identifying environmental, social, ethical and geographical risks, to monitor and manage supplier compliance with regulations and best practice.

Calathea harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to engage and assess a supply chain’s sustainability.

Calathea also utilises both qualitative and quantitative sustainability measurements, setting development objectives to track the sustainability improvement journey of a business’ suppliers, in real-time. These data-driven insights build stronger value supply chains, that are more sustainable, lower risk and better for our planet.

What inspired you to develop Calathea?

Having started Calathea’s sister company, JDP Procurement Services over a decade ago, we have supported more than 300 clients in managing their procurement and supply chain risks and opportunities, and have seen the increasing need for a more targeted approach to managing supply chain sustainability and the wider social impact. This is something I feel very strongly about, seeing first-hand the negative impact that we are having on our planet.

Developing Calathea seemed like the logical next step to help organisations drive tangible change, whether that be on their journey to net zero or implementing the first sustainability policy for their suppliers. Calathea has been designed to help any organisation and its supply chain, at any stage in their sustainability journey.

If you could describe Calathea in one line, what would that be?

Supply chain sustainability delivered with digital collaboration, creating lasting change and resilience.

How can Calathea support SMEs on their sustainability journey?

In order to begin or even progress a sustainability journey, any business first needs to understand their start point; Calathea engages suppliers, gathers their data and analyses whether they are meeting required sustainability targets, and those of its customers. Calathea enables SMEs to differentiate their business and demonstrate competitive advantage when bidding for contracts or attracting new customers; statements of intent are no longer sufficient, actions speak louder than words. As an SME, the ability to meet public sector procurement requirements for both sustainability and social value when bidding for work is increasingly important, not only is it becoming a prerequisite for the majority of public sector contracts but differentiation from competitors and bigger organisations alike is key. Within the next 18-months all UK-based organisations will be required to report on their sustainability credentials and Calathea can provide SMEs with the tools to stay ahead of the game.

Thinking about the bigger picture, what impact do you envisage Calathea having on organisations embarking on their sustainability journey?

Calathea’s focus is not just on providing data-driven insights (which is critical in understanding your sustainability start point), it also inspires supply chain collaboration and innovation to drive increased visibility and tangible step-change for an entire supply chain.

Supplier relationship management and development is essential, particularly for SMEs who are looking to differentiate themselves and set themselves up for a successful future. .

In the wider context I am really hoping that Calathea can create a movement for change within our supply chain ecosystem and make a real difference to peoples lives and the future of our planet. Wouldn’t it be an amazing success if we managed to turn our current predicament around? But we can only do that by working together.

If you are looking for more information on Calathea or you would like to join our journey to a sustainable future, please do get in touch:

Website: https://www.calathea.app/
Email: hello@calathea.app
Number: 0330 165 5343