From the approaching super El Niño to the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), global supply chains are facing pressures from many directions, and those pressures are not felt equally. For a smallholder farmer experiencing repeated drought-driven crop failures, a business responding to new due diligence requirements, or a consumer confronted with higher prices, resilience means something different.

This raises a fundamental question: what do we actually mean by resilience, and whose resilience are we seeking to strengthen? Across global supply chains, resilience can refer to ecological systems, producer livelihoods or business continuity.

These forms of resilience are deeply interconnected, yet not always aligned. Strengthening one may require investing in another, making resilience as much about navigating trade-offs as it is about managing risk.

How should organisations balance these different forms of resilience? And how are sustainability systems evolving to help supply chains anticipate, adapt and transform in an increasingly uncertain world?

These questions were at the heart of our recent Dialogue, Rethinking resilience in global supply chains. Vidya Rangan, Policy and Engagement Director at ISEAL, was joined by Pendragon Stuart, Director at GlobeScan, Karen Mo, Director at Ceres, and Roy van Daatselaar, Head of Improver Programme at Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), to explore what resilience means for increasingly complex global supply chains.

The foundations of resilient supply chains  

One message emerged consistently throughout the discussion: long-term supply chain resilience depends on the producers, communities and ecosystems that underpin it.

A business may absorb a short-term disruption, but it cannot build lasting resilience if producers are unable to sustain their livelihoods or if the natural systems supporting production continue to deteriorate.

Understanding who is most exposed, and where the capacity to respond is weakest, is therefore central to strengthening resilience.

Addressing the resilience gap

Recognising these interdependencies is only the first step. While organisations are becoming more aware of the risks facing their supply chains, translating that awareness into action remains a significant challenge.

During the dialogue discussion, Pendragon Stuart highlighted GlobeScan research showing that around 60 percent of companies say they are better integrating climate risks into their risk management strategies, yet only around 15 percent have begun investing in or implementing resilience measures in their supply chains. This points to a significant gap between recognising risk and preparing to address it.

The discussion also highlighted how the understanding of resilience is evolving. Rather than being seen solely as the ability to withstand disruption or recover after a shock, resilience increasingly encompasses anticipating future pressures, identifying vulnerabilities and building the capacity to adapt and transform while continuing to deliver positive sustainability outcomes.

Being prepared requires investment before the benefits are immediately visible. As Karen Mo of Ceres explained, “The cost of inaction is only going to go up as the current trajectory continues.” Early investment can help strengthen long-term supply security, build stronger relationships across supply chains and create new opportunities for value.

If the case for investing in resilience is increasingly clear, why does the gap between awareness and action persist? One reason raised during the discussion is that resilience often requires organisations to make difficult trade-offs, balancing short-term pressures with long-term resilience and competing priorities.

Navigating the trade-offs

As Pendragon observed, "Sometimes resilience is battling resilience." Different forms of resilience can pull organisations in different directions. Investments in producer or ecological resilience may not deliver immediate, quantifiable returns, even when they strengthen long-term business resilience. Similarly, climate adaptation may increase short-term costs while improving long-term supply security.

For decades, businesses have optimised supply chains for efficiency and reduced cost. Yet systems designed for stable conditions can become increasingly fragile as disruption becomes more frequent. As Pendragon also noted, "Resilience is often the opposite of efficiency.” Building resilience therefore requires honest conversations about these trade-offs and where investment should be prioritised.

The evolving role of sustainability systems

As the understanding of resilience evolves, so too does the role of sustainability systems. Increasingly, they are moving beyond demonstrating compliance to help organisations build the capacity to anticipate change, adapt and transform.

Sustainability systems can help organisations manage risks, improve supply chain data, strengthen stakeholder engagement and benchmark performance against good practice. By creating shared frameworks and common expectations, they enable businesses, producers and governments to work towards common objectives. They also provide the credibility, transparency and trust needed to coordinate action across complex supply chains.

Crucially, these systems can help create the conditions in which producers can strengthen their livelihoods while maintaining access to international markets. This echoed a message explored at ISEAL’s recent symposium in Ghana: trusted data, evidence and claims can support better decisions and help mobilise investment for long-term resilience.

Sustainability systems can also help organisations respond to emerging regulatory expectations, while supporting efforts to move beyond minimum compliance. Roy van Daatselaar illustrated this by referencing ASC’s work with local industry in Ghana to develop a code of good practice based on relevant elements of its global standard.

ASC’s approach aims to improve farm performance and risk management while supporting producers’ access to markets and finance. Roy described this as “a paradigm shift” from certification alone towards a more holistic model for responsible and resilient aquaculture.

Defining resilience for the decade ahead

Resilience is becoming a defining lens through which businesses, investors and policymakers assess sustainability performance. The challenge is no longer simply to identify risks, but to understand the different forms of resilience on which supply chains depend and invest in the capacity to anticipate, adapt and thrive amid uncertainty.

By recognising these interdependencies, trade-offs and uneven impacts, sustainability systems can support this transition by strengthening trust and transparency, creating shared frameworks, and helping ensure action is credible and inclusive.  

In doing so, they can help supply chains move beyond reacting to disruption and towards building the foundations for long-term resilience.