Renewable energy has been a topic many have discussed over the past few years, and here in California, it tends to be a highly visible issue especially during election years. Silicon Valley, once solely a tech haven, has gradually evolved and expanded into green technology. From harnessing the sun through solar cells to converting algae into fuel for vehicles, renewable energy is finally getting the acknowledgement it deserves.

With that said, the industry of renewable energy is facing a critical time that will either hinder or elevate it. Deloitte’s Global Energy & Resources Group recently released a report on the top 10 issues and trends in renewable energy. Among them, the core issues focus on government regulation, sustainability and funding sources. Flexible regulations and financial incentives in the past have helped to nurture the industry. But with the current economy, those policies and incentives are on shaky ground. In addition, funding sources...

I don’t know about you, but with the spate of food-related recalls the past few weeks, you’d think that our food supply was in trouble. Not that this year has been any different, but the outbreaks and illnesses seem much bigger and magnified than in years past. That’s why I wasn’t surprised by the opposition to the impending stamp of approval by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for genetically engineered (GE) salmon.

Food safety here in the states tends to be lax primarily because there isn’t any regulation with meat (no pun intended) that ensures accountability. By accountability, I mean establishing the necessary visibility to track and trace items as they travel through the supply chain from origin to destination. To take that step further, traceability needs to extend beyond distributors and include those involved in the manufacturing process. Determining the cause or origin of an outbreak especially when it concerns food products can take months if...

Mexico may be a tourism Mecca with more than 25 million visitors annually, but it’s also become a haven for supply chain risk. From drug smuggling and kidnappings to extortion and much worse, the level of risk has risen significantly over the past year. For U.S. businesses, America’s south of the border neighbor is both a competitive advantage and a liability.

For supply chain managers, securing shipping operations has become an overwhelming task and in some cases, routine deliveries go through multiple levels of security checks. Cross border smuggling has been an ongoing problem for years, but it seems that the trade has become more violent recently. That leads into a bigger issue: employee safety. A large part of the workforce at American companies in Mexico is made up of U.S. citizens. With the rising crime, ensuring employee safety in the short term coupled with recruiting the best and the brightest in the long term is a constant battle.

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Don’t count all your eggs until they’re hatched. That seems to be the sentiment as the nationwide egg recall continues to grow. Now expanded to 17 states covering half a billion eggs, the days of sunny side up may become a distant memory for the hypochondriac in us. Recalls involving food tend to have a significant and lingering negative impact because you are what you eat, and the last thing anyone needs is to be sick.

As with any recall, it’s important to locate the source. But, as we’ve seen time and again, this is not only difficult but usually too late since most of the food has already been consumed. And if history is our guide, the source may likely never be determined. Once again, this brings up the question for businesses—have we learned anything?

Food recalls are nothing new and yet, when one does happen, businesses react like this is the first time for everything. I can already map it out—the initial blame falls on the FDA for lack...

We’re near the end of summer (although I don’t think San Francisco ever broke 70 degrees) and if the events of the past year are any indication, some of us may have learned a few things. Here are my observations:

• No matter how prepared you think are, you aren’t. British Petroleum is a prime example of a company having a crisis plan on paper, but exhibiting little experience in the actual execution.

• The concept of control is a worthy, yet unrealistic goal. You can anticipate issues that may impact your supply chain, but ultimately, you control very little when it comes to external factors. Iceland’s Mt. Eyjafjallajokull volcanic eruption disrupted air travel and commerce for weeks, and for the most part, there was nothing anyone could’ve have done. Companies may have alternate shipping routes and plans, but chances are most didn’t have volcanic eruption in their crisis management manuals.

• What’s old is new again or something like that. Cargo theft has been on the

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