INESC TEC and Porto Business School brought together around 200 experts from more than 20 countries to Portugal to discuss the challenges of sustainability in operations management and supply chains. The 13th edition of the EurOMA (Sustainable Operations and Supply Chains Forum) focused on the importance of regenerative approaches and on the concept of “polycrisis”, characterised by the intensification and overlap of global crises.
“We are living in a time marked by the convergence of crises, like climate change, geopolitical instability, public health emergencies and social inequalities. We call this scenario a polycrisis – and it is one that makes the limitations of traditional operations and supply chain models, focused on efficiency, increasingly evident,” explained Ricardo Zimmermann, a researcher at INESC TEC and a member of the forum’s organising team.
Against this international backdrop, the event encouraged reflection on the challenges of regenerative operations and supply chains, which go beyond mitigating multiple crises to promote the restoration of systems. “Regenerative approaches seek to restore, renew and revitalise social and ecological systems, as well as their role in improving resilience and preparedness in scenarios involving multiple, sequential or parallel crises,” the researcher noted, adding that implementing regenerative principles in supply chains presents complex challenges. “Our goal was to foster a comprehensive discussion that can help overcome these challenges,” he added.
From the forum’s programme, Gustavo Dalmarco, also a researcher at INESC TEC, highlighted the keynote contributions by Steve Evans, who emphasised the still untapped potential of resource efficiency in industry, and Helena Freitas, who called for a renewed connection with nature and greater recognition of biodiversity as a pathway to the future.
“Over the course of two days, the event also featured 138 scientific presentations in parallel sessions, 11 co-creation sessions, and the presentation of seven innovative teaching practices in sustainability. The forum also included two acknowledgements: the Seeds of Change Award, for the most promising study, and the Teaching Innovation Award, recognising the most innovative and impactful educational initiative.” Dalmarco also highlighted a round table with editors from some of the field’s most prestigious scientific journals, including the International Journal of Operations & Production Management, the Journal of Supply Chain Management and the Production and Operations Management.
“The strong turnout, which this year reached a record 200 participants from 23 European and non-European countries, reflects the growing importance of sustainability in both research and practice within operations management. It also highlights the international appeal of the city of Porto and of the organising institutions. Hosting the event in Porto also provided an important opportunity to consolidate INESC TEC’s presence within this ecosystem, opening the door to future international collaborations,” concluded Ricardo Zimmermann.
The 13th edition of EurOMA took place on 16 and 17 March at Porto Business School.
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