Linking supply chain strength to sustainable development: a country-level analysis

Several global corporations have been severely criticized by different lobbying groups for the impact of their operations on the natural environment and on the local communities. Because corporate operations cannot be studied in isolation but rather as a part of a large network often referred to as a supply chain, this paper investigates the potential link between supply chain characteristics and sustainable development at the country level. In particular, the linkage between supply chain strength, generally defined as the number and quality of the suppliers and customers in a country, and the three dimensions of sustainable development namely environmental performance, corporate environmental practices, and social sustainability is assessed. Using archival data from The Global Competitiveness Report (2004–2005) and the 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index, a statistical assessment of the linkage was conducted. The results indicate that supply chain strength is positively linked to all three dimensions of sustainable development.     

Incorporating sustainability into supply management in the automotive industry – the case of the Volkswagen AG

Companies are perceived as important actors in the drive for sustainability. Linked to this, and in response to increasing demands from various stakeholder groups, companies start to look at their supply chain to enhance their overall sustainability profile. Two major triggers can be identified: (1) focal companies are held responsible for environmental and social problems caused by their suppliers, which become more and more important as (2) an increasing share of value is created at the supplier level. In response to such demands, companies have to find ways to incorporate environmental and social aspects into their supply (chain) management. Therefore, environmental and social standards are integrated into supply management by amending the purchasing processes. This paper presents one approach to integrate social and environmental standards into supply policy and supply management at the Volkswagen AG, a focal company of the automobile industry. Therefore, required changes of the sourcing and supply structures were identified during an action research project, and possible options adaptable for company internal integration are shown.     

ISO 14001 in environmental supply chain practices

This paper focuses on the role of ISO 14001 in environmental supply management practices in Swedish companies. It discusses the existing and potential role of ISO 14001 for three key operational tasks of environmental supply chain management: to communicate the requirements to the supplier, to motivate and enable the supplier, and to verify that the supplier follows the requirements. The study used three different research methods: interviews with environmental managers, focus group discussions and a survey of two multinational companies and their operating units in several countries.It concludes that cooperation between the purchasing and environmental functions within a company is frequently not sufficiently achieved in implementation of ISO 14001; this makes the communication of customer requirements to suppliers less efficient. Building close relationships with suppliers is important to overcome initial difficulties, but this often conflicts with having a large supplier base. For the supplier to have an ISO 14001 certificate is seldom an absolute requirement, however, preference is often given to such suppliers. The value of the ISO 14001 certificate, as a proof of environmental performance, is a combination of the supplier's environmental ambitions, the advancement of supply chain practices of the customer and the ambitions of the certification bodies. Supplier audits are not commonly used as they are resource-consuming. Monitoring and verification approaches need further development.     

A strategic decision framework for green supply chain management

The number of organizations contemplating the integration of environmental practices into their strategic plans and daily operations is continuously increasing. Numerous initiatives have provided incentives for organizations to become more environmentally benign. Some of these regulation driven programs are mandatory, but increasingly numerous voluntary environmental programs are also introduced by organizations. Organizations view many of these environmental programs, which may include technological and organizational development projects, as possible alternatives for gaining or maintaining a competitive advantage. One environmental program area that continues to gain in importance is one that focuses on the external relationships among organizations. To help evaluate alternatives that will effect this relationship we present a strategic decision framework that will aid managerial decision-making. This decision framework is based on literature and practice in the area of environmentally conscious business practices. The focus of this paper will be on the components and elements of green supply chain management and how they serve as a foundation for the decision framework. We shall explore the applicability of a dynamic non-linear multiattribute decision model, defined as the analytical network process, for decision making within the green supply chain. Issues facing the modeling approach are also discussed.     

Green supply chain management: pressures,practices and performance within the Chinese automobile industry

Increasing pressures from a variety of directions have caused the Chinese automobile supply chain managers to consider and initiate implementation of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices to improve both their economic and environmental performance. Expanding on some earlier work investigating general GSCM practices in China, this paper explores the GSCM pressures/drivers (motivators), initiatives and performance of the automotive supply chain using an empirical analysis of 89 automotive enterprises within China. The results show that the Chinese automobile supply chain enterprises have experienced high and increasing regulatory and market pressures and at the same time have strong internal drivers for GSCM practice adoption. However, their GSCM implementation, especially with consideration of external relationships, is poor. Therefore, GSCM implementation has only slightly improved environmental and operational performance, and has not resulted in significant economic performance improvement. In furthering this analysis we investigate one specific organization in this supply chain, the Dalian Diesel Engine Plant, and how this pioneering company has addressed the issues identified by the broader empirical analysis.     

Environmental supply chain dynamics

This paper investigates the circumstances under which “environmental supply chain dynamics” (ESCD) emerge. ESCD are a phenomenon where environmental innovations diffuse from a customer firm to a supplier firm. Its relevance is based on the argument that systemic approaches are needed to understand the environmental implications of industrial systems, of which supply chains are a key component. Furthermore, buyer–supplier relationships play a critical role in the decision-making processes of most suppliers, which in turn has the potential to stimulate environmental change within the supply chain. Based on case studies in the British and Japanese food retail sector and the British aerospace industry, it will be shown that ESCD emerge if there is a channel leader with sufficient channel power over their suppliers, technical competencies, and are themselves under specific environmental pressure.     

Green supplier development: analytical evaluation using rough set theory

Suppliers' development is a critical function within supply chain management. Green supplier development is also necessary for effective green supply chain management. Interestingly, there is a gap in the research on how an organization can effectively manage supplier development programs, and specifically green supplier development. The use of formal models to aid green supplier development management is virtually non-existent. This paper aims to fill this gap by introducing a formal model using rough set theory to investigate the relationships between organizational attributes, supplier development program involvement attributes, and performance outcomes. The performance outcomes focus on environmental and business dimensions. The rough set methodology utilizes an ‘incomplete’ information approach which is more realistic in some data poor environments. A multistage rough set methodology is detailed through an illustrative application. The methodology generates decision rules relating the various attributes to the performance outcomes. Included in the discussion are insights into how these rules for individual and aggregated performance (environmental, business, and joint performance) may be evaluated. Practical and research implications of this work are detailed in the paper.     

Corporate environmental responsibility in the supply chain

A continuing trend in outsourcing increases the complexity of supply chains. Global supply chains extend over numerous echelons of countless companies. In parallel, the company-internal view on corporate environmental responsibility is being challenged as customers and legislation alike broaden a company's environmental responsibility to include organisations' upstream as well as downstream in the supply chain. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine corporate environmental responsibility beyond corporate boundaries, i.e. in the supply chain. A cross-industrial study based on 16 case studies in Finnish trans-national corporations sheds light on various dimensions of corporate environmental responsibility upstream and downstream of product and process supply chains. Conclusions were drawn for corporate environmental responsibility as well as for the role of supply chain management in extending environmental demand over several echelons and diverse industries.     

Creating integrated business and environmental value within the context of China’s circular economy and ecological modernization

This paper investigates the challenges and opportunities of how firms and organizations can and will be able to strike a better balance between economic growth and environmental stewardship in the context of China’s emerging ‘circular economy’ policy paradigm and based on ecological modernization theoretic approaches.Based on three company case studies in the information technology and electronic industries in China, we identify and demonstrate how a blended business and environmental value can be created from adopting a sustainable supply chain management approach. The adoption of a sustainable supply chain management approach is rapidly becoming a key business challenge and opportunity in China and other large emerging economies around the world, where our greatest environmental management challenges currently reside and will continue to exist for many years to come. The value creation framework proposed in research focuses on evaluating three case study companies who appear in various stages of an electronic industry supply chain. Value creation within a supply chain can provide the impetus for organizations to adopt circular economy, sustainable supply chain practices, for competitive reasons.In addition, we describe how a value proposition can be evaluated at two levels of analysis, a more specific micro-level and a more general meso-level of analysis. The four major business value dimensions include cost reduction, revenue generation, resiliency, and legitimacy and image.The initial findings are that a variety of opportunities exist for electronic firms in emerging and developing countries, while results from this study provide an important scholarly foundation to develop and refine sustainable supply chain management practices in emerging and developing economies.     

Influences, practices and opportunities for environmental supply chain management in Nova Scotia SMEs

Executives are increasingly paying attention to the importance of supply chain management [Lambert DM, Cooper MC. Issues in supply chain management. Industrial Marketing Management 2000;29(1):65–83; Hagelaar GJLF, van der Vorst JGAJ. Environmental supply chain management: using life cycle assessment to structure supply chains. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review 2002;4:399–412]. The management of the supply chain can be a central aspect of a company's competitive advantage [Preuss L. Rhetoric and reality of corporate greening: a view from the supply chain management function. Business Strategy and the Environment 2005;14:123–139]. SCM also offers considerable opportunities to reduce a company's environmental impact. The supply chains of three small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in the Burnside Industrial Park in Nova Scotia, Canada were investigated to explore the opportunities to improve environmental performance of SMEs linked in supply chains. This study confirmed that time and, to a lesser degree, financial resources to address solid waste and energy issues are the greatest limiting factors. Small suppliers, and even to a certain degree medium-sized enterprises, have difficulties in allocating resources to initiatives that are not viewed as directly related to their core function, namely manufacturing the product or providing the service. This study clearly demonstrated that opportunities exist to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and solid waste. Although, the benefits that would be gained from the implementation of any of the individual actions in the supply chains explored in this study are individually small, the cumulative benefits that could be achieved among supply chains and within industrial parks are substantial, given the number of small- and medium-sized enterprises.     

A life-cycle framework to analyse business risk in process industry projects

The chemical and related process industries are particularly exposed to high environmentally related costs arising from normal operation and accidents, not only of their own processes but also other processes in their supply chains. A methodology (Process environmental risk assessment—PERA) is presented for the assessment of all such risks during the design of new processes. This can be seen as a project-centred risk assessment that seeks potential problems along the whole supply chain. Each activity, resource use or waste source along the supply chain represents a potential interaction between the supply chain and the environment. These potential interactions are identified systematically using a life-cycle based assessment. To assess the risk to the project or process supply chain arising from those interactions the relevant stakeholders must be identified. Their likely response can then be considered and ranked according to the risk it poses. The methodology facilitates the management and communication of risk, and is illustrated by application to some aspects of the manufacture of PVC. The method could equally be applied to the assessment of existing processes.     

欧美绿色供应链发展经验及启示

随着工业化、城市化的飞速发展,我国经济社会面临的资源环境瓶颈约束日益突出,实现经济发展和环境保护的同步推进是当前工作的重要内容,环境保护将扮演更为重要的角色。实施绿色供应链管理有利于改善高能耗高污染问题,提高企业生产效率,增强核心竞争力,促进企业和社会的可持续发展。欧盟和美国在推行绿色供应链管理方面成果显著,汲取其先进的政策和实践经验,对中国推进绿色供应链具有重要的借鉴意义。     

促进供给侧绿色改革的环境政策研究

绿色化是供给侧结构性改革的重要内容.针对供给侧绿色改革的内涵,提出促进供给侧绿色改革的环境政策框架,首先,强化环境准入和退出机制,包括完善环境标准体系和环境监管执法机制,深化环境准入制度改革等;其次,完善资源环境成本内生化机制,包括改革资源环境价格政策,推进财税制度"绿色化",优化生态补偿机制和加快建立绿色金融体系等;最后,建立企业主体参与环境保护的激励机制,包括实施环保领导者制度和绿色供应链管理制度,加快环境治理市场主体培育.为供给侧结构性改革的稳步推进和其他配套政策的研究思路提供一定的参考.     

现代企业环境管理行为探析

对目前企业内部逐渐采取的多种有效的环境管理，进行绿色概念及其导出行为的分析，主要有绿色企业文化，绿色设计、绿色从应链管理、清洁生产、绿色营销等，认为这些环境管理行为能促进经济增长和环境保护的协调发展。     

以改善环境质量为核心推动供给侧绿色结构改革

为进一步明确供给侧改革中环保的定位与作用,文章结合去产能、降成本、补短板等重大任务,探讨了环保产业、环保公共服务业、传统产业绿色化改造、绿色消费、环境管理制度等与供给侧改革的关系,提出了环境保护推动供给侧绿色结构改革的若干建议。     

中山市金属回收企业绿色供应链绩效评价研究

废旧金属资源的回收是循环经济的重要组成部分,进一步加强废旧金属回收行业的管理,对于保证资源永续、减少环境污染、节省能源、提高经济效益具有重要的意义。当前的竞争环境使金属回收企业和政府主管部门急需通过金属回收企业绿色供应链绩效评价,了解企业的绿色供应链管理状况,以适应越来越激烈的市场竞争。因而建立一个金属回收企业绿色供应链绩效评价模型不仅对绿色供应链的实践具有指导意义,而且还能对金属回收企业绿色供应链的绩效作出评价,改善其绿色供应链管理。     

Second Chance Game: local (university-community) partnerships for global awareness and responsibility

This paper reviews the evolution of an inter-organizational partnership between Ball State University and local organizations to develop the Second Chance Game (SCG), an environmental education sustainability awareness game that has been tested with sixth grade students in Muncie, Indiana and that has become a part of the educational program of the Minnetrista Cultural Center and Oakhurst Gardens. The SCG game helps students discover how to live responsibly on the land, and to understand that every decision they make (to obtain and process food, mine or harvest resources, build shelters, produce and consume products) has an impact on local and regional systems and resource-flows. In this paper, partnerships are presented as a strategy to help organizations deal with similar challenges and also as a strategy to increase global awareness about environmental issues and to build environmental responsibility. The authors discuss partnerships using the SCG as a case study. First, the authors review the process of formation, evolution, and maintenance of the partnership to design the SCG game and other components. They then present the game and a stand-alone preparatory program for middle school teachers to help their students play the game, as specific products. The paper closes with a reflection about the potential of partnerships for sustainable development initiatives between universities and local stakeholders.     

民航机场绿色供应链构建策略与实施路径研究

民航机场是航空运输服务的重要载体,也是民航领域推进生态文明建设的主战场.文章以深圳机场为例,探讨以服务供应链为依托构建机场绿色供应链的策略,并提出了四大板块任务,即完善绿色采购,推行绿色建设,实施绿色地勤,加强绿色经营,从而将生态文明贯穿到机场生产、经营、管理的各个环节,提升机场经济、社会和环境效益,进一步强化机场生态文明建设的窗口效应.     

From a literature review to a conceptual framework for sustainable supply chain management

Academic and corporate interest in sustainable supply chain management has risen considerably in recent years. This can be seen by the number of papers published and in particular by journal special issues. To establish the field further, the purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it offers a literature review on sustainable supply chain management taking 191 papers published from 1994 to 2007 into account. Second, it offers a conceptual framework to summarize the research in this field comprising three parts. As starting point related triggers are identified. This allows putting forward two distinct strategies: (1) supplier management for risks and performance, and (2) supply chain management for sustainable products. It is evident that research is still dominated by green/environmental issues. Social aspects and also the integration of the three dimensions of sustainability are still rare.Both practitioners in companies and academics might find the review useful, as it outlines major lines of research in the field. Further, it discusses specific features of sustainable supply chains as well as limitations of existing research; this should stimulate further research.     

Sustainability and supply chain management – An introduction to the special issue

This paper introduces the special issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production on “Sustainability and Supply Chain Management”. This special issue mirrors the increasing relevance of this topic for both practitioners in companies, and academics. The purpose of this special issue is to serve as a catalyst to this important topic. Environmental and social problems and challenges do not stop at the gates of single companies, but have to be considered along the supply chains as the entities across which related material and information flows are organized. The aims of the paper are to introduce current research topics and provide an overview of the single papers. The papers cover supply chain strength of regions and regional activities as well as actions taken by small- and medium-sized manufacturing and public organizations. The papers in this issue also take a look at performance indicators and closed-loop supply chain aspects. Amongst these topics, four papers incorporate social aspects, which have been relatively and significantly less researched than environmental issues.