User:Gndala/Green Supply Chains

A case of a manufacturing Company

Environmental supply chain management for a firm is the set of supply chain policies held, action taken, and relationships formed in response to concerns related to the natural environment and with regard to the design, acquisition, production, distribution, use, reuse, and disposal of the firms goods and services. The supply chain of a manufacturing organization has a deep and extraordinarily varied environmental impact. These impacts arise not only from raw materials and component purchases, supplier manufacturing processes or logistics arrangements, but can also include final product disposal and even the siting of supplier plants. Given the strategic importance and the scale of organizational buying, a range of possibilities for environmental initiatives exist in the supply chain. These begin with the product, component or raw material to be purchased, where the buying company could stipulate minimum standards that the purchased product has to fulfill. For example, a paper-maker can insist the wood pulp in buys conforms to recognized standards of forest management rather than being made from clear-cutting an entire forest, or an electronic company can require its supplier to avoid certain harmful heavy metals in the supplied products. Other product based environmental initiatives can aim at by products of supplied input such as recycling packaging or reducing waste .

Implementing green supply chains

Greener organizational buying could aim at changing the supplies manufacturing processes, as the buying company can select its suppliers on the basis of how well they are running their production processes. Such measures range from requiring suppliers to have an environmental policy, introducing an environmental award scheme for ones supply base, insisting on supplier accreditation to ISO 14001 or a joint cleaner technology programs with a supplier.There is an element of greening in the scenario, as customers use their influence to reduce the environmental impact of the supplier operations.

Benefits of green supply

Implementing greener supply initiatives can lead to an array of benefits for the company itself, for the purchasing and supply process, and for society at large. Benefits for the buying company include cost reduction and improved efficiency, as the environmental initiatives take out waste and excess material, as well as an improved image among regulators and the general public.

Greener supply can contribute to a more holistic approach to managerial decision-making. The purchasing and supply process can be improved to the extent that greener supply facilitates information sharing and co-operative relationships in the supply chain. Benefits of greener supply to society begin with environmental improvements, the reduction of hazardous materials, the more efficient use of scarce resources, and the avoidance of waste. Greener supply also aids the diffusion of environmental know-how and best practices.Environmental initiatives in the manufacturing supply chain should focus on the product and manufacturing processes used by the supplier.