Value of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM)

Value of atomic number 19 add on Chain Management (GSCM)Organizations universal atomic number 18 continuously trying to develop unsanded and mod ways to enhance their agonisticness. Bacallan (2000) suggests that some of these organizations atomic number 18 enhancing their competitiveness finished utilitys in their environmental exertion to comply with mounting environmental regulations, to address the environmental interests of their customers, and to subside the environmental relate of their intersection pointion and usefulness activities. putting surface fork up twine focus as a form of environmental improvement is an useable beginning(a) that many organizations argon assimilateing to address such environmental issues.Currently, the fountain opinion is a life-sustaining issue for companies, but when the major(ip)ity of dutyes are damage focussed, the topic of implementing and moving toward jet-propelled plane practices is often seen as a greetl y strategy. Bowen et al. (2001) state that organizations pull up stakes adopt kB try scope trouble practices if they identify that this provide yield in specialized fiscal and operational benefits.According to Routroy (2009), fountaining the manu occurrenceuring yield set up may result in one or to a greater extent benefits, in terms of approach reduction, operational expertness improvement, flexibility improvement, sales enhancement, customer encourage enhancement, and societal image improvement. kibibyte supply chain solicitude is in any case to enhance unfalterings environmental mathematical process through inter-organizational collaboration with business partners and increase efficiency by cost saving programs and proactive risk trouble practices (Hervani et al., 2005 Rao and Holt, 2005 Zhu and Sarkis, 2007).We ordain review the literature about Green emerge Chain Management (GSCM) theory and hence we will see how it is translated inwardly the supply bo nds. Then, the uncouth purpose of this look for will be to identify the link amid GSCM and everywhereall sloshed cognitive operation. We decided, based on the literature and on a specific framework (Rao Holt, 2005) applied in Asia, to tackle the concept of commonalty supply chain heed in Western Europe by including environmental initiatives in(1) Inbound logistics(2) Production or the internecine supply chain(3) Outbound logistics, including supplant logistics.Nowadays, how organisations are implementing GSCM and what are the impacts on their business? At the end of this research we will identify the best practices, and the way they are they measured. Moreover, we will see in what close an effective Green Supply Chain Management could be a driver for invention and business proceeding in manufacturing firms? Finally, we will see if Green Supply Chain Management plump to earningsability and competitiveness. Our discover will con sloper manufacturing companies in Weste rn Europe.II Literature reviewDefinitionGreen supply chain focal pointSeveral studies ease up geted the concept of ecological sustainability as a framework for studying charge practices in both(prenominal) operational and strategic contexts (Sarkis and Rasheed, 1995 Klassen and McLaughlin, 1996 King and Lenox, 2001). As part of this effort, other studies sire examined the greening of supply chains within various contexts including in product pattern (Allenby, 1993 Gupta, 1995), do work design (Porter and Van der Linde, 1995a Klassen and McLaughlin, 1996), manufacturing practices (Winsemius and Guntram, 1992), buying (Handfield et al., 2002) and a broad change of these elements (Bowen et al., 2001a).It is not surprising that GSCM finds its definition in supply chain management.Adding the green component to supply chain management involves addressing the influence and relationships of supply chain management to the natural environment.Motivated by an environmentally-conscious mindset, it can as healthful as stem from a competitiveness precedent within organizations.In this paper GSCM is defined asGreen Supply Chain Management GSCM= Green Purchasing + Green Manufacturing/Materials Management+ Green dissemination=Marketing + try LogisticsFigure 1 shows this GSCM equation graphically, where reverse logistics closes the loop of a typical forward supply chain and allows reuse, remanufacturing, and/or recycling of materials into spick-and-span materials or other products with value in the commercialiseplace. The idea is to pop off or minimize shoot a line material ( vigour, emissions, chemical/hazardous, solid languishs).This figure is representative of a angiotensin converting enzyme organizations internal supply chain, its major operational elements and the linkage to remote organizations. A number of environmentally conscious practices are evident throughout the supply chain ranging from green design ( merchandise and engineering), green pro curance practices (e.g. certifying suppliers, purchasing environmentally sound materials/products), total quality environmental management (internal capital punishment meter, defilement prevention), environmentally pally box and transportation, to the various product end-of-life practices defined by the reticuloendothelial system of reduction, reuse, remanufacturing, recycling. Expanding this figure, a number of organizational relationships could be found at various stages of thismodel, including customers and their chains, as healthy as suppliers and their chains, forming webs of relationships.Figure 1. GSCM graphThe maturement of industrial ecosystems would be greatly supported by GSCM practices. Korhonen and Niutanen (2003) in their study of material and energy flows in the local forest pains in Finland suggested these flows were comparable to other stinting and industrial systems. In the last two decades, the product-based systems perspective and the geographicalally de fined local-regional industrial ecosystem realize Porter (1991) argues the pressure to innovate from an environmental perspective injects from regulative pressure, as firms move in creative and dynamic ways to environmental regulation by introducing intentions improving environmental outcomes. new(prenominal) studies concluded environmental innovation is the result of commercialise pressures causing firms to become to a greater extent efficacious. Porter and Van der Linde (1995a, b) concluded firms respond to competitive conditions and regulatory pressure by developing strategies to maximise resource productivity, enabling them to simultaneously improve their industrial and environmental performance.Furthering this issue, Greffen and Rothenceberg (2000) suggest suppliers can be an classic source of enhanced competency for radical environmental innovation, which, in relation to an integrated technological system, demands capabilities beyond those likely to exist within a si ngle company. The added competency brought by the supply chain partners is important.Other external pressures do exist and include environmental compliance, liability, issues of business continuity, the call for benchmarking to national, international, or industry standards, customer attitudes toward product take-back, and even pressures from inter-organizational information engineering/ information management systems.The innovation of GSCM/Performance Measurement is requisite for a number of reasons in answer to external pressures. For example, business performance measurement, for purposes of external reporting, is essentially driven by the creation, maximization and defence of economic rents or surplus. These surpluses or rents in business come from distinctive capabilities such as brands and reputation, strategic assets, innovations, and the distinctive construction of relationships firms enjoy both internally with their employees and/or externally with their customers and suppliers. External reporting is also necessary to chief(prenominal)tain organizational legitimacy with respect to environmental issues (Harvey and Schaefer, 2001).Sustainability.virtuoso of the major definitions of sustainability and certainly most well known is that of the Brundtland Commission (World Commission on purlieu and Development, 1987, p.8)development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of early generations to meet their needs. This short definition includes the interest of understanding the environmental impact of economic bodily process in both developing and industrialized economies (Erlich and Erlich, 1991) ensuring worldwide aliment safety (Lal et al., 2002) ensuring that vital human needs are met (Savitz and Weber, 2006) and assuring the protection of non-renewable resources (Whiteman and Cooper, 2000). Unfortunately, the societal font of sustainability is complicated for firms to apply and provides little explanation regardi ng how organizations talent be intimate future versus present needs, determine the technologies and resources necessary to meet those needs, and understand how to balance organizational responsibilities to numerous stakeholders such as shareholders, employees, society and the natural environment (Hart, 1995 Starik and Rands, 1995).Sustainability has been also investigated in the fields of management, operations, and engineering. Within the management literature, most of the current conceptualizations of organizational sustainability set out focused on ecological sustainability (the natural environment), with little recognition of social and economic responsibilities (Jennings and Zandbergen, 1995 Shrivastava, 1995a Starik and Rands, 1995). Sustainable raises to the triple bottom line, for economic, social and environmental.An approach to competitive advantage.A finical organization has competitive advantage when it achieves a higher issuing on investment than its competitors, or it is able to do so (Grant, 1996). Therefore, in night club to control competitive advantage organizations mustiness get under ones skin the ability to fix higher profit margins than other companies in the industry.Organizations with competitive advantage, however, might show not the highest profit rate. For example, competitive organizations might prefer, for one or another reason, to plow their products and services at a lower price than the maximum price it could mark.Two major types of competitive advantage can be enjoyed by organizations (Porter, 1985) cost advantage, which is the result of supplying similar products and/or services to low prices and variantiation advantage, which comes from crack severalize products and/or services to customers, who, in turn, are ready to right an additional price which overcomes the additional specialism be. While the cost advantage position implies to have the lowest cost in the industry, differentiation advantage refers to o ffering something unique which is valued by customers.Competitive advantage can derive from one or to a greater extent factors or sources. Firstly, literature on strategic management suggests the following major sources of cost advantage (e.g., Porter, 1985 Grant, 1996) scale economies, learning economies, work capacity management, product design, cost of inputs, process technology, and management efficiency.Secondly, sources of differentiation advantage include tangible and intangible aspects which are significantly valued by potential customers as to be ready to pay an additional price for them (e.g., Porter,1985 Grant, 1996) tangible aspects refer to observable characteristics of the products and services, their performance, and complementary products and services intangible aspects, in turn, include social, emotional, psychological and aesthetic comitys which are present in any choice of products and services.Recently, a major theoretical framework has been developed in strat egic management literature which seems to be especially appropriate for identifying the characteristics that a fact resource or electrical capacity must show in order to be a major source of competitive advantage. This theoretical framework is the resource based view of the firm theory.PerformanceCorporate performance measurement and its field application continues to grow. The diversity and direct of performance measures are linked to the goal of the company or the idiosyncratic strategic business units features. For instance, when measuring performance, organizations have to think about existing financial measures such as return on investment, profitability, market share and tax harvesting at a competitive and strategic level. Other measures are more operationally focused, but may inevitably be linked to strategic level measures and issues. This is the case of customer service and inventory performance (supply, turnover).GSCM implementationWhere to begin? possible environmen tal sustainability programs require meaningful action across a broad range of processes. Some of the most impactful areas includeProduction planning The most priceless members of a supply chain are able to provide accurate forecasts and deliver reliably so as to help void over purchasing, over-production and overplusManufacturing The adoption of techniques such as inclining process improvement should result in less over processing as well as minify energy intensive storage and wasteDistribution mesh topology redesign. Smart routing, backhauling, fill optimization and mode switching all are likely to result in fewer freight milesGreen design The electronics and cogitate high-tech industries practice collaboration as a means of optimizing the green aspects of their components and end-products proactive and/or influential members of a supply chain can embolden/pursue similar collaboration/ innovationPackaging The greenest firms look to to minimize the environmental impact of packaging, not only by using less, but also by evaluating the energy, waste, recuperation and other life cycle impacts of their packaging choicesRecycled content Companies score green points by maximizing their use. of these materials as well as by using materials in products that are in turn easily recyclableWarehousing challenge existing assumptions in light of higher energy costs and the need to lop one C footprintsGreen energy More green points are easy by using green or renewable energy sources although this can be difficult in regulated energy markets (and a factor in future location decisions) IT Videoconferencing and remote servicing can reduce business travelEnergy Star rated PCs along with optimized power consumption settings can significantly pare energy costsServer farms Energy efficient servers arrayed according to state-of-the-art cooling practices can generate enormous energy nest eggRidesharing/telecommuting A growing number of companies are workings with mu nicipalities to better optimize public transportation to their facilities. More companies are also enabling more workdays at home as well as providing incentives for carpoolingEstates Investments in building air tightness, insulation and energy efficient heating, cooling, lighting, plant and equipment can significantly reduce carbon footprintsGreen procurement It is possible to reduce your carbon footprint by paying more attention to your own procurement. Supplier carbon footprint, ISO certifications, procurement distance have to be part of the selection criterias.conceptual frameworkGreening the inbound functionIt is argued that greening the supply chain has numerous benefits to an organization, ranging from cost reduction, to integrating suppliers in a participative decision-making process that promotes environmental innovation (Bowen et al., 2001 Hall, 1993 Rao, 2002). Critical parts of the inbound function are the purchasing and supply field. Green purchasing strategies are adop ted by organizations in response to the change magnitude global concerns of environmental sustainability. The Green purchasing should be able address reduction of waste produced, material substitution through environmental sourcing of raw materials, and waste minimization of hazardous materials. (Rao Holt, 2005) The involvement and support of suppliers is crucial to achieving such goals. (Vachon and Klassen, 2006).Furthermore, organizations are managing more and more their suppliers environmental performance to ensure that the materials and equipments supplied by them are environmentally-friendly in nature and are produced using environmentally-friendly processes.Min and Galle (1997) explore green purchasing to determine the tell apart factors affecting a buying firms choice of suppliers, the key barriers and the obstacles to green purchasing initiatives. They also investigated the impact of green purchasing on a corporations environmental goals. at a lower place listed subjects to get information on the green inbound stagecoach of a supply chain(1) Guiding suppliers to set up their own environmental programs (2) convey together suppliers in the same industry to share their know-how and problems (3) ratting suppliers about the benefits of cleaner production and technologies (4) urging/pressuring suppliers to take environmental actions and (5) choice of suppliers by environmental criteria.Greening the production sort or the internal supply chainIn this phase, there are a number of concepts that can be explored, such as cleaner production, design for environment, remanufacturing and lean production. Hong, He-Boong, Jungbae Roh, (2009) highlight through their research that strategic green management needs the combination of integrated product development (IPD) and supply chain coordination (SCC) for desired business outcomes. Thanks to a survey on 580 manufacturing plants in the US, adopting cleaner production techniques, Florida and Davison (2001) showed that green corporations are innovative in their environmental practices, and these strategies emerge from a real commitment towards simplification waste and pollution. Lean production/manufacturing is also an important consideration in reducing the environmental impact of the production phase.In their research King and Lenox (2001), concludes that lean production is complementary to improvements in environmental performance and it often lowers the marginal cost of pollution reduction thus enhancing competitiveness.In addition, Rothenberg et al. (2001) identify that lean plants read to minimize waste and buffers, working not only to reduce buffers in environmental technology and management, but also in an overall approach to manufacturing that minimizes waste products.(1) Environment-friendly raw materials (2) substitution of environmentally questionable materials (3) taking environmental criteria into consideration (4) environmental design considerations (5) optimization of proces s to reduce solid waste and emissions (6) use of cleaner technology processes to make savings in energy, water, and waste (7) internal recycling of materials within the production phase and (8) incorporating environmental total quality management principles such as worker empowerment.Greening the outbound functionOn the outbound side of the green supply chain, green logistics comprises all links from the maker to the end users and includes products, processes, packaging, transport, and disposal (Skjoett-Larsen, 2000).Rao, (2003) and Sarkis, (1999) argue on the fact that green marketing, environment-friendly packaging, and environment-friendly distribution, are all initiatives that might improve the environmental performance of an organization and its supply chain. Reverse logistics and waste exchange and ore generally management of wastes in the outbound function can lead to cost savings and enhanced competitiveness (Rao, 2003).In order to address these environmental impacts of pac kaging, many countries now have programs and legislation that aims to minimize the amount of packaging that enters the waste stream, such as the Packaging Directive in the EU.The distribution, for the whole supply chain is a huge stake for green management. In fact the distribution results of a trade-off between efficiency and forte firm strategy. For this reason is difficult to handleAs part of outbound logistics, green marketing has an important part to play in the link between environmental innovation and competitive advantage (Menon and Menon, 1997).Encouraging suppliers to take back packaging is a form of reverse logistics that can be an important consideration in greening the outbound function, with a study by Dorn (1996) identifying an increase in market share amongst companies that implemented an environmentally-friendly packaging scheme. The product design stones throw is more and more integrated within green supply chain issues because 80% of the environmental burden and cost of a product is fixed during this phase (Carbone, Moatti, 2008).Strategic variables to take in account for an empirical study(1) Environment-friendly waste management (2) environmental improvement of packaging (3) taking back packaging (4) eco-labeling (5) recovery of companys end-of-life products (6) providing consumers with information on environmental friendly productsand/or production methods and (7) use of environmentally-friendly transportation.Competitiveness economic performanceBacallan (2000) suggests that organizations are enhancing their competitiveness through improvements in their environmental performance to comply with mounting environmental regulations, to address the environmental concerns of their customers ().However, an fire point to vizor is that, as long as the market does not seek environmental value-drivers in the products and services it purchases, environmental issues are not necessarily considered by organizations and consumers. (Rao Holt, 2005) Fortunately, over the last few years there has been a growth in environmental awareness of consumers in general. Clearly a growing number of corporations are developing company-wide environmental programs and green products sourced from markets around the world. Therefore, environmental issues are becoming a source of competitiveness.All these efforts aim to improve environmental performance, enhance integrated image, reduce costs, reduce risks of non-compliance and improve marketing advantage. Nevertheless, some organizations are still tone upon green initiatives as involving trade-offs between environmental performance and economic performance. The financial performance of firms is affected by environmental performance in a variety of ways. When waste, both hazardous and non-hazardous, is minimized as part of environmental management, it results in better utilization of natural resources, improved efficiency, higher productivity and reduces operating costs (Rao Holt, 2005). No wadays and in the future, a good green player could transport to increase its brand image and its market share and then improve its profitability against company without enough green concern while saving costs by innovative processes.To investigate the link between green supply chain management and economic performance we could refers to those key aspects(1) New market opportunities (2) product price increase (3) profit margin(4) sales and (5) market share.And competitiveness(1) Improved efficiency (2) quality improvement (3) productivity improvement and (4) cost savings.methodological analysisTo confirm our research, an empirical, survey-based research approach will be taken. ground on the empirical studies through the literature, and a meaningful framework used in the relevant research of Rao Holt in 2005 applied on Asian companies. We rent to follow a common technique to validate the framework presented in the preceding section, a linear SEM (Stochastic Expectation Maximizat ion) approach is used (Jreskog and Srbom, 1993) to validate the causal relationships between the different latent constructs of greening the inbound function greening production greening the outbound function competitiveness and economic performance.The questionnaire will be distributed to the supply chain managers and/or environmental management representative (EMR) or the gaffer executive of manufacturing organizations in Western Europe. In order to have both MNCs and SMEs (Responses will be collected on a four-point and five-point Likert scale, and open-ended questions. The four-point scale served to ferocity the respondents to check either on the negative side or on the positive side.The choice not to focus only on the leading asperity ISO14001 accredited organizations (running environmental management) allow us to broader our research and then make a comparison between those without formal environmental management accreditation, and best players accredited.In terms of financ ial performance, this strategy will be interesting for identifying benefits and again do comparisons.Expected results.As this type of research was already done in South-Est Asia, our results will allow us to compare our findings and trend with those in South-Est Asia. We expect a response of 10%, therefore we will send to a upshot taste to get sufficient and tangible return. We will belike be able to confirm that greening the supply chain also has potential to lead to competitiveness and economic performance.As the current environmental concern in Europe is high, including governmental and customers pressures these research findings would probably show that firms that are greening their supply chains not only achieve substantial cost savings, but also enhance either sales, market share or exploit new market opportunities. The cost aspect will be important to assess as it is directly connected to the overall performance.The main limitation of this research will be probably the sma ll sample of organizations, but the inadequacy of empirical research in Europe will be also one of the main strengths of this paper.Therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to all organizations in this region or around the world.Finally, future research should empirically test the relationships suggested in this paper in different countries, to enable comparative studies. For advertize research, a larger sample will allow detailed cross-sectoral comparisons and establish international patterns regarding benefits from GSCM.Performance Measurement for Green Supply chain managementContextIn supply chains with multiple actors, (vendors manufacturers, distributors and retailers) whether regionally or globally dispersed, it is difficult to attribute performance results to one particular entity within the chain, by the way performance measurement is in reality challenging. There are difficulties in measuring performance within organizations and even more difficulties airlift in in ter-organizational environmental performance measurement.The reasons for wishing of systems to measure performance across organizations are multidimensional, including non-standardized data, poor technological integration, geographical and cultural differences, differences in organizational policy, lack of agreed upon metrics, or poor understanding of the need for inter-organizational performance measurement. (Hervani, A. Helms, M. Sarkis, J., 2005)Performance measurement in supply chains is difficult for additional reasons, especially when looking at numerous tiers within a supply chain, and green supply chain management performance measurement, or GSCM/PM, is virtually non-existent. With these barriers and difficulties in mind, GSCM/PM is needed for a number of reasons (including regulatory, marketing and competitiveness reasons).Overcoming these barriers is not a trivial issue, but the long-term sustainability (environmental and otherwise) and competitiveness of organizations m ay rely on successful adoption of GSCM/PM.The basic purposes of GSCM/PM are external reporting (economic rent), internal control (managing the business better) and internal analysis (understanding the business better and continuous improvement). These are the fundamental issues that drive the development of frameworks for business performance measurement. It is important to consider both purpose, as well as the interrelationships of these various measurements.Supply chain managementSupply chain management is the coordination and management of a complex net of activities involved in delivering a finished product to the end-user or customer. It is a vital business function and the process includes sourcing raw materials and parts, manufacturing and assembling products, storage, order instauration and tracking, distribution through the various channels and finally delivery to the customer. A companys supply chain structure consists of external suppliers, internal functions of the com pany, and external distributors, as well as customers (commercial or end-user). Firms may be members of multiple supply chains simultaneously. The management and coordination is further complicated by global players spread across geographic boundaries and multiple time zones. The successful management of a supply chain is also influenced by customer expectations, globalization, information technology, government regulation, competition and the environment.Performance management and measurementCorporate performance measurement and its application continue to grow and encompass both quantitative and qualitative measurements and approaches.The variety and level of performance measures depends greatly on the goal of the organization or the individual strategic business units characteristics. For example, when measuring performance, companies must consider existing financial measures such as return on investment, profitability, market share and revenue growth at a more competitive and st rategic level. Other measures such as customer service and inventory performance (supply, turnover) are more operationally focused, but may necessarily be linked to strategic level measures and issues.Overall, these difficulties in developing standards for performance measurement are traced to the various measurement taxonomies. Example taxonomic considerations include management level to measure strategic, tactical, or operational tangible versus intangible measures variations in collection and reporting an organizations location along the supply chain or functional differentiation within organizations (e.g. accounting, versus marketing or operations).Similar to the performance measurement used, the performance measurement system may be unique to each individual organization, or unit within an organization, reflecting its fundamental purpose and its environment. Several studies have investigated the universal principles of performance measurement (Adams et al., 1995 Gunasekaran et al., 2001 Sink and Tuttle, 1990). These studies arrived at a number of conclusValue of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM)Value of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM)Organizations worldwide are continuously trying to develop new and innovative ways to enhance their competitiveness. Bacallan (2000) suggests that some of these organizations are enhancing their competitiveness through improvements in their environmental performance to comply with mounting environmental regulations, to address the environmental concerns of their customers, and to mitigate the environmental impact of their production and service activities. Green supply chain management as a form of environmental improvement is an operational initiative that many organizations are adopting to address such environmental issues.Currently, the green concept is a critical issue for companies, but when the majority of businesses are cost focused, the idea of implementing and moving toward green practices is often seen as a costly strategy. Bowen et al. (2001) state that organizations will adopt green supply chain management practices if they identify that this will result in specific financial and operational benefits.According to Routroy (2009), Greening the manufacturing supply chain may result in one or more benefits, in terms of cost reduction, operational efficiency improvement, flexibility improvement, sales enhancement, customer value enhancement, and societal image improvement.Green supply chain management is also to enhance firms environmental performance through inter-organizational collaboration with business partners and increase efficiency by cost saving programs and proactive risk management practices (Hervani et al., 2005 Rao and Holt, 2005 Zhu and Sarkis, 2007).We will review the literature about Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) concept and then we will see how it is translated within the supply chains. Then, the common purpose of this research will be to identify the link between GSCM and overall firm performance. We decided, based on the literature and on a specific framework (Rao Holt, 2005) applied in Asia, to tackle the concept of green supply chain management in Western Europe by including environmental initiatives in(1) Inbound logistics(2) Production or the internal supply chain(3) Outbound logistics, including reverse logistics.Nowadays, how organisations are implementing GSCM and what are the impacts on their business? At the end of this research we will identify the best practices, and the way they are they measured. Moreover, we will see in what extent an effective Green Supply Chain Management could be a driver for innovation and business performance in manufacturing firms? Finally, we will see if Green Supply Chain Management lead to profitability and competitiveness. Our study will consider manufacturing companies in Western Europe.II Literature reviewDefinitionGreen supply chain managementSeveral studies have considered the concept of ecolog ical sustainability as a framework for studying management practices in both operational and strategic contexts (Sarkis and Rasheed, 1995 Klassen and McLaughlin, 1996 King and Lenox, 2001). As part of this effort, other studies have examined the greening of supply chains within various contexts including in product design (Allenby, 1993 Gupta, 1995), process design (Porter and Van der Linde, 1995a Klassen and McLaughlin, 1996), manufacturing practices (Winsemius and Guntram, 1992), purchasing (Handfield et al., 2002) and a broad mixture of these elements (Bowen et al., 2001a).It is not surprising that GSCM finds its definition in supply chain management.Adding the green component to supply chain management involves addressing the influence and relationships of supply chain management to the natural environment.Motivated by an environmentally-conscious mindset, it can also stem from a competitiveness motive within organizations.In this paper GSCM is defined asGreen Supply Chain Manag ement GSCM= Green Purchasing + Green Manufacturing/Materials Management+ Green Distribution=Marketing + Reverse LogisticsFigure 1 shows this GSCM equation graphically, where reverse logistics closes the loop of a typical forward supply chain and includes reuse, remanufacturing, and/or recycling of materials into new materials or other products with value in the marketplace. The idea is to eliminate or minimize waste (energy, emissions, chemical/hazardous, solid wastes).This figure is representative of a single organizations internal supply chain, its major operational elements and the linkage to external organizations. A number of environmentally conscious practices are evident throughout the supply chain ranging from green design (marketing and engineering), green procurement practices (e.g. certifying suppliers, purchasing environmentally sound materials/products), total quality environmental management (internal performance measurement, pollution prevention), environmentally frie ndly packaging and transportation, to the various product end-of-life practices defined by the Res of reduction, reuse, remanufacturing, recycling. Expanding this figure, a number of organizational relationships could be found at various stages of thismodel, including customers and their chains, as well as suppliers and their chains, forming webs of relationships.Figure 1. GSCM graphThe development of industrial ecosystems would be greatly supported by GSCM practices. Korhonen and Niutanen (2003) in their study of material and energy flows in the local forest industry in Finland suggested these flows were comparable to other economic and industrial systems. In the last two decades, the product-based systems perspective and the geographically defined local-regional industrial ecosystem have Porter (1991) argues the pressure to innovate from an environmental perspective comes from regulatory pressure, as firms respond in creative and dynamic ways to environmental regulation by introdu cing innovations improving environmental outcomes.Other studies concluded environmental innovation is the result of market pressures causing firms to become more efficient. Porter and Van der Linde (1995a, b) concluded firms respond to competitive conditions and regulatory pressure by developing strategies to maximize resource productivity, enabling them to simultaneously improve their industrial and environmental performance.Furthering this issue, Greffen and Rothenberg (2000) suggest suppliers can be an important source of enhanced competency for radical environmental innovation, which, in relation to an integrated technological system, demands capabilities beyond those likely to exist within a single company. The added competency brought by the supply chain partners is important.Other external pressures do exist and include environmental compliance, liability, issues of business continuity, the call for benchmarking to national, international, or industry standards, customer atti tudes toward product take-back, and even pressures from inter-organizational information technology/data management systems.The innovation of GSCM/Performance Measurement is necessary for a number of reasons in response to external pressures. For example, business performance measurement, for purposes of external reporting, is fundamentally driven by the creation, maximization and defence of economic rents or surplus. These surpluses or rents in business come from distinctive capabilities such as brands and reputation, strategic assets, innovations, and the distinctive structure of relationships firms enjoy both internally with their employees and/or externally with their customers and suppliers. External reporting is also necessary to maintain organizational legitimacy with respect to environmental issues (Harvey and Schaefer, 2001).Sustainability.One of the major definitions of sustainability and certainly most well known is that of the Brundtland Commission (World Commission on E nvironment and Development, 1987, p.8)development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. This short definition includes the interest of understanding the environmental impact of economic activity in both developing and industrialized economies (Erlich and Erlich, 1991) ensuring worldwide food safety (Lal et al., 2002) ensuring that vital human needs are met (Savitz and Weber, 2006) and assuring the protection of non-renewable resources (Whiteman and Cooper, 2000). Unfortunately, the societal aspect of sustainability is complicated for firms to apply and provides little explanation regarding how organizations might recognize future versus present needs, determine the technologies and resources necessary to meet those needs, and understand how to balance organizational responsibilities to numerous stakeholders such as shareholders, employees, society and the natural environment (Hart, 1995 Starik and Rands, 1995) .Sustainability has been also investigated in the fields of management, operations, and engineering. Within the management literature, most of the current conceptualizations of organizational sustainability have focused on ecological sustainability (the natural environment), with little recognition of social and economic responsibilities (Jennings and Zandbergen, 1995 Shrivastava, 1995a Starik and Rands, 1995). Sustainable refers to the triple bottom line, for economic, social and environmental.An approach to competitive advantage.A particular organization has competitive advantage when it achieves a higher return on investment than its competitors, or it is able to do so (Grant, 1996). Therefore, in order to have competitive advantage organizations must have the ability to obtain higher profit margins than other companies in the industry.Organizations with competitive advantage, however, might show not the highest profit rate. For example, competitive organizations might prefer, fo r one or another reason, to sell their products and services at a lower price than the maximum price it could mark.Two major types of competitive advantage can be enjoyed by organizations (Porter, 1985) cost advantage, which is the result of supplying similar products and/or services to low prices and differentiation advantage, which comes from offering differentiated products and/or services to customers, who, in turn, are ready to pay an additional price which overcomes the additional differentiation costs. While the cost advantage position implies to have the lowest costs in the industry, differentiation advantage refers to offering something unique which is valued by customers.Competitive advantage can derive from one or more factors or sources. Firstly, literature on strategic management suggests the following major sources of cost advantage (e.g., Porter, 1985 Grant, 1996) scale economies, learning economies, production capacity management, product design, cost of inputs, proc ess technology, and management efficiency.Secondly, sources of differentiation advantage include tangible and intangible aspects which are significantly valued by potential customers as to be ready to pay an additional price for them (e.g., Porter,1985 Grant, 1996) tangible aspects refer to observable characteristics of the products and services, their performance, and complementary products and services intangible aspects, in turn, include social, emotional, psychological and aesthetic considerations which are present in any choice of products and services.Recently, a major theoretical framework has been developed in strategic management literature which seems to be particularly appropriate for identifying the characteristics that a particular resource or capability must show in order to be a major source of competitive advantage. This theoretical framework is the resource based view of the firm theory.PerformanceCorporate performance measurement and its field application continues to grow. The diversity and level of performance measures are linked to the goal of the company or the individual strategic business units features. For instance, when measuring performance, organizations have to think about existing financial measures such as return on investment, profitability, market share and revenue growth at a competitive and strategic level. Other measures are more operationally focused, but may inevitably be linked to strategic level measures and issues. This is the case of customer service and inventory performance (supply, turnover).GSCM implementationWhere to begin?Viable environmental sustainability programs require meaningful action across a broad range of processes. Some of the most impactful areas includeProduction planning The most valuable members of a supply chain are able to provide accurate forecasts and deliver reliably so as to help reduce over purchasing, over-production and wasteManufacturing The adoption of techniques such as lean process im provement should result in less over processing as well as reduced energy intensive storage and wasteDistribution Network redesign. Smart routing, backhauling, fill optimization and mode switching all are likely to result in fewer freight milesGreen design The electronics and related high-tech industries practice collaboration as a means of optimizing the green aspects of their components and end-products proactive and/or influential members of a supply chain can promote/pursue similar collaboration/ innovationPackaging The greenest firms seek to minimize the environmental impact of packaging, not only by using less, but also by evaluating the energy, waste, recovery and other life cycle impacts of their packaging choicesRecycled content Companies score green points by maximizing their use. of these materials as well as by using materials in products that are in turn easily recyclableWarehousing Challenge existing assumptions in light of higher energy costs and the need to reduce c arbon footprintsGreen energy More green points are available by using green or renewable energy sources although this can be difficult in regulated energy markets (and a factor in future location decisions) IT Videoconferencing and remote servicing can reduce business travelEnergy Star rated PCs along with optimized power consumption settings can significantly pare energy costsServer farms Energy efficient servers arrayed according to state-of-the-art cooling practices can generate enormous energy savingsRidesharing/telecommuting A growing number of companies are working with municipalities to better optimize public transportation to their facilities. More companies are also enabling more workdays at home as well as providing incentives for carpoolingEstates Investments in building air tightness, insulation and energy efficient heating, cooling, lighting, plant and equipment can significantly reduce carbon footprintsGreen procurement It is possible to reduce your carbon footprint b y paying more attention to your own procurement. Supplier carbon footprint, ISO certifications, procurement distance have to be part of the selection criterias.Conceptual frameworkGreening the inbound functionIt is argued that greening the supply chain has numerous benefits to an organization, ranging from cost reduction, to integrating suppliers in a participative decision-making process that promotes environmental innovation (Bowen et al., 2001 Hall, 1993 Rao, 2002). Critical parts of the inbound function are the purchasing and supply field. Green purchasing strategies are adopted by organizations in response to the increasing global concerns of environmental sustainability. The Green purchasing should be able address reduction of waste produced, material substitution through environmental sourcing of raw materials, and waste minimization of hazardous materials. (Rao Holt, 2005) The involvement and support of suppliers is crucial to achieving such goals. (Vachon and Klassen, 2006 ).Furthermore, organizations are managing more and more their suppliers environmental performance to ensure that the materials and equipments supplied by them are environmentally-friendly in nature and are produced using environmentally-friendly processes.Min and Galle (1997) explore green purchasing to determine the key factors affecting a buying firms choice of suppliers, the key barriers and the obstacles to green purchasing initiatives. They also investigated the impact of green purchasing on a corporations environmental goals.Below listed subjects to get information on the green inbound phase of a supply chain(1) Guiding suppliers to set up their own environmental programs (2) bringing together suppliers in the same industry to share their know-how and problems (3) informing suppliers about the benefits of cleaner production and technologies (4) urging/pressuring suppliers to take environmental actions and (5) choice of suppliers by environmental criteria.Greening the productio n phase or the internal supply chainIn this phase, there are a number of concepts that can be explored, such as cleaner production, design for environment, remanufacturing and lean production. Hong, He-Boong, Jungbae Roh, (2009) highlight through their research that strategic green management needs the combination of integrated product development (IPD) and supply chain coordination (SCC) for desired business outcomes. Thanks to a survey on 580 manufacturing plants in the US, adopting cleaner production techniques, Florida and Davison (2001) showed that green corporations are innovative in their environmental practices, and these strategies emerge from a real commitment towards reducing waste and pollution. Lean production/manufacturing is also an important consideration in reducing the environmental impact of the production phase.In their research King and Lenox (2001), concludes that lean production is complementary to improvements in environmental performance and it often lowers the marginal cost of pollution reduction thus enhancing competitiveness.In addition, Rothenberg et al. (2001) identify that lean plants aim to minimize waste and buffers, leading not only to reduce buffers in environmental technology and management, but also in an overall approach to manufacturing that minimizes waste products.(1) Environment-friendly raw materials (2) substitution of environmentally questionable materials (3) taking environmental criteria into consideration (4) environmental design considerations (5) optimization of process to reduce solid waste and emissions (6) use of cleaner technology processes to make savings in energy, water, and waste (7) internal recycling of materials within the production phase and (8) incorporating environmental total quality management principles such as worker empowerment.Greening the outbound functionOn the outbound side of the green supply chain, green logistics comprises all links from the manufacturer to the end users and includes products, processes, packaging, transport, and disposal (Skjoett-Larsen, 2000).Rao, (2003) and Sarkis, (1999) argue on the fact that green marketing, environment-friendly packaging, and environment-friendly distribution, are all initiatives that might improve the environmental performance of an organization and its supply chain. Reverse logistics and waste exchange and ore generally management of wastes in the outbound function can lead to cost savings and enhanced competitiveness (Rao, 2003).In order to address these environmental impacts of packaging, many countries now have programs and legislation that aims to minimize the amount of packaging that enters the waste stream, such as the Packaging Directive in the EU.The distribution, for the whole supply chain is a huge stake for green management. In fact the distribution results of a trade-off between efficiency and effectiveness firm strategy. For this reason is difficult to handleAs part of outbound logistics, green marketing h as an important part to play in the link between environmental innovation and competitive advantage (Menon and Menon, 1997).Encouraging suppliers to take back packaging is a form of reverse logistics that can be an important consideration in greening the outbound function, with a study by Dorn (1996) identifying an increase in market share amongst companies that implemented an environmentally-friendly packaging scheme. The product design step is more and more integrated within green supply chain issues because 80% of the environmental burden and cost of a product is fixed during this phase (Carbone, Moatti, 2008).Strategic variables to take in account for an empirical study(1) Environment-friendly waste management (2) environmental improvement of packaging (3) taking back packaging (4) eco-labeling (5) recovery of companys end-of-life products (6) providing consumers with information on environmental friendly productsand/or production methods and (7) use of environmentally-friendly transportation.Competitiveness Economic performanceBacallan (2000) suggests that organizations are enhancing their competitiveness through improvements in their environmental performance to comply with mounting environmental regulations, to address the environmental concerns of their customers ().However, an interesting point to notice is that, as long as the market does not seek environmental value-drivers in the products and services it purchases, environmental issues are not necessarily considered by organizations and consumers. (Rao Holt, 2005) Fortunately, over the last few years there has been a growth in environmental awareness of consumers in general. Clearly a growing number of corporations are developing company-wide environmental programs and green products sourced from markets around the world. Therefore, environmental issues are becoming a source of competitiveness.All these efforts aim to improve environmental performance, enhance corporate image, reduce costs, reduc e risks of non-compliance and improve marketing advantage. Nevertheless, some organizations are still looking upon green initiatives as involving trade-offs between environmental performance and economic performance. The financial performance of firms is affected by environmental performance in a variety of ways. When waste, both hazardous and non-hazardous, is minimized as part of environmental management, it results in better utilization of natural resources, improved efficiency, higher productivity and reduces operating costs (Rao Holt, 2005). Nowadays and in the future, a good green player could expect to increase its brand image and its market share and then improve its profitability against company without enough green concern while saving costs by innovative processes.To investigate the link between green supply chain management and economic performance we could refers to those key aspects(1) New market opportunities (2) product price increase (3) profit margin(4) sales and (5) market share.And competitiveness(1) Improved efficiency (2) quality improvement (3) productivity improvement and (4) cost savings.MethodologyTo validate our research, an empirical, survey-based research approach will be taken. Based on the empirical studies through the literature, and a meaningful framework used in the relevant research of Rao Holt in 2005 applied on Asian companies. We choose to follow a common technique to validate the framework presented in the preceding section, a linear SEM (Stochastic Expectation Maximization) approach is used (Jreskog and Srbom, 1993) to validate the causal relationships between the different latent constructs of greening the inbound function greening production greening the outbound function competitiveness and economic performance.The questionnaire will be distributed to the supply chain managers and/or environmental management representative (EMR) or the chief executive of manufacturing organizations in Western Europe. In order to hav e both MNCs and SMEs (Responses will be collected on a four-point and five-point Likert scale, and open-ended questions. The four-point scale served to force the respondents to check either on the negative side or on the positive side.The choice not to focus only on the leading edge ISO14001 accredited organizations (running environmental management) allow us to broader our research and then make a comparison between those without formal environmental management accreditation, and best players accredited.In terms of financial performance, this strategy will be interesting for identifying benefits and again do comparisons.Expected results.As this type of research was already done in South-Est Asia, our results will allow us to compare our findings and trend with those in South-Est Asia. We expect a response of 10%, therefore we will send to a consequent sample to get sufficient and tangible return. We will probably be able to confirm that greening the supply chain also has potential to lead to competitiveness and economic performance.As the current environmental concern in Europe is high, including governmental and customers pressures these research findings would probably show that firms that are greening their supply chains not only achieve substantial cost savings, but also enhance either sales, market share or exploit new market opportunities. The cost aspect will be important to assess as it is directly connected to the overall performance.The main limitation of this research will be probably the small sample of organizations, but the lack of empirical research in Europe will be also one of the main strengths of this paper.Therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to all organizations in this region or around the world.Finally, future research should empirically test the relationships suggested in this paper in different countries, to enable comparative studies. For further research, a larger sample will allow detailed cross-sectoral comparisons and es tablish international patterns regarding benefits from GSCM.Performance Measurement for Green Supply chain managementContextIn supply chains with multiple actors, (vendors manufacturers, distributors and retailers) whether regionally or globally dispersed, it is difficult to attribute performance results to one particular entity within the chain, by the way performance measurement is really challenging. There are difficulties in measuring performance within organizations and even more difficulties arise in inter-organizational environmental performance measurement.The reasons for lack of systems to measure performance across organizations are multidimensional, including non-standardized data, poor technological integration, geographical and cultural differences, differences in organizational policy, lack of agreed upon metrics, or poor understanding of the need for inter-organizational performance measurement. (Hervani, A. Helms, M. Sarkis, J., 2005)Performance measurement in suppl y chains is difficult for additional reasons, especially when looking at numerous tiers within a supply chain, and green supply chain management performance measurement, or GSCM/PM, is virtually non-existent. With these barriers and difficulties in mind, GSCM/PM is needed for a number of reasons (including regulatory, marketing and competitiveness reasons).Overcoming these barriers is not a trivial issue, but the long-term sustainability (environmental and otherwise) and competitiveness of organizations may rely on successful adoption of GSCM/PM.The basic purposes of GSCM/PM are external reporting (economic rent), internal control (managing the business better) and internal analysis (understanding the business better and continuous improvement). These are the fundamental issues that drive the development of frameworks for business performance measurement. It is important to consider both purpose, as well as the interrelationships of these various measurements.Supply chain management Supply chain management is the coordination and management of a complex network of activities involved in delivering a finished product to the end-user or customer. It is a vital business function and the process includes sourcing raw materials and parts, manufacturing and assembling products, storage, order entry and tracking, distribution through the various channels and finally delivery to the customer. A companys supply chain structure consists of external suppliers, internal functions of the company, and external distributors, as well as customers (commercial or end-user). Firms may be members of multiple supply chains simultaneously. The management and coordination is further complicated by global players spread across geographic boundaries and multiple time zones. The successful management of a supply chain is also influenced by customer expectations, globalization, information technology, government regulation, competition and the environment.Performance management and measu rementCorporate performance measurement and its application continue to grow and encompass both quantitative and qualitative measurements and approaches.The variety and level of performance measures depends greatly on the goal of the organization or the individual strategic business units characteristics. For example, when measuring performance, companies must consider existing financial measures such as return on investment, profitability, market share and revenue growth at a more competitive and strategic level. Other measures such as customer service and inventory performance (supply, turnover) are more operationally focused, but may necessarily be linked to strategic level measures and issues.Overall, these difficulties in developing standards for performance measurement are traced to the various measurement taxonomies. Example taxonomic considerations include management level to measure strategic, tactical, or operational tangible versus intangible measures variations in colle ction and reporting an organizations location along the supply chain or functional differentiation within organizations (e.g. accounting, versus marketing or operations).Similar to the performance measurement used, the performance measurement system may be unique to each individual organization, or unit within an organization, reflecting its fundamental purpose and its environment. Several studies have investigated the universal principles of performance measurement (Adams et al., 1995 Gunasekaran et al., 2001 Sink and Tuttle, 1990). These studies arrived at a number of conclus