Greening the supply chain involves numerous practices that large companies are employing in order to gain more control of their supply chain. This is important as it helps ensure that the activities within the supply chain are sustainable. Generally, corporations focus a lot more on sustainability. For a measurable improvement in best processes, big companies have to work on greening the supply chain in order for them to be truly sustainable. According to Rao (2008), there is a perception that companies have to do what is good for the company and not what is good for their daily business. The author He argues that companies can do both of these and still be sustainable.
There are steps to be taken before a company can fully integrate the process of greening the supply chain. The company should choose the right suppliers. The company should have those suppliers that have a responsibility to the environment. Large companies use the 80/20 rule where they give credence to their most reliable supplier in the supply chain (Beste, 2007). Another step is to have performance and metrics analysis to gauge the performance of various suppliers. The suppliers that do not add value are phased out. In addition, during the supply chain, the company can look at ways to look at the opportunities for re designing the business processes, having further discoveries of products, changing materials over time, and having different designs for their products. In this light, businesses can incorporate better reports of their performance related results (Rao, 2008).
Finally, businesses can develop a partnership with government institutions, nonprofit organizations and likeminded institutions and agencies to increase their effectiveness in various aspects such as management, financial reservoirs and technical knowledge. All these will help the company in greening the supply chain (Beste, 2007).
References
Beste, T. (2007). Greening the supply chain in public procurement: A case study of a UK local authority. Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller.
Rao, P. H. (2008). Greening the Supply Chain: A Guide for Asian Managers. New Delhi: SAGE India.
