Most of the things we buy and use every day come to us through a long, complex and international supply chain. From the place they were grown or made, they are carried to us by a system of track, ships, distribution hub and delivery vehicles. This involves burning fossil fuels which have a serious environmental and health impact. Excess carbon emissions are causing climate change. Freight puts about 30% of transport-related carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere every year. As much as we are stepping forward globalisation we were losing our balance in the ecology. This is a great threat for our future . There is one way to reduce environmental impact which is to have a shorter, simpler supply chain, that means buy things made or grown nearer to us. But that is not suitable for this modern world so the best alternative is to convert the supply chain into a green supply chain that intimates working with full efficiency without harming nature.
Supply chain management is the handling of the entire production flow of goods or service. The concept of the green supply chain is integrating environmental thinking into supply chain management including production or product designing, material sourcing, manufacturing process and delivery of the final product to the consumers.
Process of creating green supply chain
The implementation of green supply chain management starts at the daily operation level of the organisation. It starts with the designing of the product. When design a product, engineering has to change the raw material specification and also focus on less toxic substances used during the manufacturing stage of the process. Purchasing raw material can go green by focusing on environmental initiative and encouraging suppliers to use more environmentally friendly product. In manufacturing, the company can focus on reducing energy and resource consumption along with implementing reuse and recycle process.
In that case McDonald sets aa excellent illustration. From 2012 , they entirely change their antienvironmental foam coffee cup. Now they use double walled paper containers that are 100% recyclable.
Again, we can see that Walmart have been efficiently taking trade towards sustainable operation. They have set a long term plan for their stores to keep their supply chain sustainable. Their recently launched stores are using 100% renewable energy sources which is more eco-friendly than ever.
Also, Starbuck wisely maintain their sustainability in supply chain . In their 50th anniversary they have targeted to launch new plant base menu items. So that farmers will encouraged to cultivate more plant and eventually that will cut carbon emissions.
Benefits of green supply chain
Making an effort to enhance sustainability in the supply chain seems costly at the initial stage but it has a long-term benefit for a company. Therefore, it is important to determine how to utilise sustainability to enhance its market position significant. By adopting green supply chain companies can produce a better product using limited material and less energy. This is also a very popular marketing technique for companies. Consumers even boycott the companies that don’t try to achieve sustainability. Consumers get satisfied by using an eco-friendly product and eventually that will give the company a competitive advantage. Code environment practices can act as a great partnership and also help in lobbying with government to enact regulation on competitors to encourage change. Moreover, maintain sustainability throughout the supply chain puts a good image that makes a positive impact on exporting their merchandise in abroad.
Every big impact can be achieved by global multinational businesses because of their share size, financial capability and their global presence. Hence, the supply chain is an inalienable part of the business world that has the utmost power to make the customer satisfy or disappoint. Going green is not a choice but instead an imperative that have both economical and environmental benefit.
