An exploratory analysis of green supply chain best practices in the retail sector

• Main Author: Naidoo, Anandthan
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: Retail trade - Environmental aspects; Supply chain management
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/12446

M.Com. (Business Management) === Retailers are the main link between product suppliers and final consumers and therefore in a position to play a pivotal role in driving environmental sustainability by encouraging the adoption of appropriate greening practices in their total supply chain activities. Whilst studies have been conducted on the green supply chain practices of leading retailers from around the world, few studies have been conducted on retailers in South Africa. The objectives of this study are to explore the range of green supply chain best practices currently adopted amongst consumer services retailers listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the extent to which green supply chain best practices are adopted in their total supply chain activities, the level of maturity of their green supply chain management practices, and the main driving forces for, benefits of and barriers to the adoption of green supply chain practices. A conceptual framework is derived from a literature review and used to develop a highly structured survey questionnaire to collect empirical data for analysis in relation to the objectives of the study. The questionnaire was administered by engaging in face-to-face interviews with respondents representing listed consumer services retailers. The empirical data collected was analysed using a Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheet model. The findings of the study indicate that the majority of the retailers studied are adopting all those green supply chain best practices identified in the literature review at least to some extent. Although a few of the retailers studied have reached a high level of maturity in their green supply chain management practices, the majority have recognised the importance of environmental sustainability related issues, have started incorporating appropriate greening practices into their total supply chain activities and therefore have progressed beyond a low level of largely ignoring green supply chain practices to the intermediate levels of maturity. This implies that they are taking environmental sustainability related issues seriously and not merely engaging in acts of green-washing. However currently these retailers are focusing first on those internal operations where they consider greening practices to be within their sphere of influence, easy to formulate, quick to implement and which can have a positive impact on environmental sustainability and the organisation in the short- to medium-term. These internal operations include transportation and logistics, solid waste management and energy usage management. Most of the main driving forces for the adoption of green supply chain practices come from outside the organisations and include an increase in disclosure requirements for sustainability policies and practices, government environmental regulations, and risks of disruptions in energy and raw material supply.