Green Supply Chian

Introduction

Competitive advantage, greening the supply chain are some of the evolving concepts which include working collaboratively with suppliers on green product designs, holding awareness seminars, helping suppliers establish their own environmental program. These concepts arises from the understanding that customers and other stakeholders do not always draw the line between a company and its suppliers.
Large companies who usually initiate greening the industry have many suppliers and business partners who belong to the category called small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Because of lack of initiative and funding limitations, SMEs have not really shown much interest in greening their processes. On one side SMEs contribute a lot toward the total production of goods and services while on the other side they have been accused of being the biggest polluters. SMEs do contribute to around 60-70% of entire pollution in the world.
Considering the current scenario, companies are realizing that today's business is about value, trade with respect, trust among suppliers and distributors. The today's consumer is more concerned about the products he purchases regarding where it comes from and how it is produced. The awareness among the consumers about the product information urges companies to do business using fair methods and socially responsible trading systems. The business practices should also be free from any kind of exploitation and damage to the environment.
The manufacturers need to address the environmental issues about the product at the source level rather than controlling them after product is produced.
In developing countries like India economic growth, enhancing foreign exchange, investment and generation of employment constitute a leading source to fight against poverty.

Greening the Inbound Logistics Phase

The negative impact on the environment is created at different points in the supply chain. The amount of impact may vary from point...