Can companies profit from greener manufacturing?

Emerald - Tập 14 Số 2 - Trang 22-31 - 2010
VanessaMenzel1, JanSmagin1, FelixDavid1
1Student at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Tóm tắt

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the trend and effect of environmentally friendly manufacturing on the financial performance of companies in the European automotive and pharmaceutical industries. Specific attention was given to resource utilization.Design/methodology/approachThe method of research was a survey of annual and sustainability reports published by companies and recording the change in resource usage as well as the financial performance of the companies.FindingsThe study showed no significant relationship between greener manufacturing and corporate performance, however a trend in decreasing resources, specifically electricity, was found. Furthermore, a trend in reducing CO2 was found.Research limitations/implicationsThe lack of available data was a significant obstacle in finding a trend and a meaningful relationship. Furthermore, the data that was published was restated in following reports to account for divestments or acquisitions. For further research, case studies on solely the production process of a company should be conducted and specific costs and benefits relevant to the production process need to be found.Originality/valueThis paper aims to quantify the growing trend of environmentally conscious production in European companies.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

Eurostat (2006), “Size and structure of the business economy”, available at: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/european_business/introduction/size_structure (accessed 26 January 2010).

Fiksel, J. (1996), Design for Environment: Creating Eco‐Efficient Product and Processes, McGraw‐Hill, New York, NY.

Harvard Business Green (2008), “Six critical conversations about business and the environment”, Harvard Business Review, pp. 3‐88.

Hervani, A., Helms, M.M. and Sarkis, J. (2005), “Performance measurement for green supply chain management”, Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 330‐48.

Kim, H‐J., Kernbaum, S. and Seliger, G. (2006), “Roadmap to sustainable manufacturing by increasing use‐productivity”, Proceedings of IV Global Conference on Sustainable Product Development and Life Cycle Engineering, Sao Carlos, 3 October‐6 October, S.0 (CD).

Klassen, R. and Vachon, S. (2003), “Collaboration and evaluation in the supply chain the impact on plant‐level environmental investment”, Production and Operations Management, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 336‐52.

Lentz, J. (2009), “Hierarchy of Green”, available at: http://jonwarrenlentz.com/index.php/2009/01/hierarchy/ (accessed March 7, 2009).

Mulcahy, A. (2008), “Xerox Commits $2 million to RIT targeting education and research in sustainability”, available at: www.xerox.com/go/xrx/template/inv_rel_newsroom.jsp?ed_name=NR_2008April24_Xerox_Commits_2Million_to_RIT_Education_Sustainability&app=Newsroom&view=newsrelease&format=article&Xcntry=USA&Xlang=en_US (accessed February 6, 2009).

Narasimhan, R. and Carter, J.R. (1998), Environmental Supply Chain Management, The Center for Advanced Purchasing Studies, Tempe, AZ.

Rao, P. and Holt, D. (2005), “Do green supply chains lead to competitiveness and economic performance?”, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 25 No. 9, pp. 898‐912.

Zhu, Q. and Sarkis, J. (2004), “Relationships between operational practices and performance among early adopters of green supply chain management practices in Chinese manufacturing enterprises”, Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 22 No. 3, pp. 265‐89.

Thông tin
Thông tin xuất bản

Emerald

Tập 14 Số 2

22-31

Thông tin tác giả