Case Study : Green Supply Chain Management

I recently experienced working with a family case manager that would continuously engage in one-way communication with me and the rest of the team working on a particular case. The client had several mental health issues that were not being addressed which caused her to be an extremely difficult client to work with, especially in the beginning. It was not unusual for her to verbally abuse individuals on the team including the family case manager. A large part of these behaviors stemmed from the client’s lack of ability to accept accountability as her children were removed because of domestic violence. As I worked with the client after approximately four months I was able to build rapport with her that others were not able to. I conducted her

In recent years, when the concept of sustainability is raising up, there is high percentage of customers who aware about the green products (Rather & Rajendran 2014), they do not only consider about the product or

In 1968, Elvis sat down to record an amazing Christmas television special. This special is one like we had never seen before and something we still look to for inspiration. It features close-up concerts with The King's most loyal fans, backstories from his life and career, and even a special performance of Elvis's favorite Christmas song, 'Blue Christmas'.

Most of the decisions made by the Green Team seem to result in lower costs for the company. Their decisions of acquiring produce locally, baking bread on site, and working with suppliers to reduce transit time can significantly reduce transportation costs. Also, their decision to re-evaluate inventory strategies can result in lower inventory carrying costs if they are capable

Cooperated with partners and leaders in the field of supply chains and transport, the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Logistics and Transportation started to conduct research on the supply chain. The report “Beyond Supply Chains Empowering Responsible Value Chains” analyses the impact that supply chain practices has brought to business, society and environment, and explores the issue how shared value can be made through better supply chain decisions. The report identifies “a set of 31 proven supply chain practices which provide companies with a blueprint of where they can gain both commercial and socio-environmental advantage (both environment and local economic development)—driving a triple advantage” (). In addition, the report “provides a framework for evaluating the potential value at stake behind each of these practices, and an implementation framework for

It focuses on the development of supply chains that have minimal footprint on the environment. Buyers have the responsibility of choosing suppliers that conduct environmental ethics and are environmentally conscious. (C Sisco, 2010)

(1) The supply chain managers should address the sustainability issues and should look at the entire supply

This report primarily discusses the issues that Wal-Mart is facing in establishing and maintaining a sustainable supply chain. The report outlines the company's origin and its progress in the years, followed by describing the issue it is faces. The issue described is related to Wal-Mart's failure to develop a Green

Transforming a supply chain into a sustainable network is not an easy thing to do. Amongst the existing obstacles that Johnson (2004) gives us is the considerable size of this network: all along the differents ranks of suppliers that constitute the upstream of the chain, it is very hard to track the original source of the material and to broadcast best practices all accross that path. Furthermore, the lack of legal framework for labor conditions and environment preservation in developing countries makes it the more difficult to enforce

The solution to the faulty global supply chain, presented by Timothy Smith’s Climate Change: Corporate Sustainability in the Supply Chain, lies within including environmental sustainability into; transnational policy regimes, technological development, and consumptive behavior of society.

The concept of “greening of management,” describes the actions taken by managers of all levels within organizations to align their interests with environmentally-friendly interests. More specifically, it is the practice of implementing ecosystem-friendly practices in their everyday management decisions. A prime example of “green management,” can be found through the “khaki conservation” of the United Kingdom military. The UK military has utilized “recycling (practices), waste management, energy efficiency, and conservation,” when using land spaces open to the public (Fiott 2014). The actions taken towards “greening” the military lands was a management decision in reaction to the excessive pollution created through the activities of the military, in addition to the tactical decision to justify military use of areas open to the public. It was also a strategic public relations decision, because green management strategies applied to the Military of Defense was a response to the population’s dislike of the pollution created (Fiott 2014). In this case, the military utilized green practices like recycling and proper disposal of wastes within their everyday functions.

Supply chain management is the active management of supply chain activities to maximize customer value and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. The management of the supply chain involves the efforts of all partners in the supply chain working together to effectively and efficiently deliver goods (Handfield, R, 20011). Supply chain standards that are shared globally throughout industries results in methods and rules that allows predictability, and agreed standard and guidelines. These standards will enable partners throughout the supply chain the freedom to apply influence on industry standards that will result in sustainable business practices that mirror the needs of and integrated supply chain aiding in maximum efficiency throughout the chain.

Kaplan and Norton (2006) define strategic alignment as the internal consistency of the activ- ities that implement the different attributes of strategy. Environmental sustainability drives firms to not only develop corporate environmental proactively but also to move toward green/sustainable supply chain management (Aragon-Correa and Rubio-Lo´ pez, 2007; Seuring and M¨ uller, 2008). Monczka and Petersen (2012) suggest that environmentally sustainable supply chain management is an integrated strategy which must align closely with and support business strategy in response to a changing marketplace. When alignment is lacking, Monczka and Petersen (2012) mention that supply management cannot sup- port the business in response to socioeconomic pressures. Thus, firms must align their SC and CE strategies in order to boost the overall firm performance. So it is very important for firms to understand their strategies, and the co-relationship between corporate strategy and the supply chain strategy, what sort of resource and capabilities and how to develop the capabilities to help achieving the strategy, and what are the effects of the strategies to both sides, and what is the influence means to the alignment of these two strategies?

There are numerous definitions of the terms ‘Sustainable’ and ‘Supply Chain’. For the simplistic but practical definition is “Management of raw materials and services from suppliers to manufacturer/ service provider to customer and back with improvement of the social and environmental impacts explicitly considered”. The supply chain considers the interactions between a business and its customers and suppliers. The greatest benefits are derived by extending the focus as far as possible upstream towards the raw materials, downstream towards the consumer and then back again as the product and wastes are recycled. Sustainable supply chains are among the biggest responsible business challenges. Accomplishing sustainable supply

In order to reach supply chain “nirvana” several principles should be considered and followed. While these principles are not a “be all, end all” they will help guide the management to achieve an efficient and sustainable supply chain.