Impact of Green Supply Chain Management on Organizational Performance

This dissertation explores the impact of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) on the organizational performance of the manufacturing industry in Hong Kong. It evaluates the costs and benefits of GSCM, explores the strategies for implementing GSCM, assesses the potential challenges of implementing GSCM, and recommends a possible GSCM model to improve the performance of the organizations.

Running head: DISSERTATION
Impact of Green Supply Chain Management on Organizational Performance
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:

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Acknowledgement
I am thankful to all the individuals who have been my constant support to complete the research
work based on ‘Impact of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) on Organizational
Performance’. I would like to share my heartfelt gratitude to my professor _________ who has
been my constant support. I want to share my thanks to my friends and families who have been
shown care and tolerate my tantrum. I discussed with my classmates about the topic and my
classmates were my pipeline to complete this research. Completion of the research gives me
much pleasure.
Thank You.

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Abstract
Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) is a trending practice of the modern industrial world.
As the environment is getting affected due to human activity, the implementation of GSCM has
become almost necessary to reduce the impact on the environment. The study revolves around
the impact of GSCM on the performances of the manufacturing industry of Hong Kong. The
researcher conducted a secondary data analysis on the implementation of GSCM in
manufacturing in Hong Kong. Information collected from the industry on the past five years and
through qualitative thematic study it has been found that with the growing application of green
supply chain has increased the popularity of the companies among the customers, which is
reflected in their revenues, profit and growth. It has been found that, the implementation of
GSCM has a positive impact on the organizational performance in the manufacturing industry of
Hong Kong.

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Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................6
1.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................6
1.2 Background of the study........................................................................................................6
1.3 Research aim..........................................................................................................................8
1.4 Research objectives...............................................................................................................9
1.5 Research questions.................................................................................................................9
1.6 Research rationale..................................................................................................................9
1.7 Proposed outline of research philosophy and research approach........................................10
1.8 Research structure................................................................................................................11
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.......................................................................................13
2.1 Factors influencing organizational performance.................................................................14
2.2 Factors of GSCM.................................................................................................................14
2.3 Types of GSCM practices....................................................................................................15
2.4 Connection between GSCM and financial performance of businesses...............................18
2.5 Benefits and boundaries of GSCM......................................................................................19
2.6 GSCM and organizational performance..............................................................................20
2.7 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................22
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...........................................................................24

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3.1 Research method outline......................................................................................................24
3.2 Research paradigm...............................................................................................................25
3.3 Research approach...............................................................................................................26
3.4 Research strategy.................................................................................................................26
3.5 Research design...................................................................................................................27
3.7 Data collection process and instruments..............................................................................28
3.5 Data analysis process...........................................................................................................29
3.6 Research timeline.................................................................................................................30
CHAPTER 4: DATA FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS...................................................................32
4.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................32
4.2 Thematic analysis................................................................................................................32
4.3 Summary..............................................................................................................................49
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSIONS......................................................................................................50
CHAPTER 6: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS.................................................55
6.1 Conclusions..........................................................................................................................55
6.2 Linking with objectives.......................................................................................................56
6.3 Recommendations................................................................................................................58
6.4 Future scope of the research................................................................................................61
Reference List................................................................................................................................62
Glossary.........................................................................................................................................69

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
Environmental conservation has become one of the major concerns of the world. As the
population is growing, and demand for basic necessities is increasing rapidly and technology is
getting advanced, the environment is getting damaged. Sustainability has become one of the
most significant challenges of the world. People in the modern world are more aware of the
environmental issues, such as global warming and climate change and its impact on the living
beings. Hence, the industries are taking initiatives to change their production process to reduce
their footprints on the environment. GSCM is one such initiative that aims to apply the eco-
friendly techniques in the supply chain management to minimize the carbon footprint on the
environment and promote sustainability by reducing the environmental damage (Fahimnia,
Sarkis and Davarzani 2015). GSCM is now widely being used by companies all across the globe.
It is about the effective and efficient implementation of the green practices in the production and
distribution procedures (Bag, Anand and Pandey 2017). This paper aimed to explore the impact
of GSCM on the organizational performances. The researcher has conducted the study by
thoroughly investigating different aspects and features of GSCM, its advantages and
disadvantages of this system and their effect on the business performance.
1.2 Background of the study
Supply chain management (SCM) refers to the management of the goods and services
flow, which involves the movement and the storage of the raw materials, in-process inventories,
and finished products from the point of origin to the point of consumption (Jacobs, Chase and
Lummus 2014). Interlinked or interconnected channels, networks and node businesses are

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combined in the provision of the goods and services required by the end customers in a supply
chain. According to Christopher (2016), supply chain management is the design, planning,
executing, controlling and monitoring the supply chain functions. Tatar (2017) states that GSCM
(GSCM) involves the integration of environmentally friendly activities, such as product
designing, sourcing of raw materials and selection, manufacturing procedures, and delivery of
the final goods and services to the customers along with the end-of-life management of the good
after its lifecycle. Thus, as stated by Mirhedayatian, Azadi and Saen (2014), GSCM are the
activities of a firm that revolve around the production and delivery of the goods and services
from the manufacturers and suppliers to the end consumers through the material, information and
cash flow by involving eco-friendly techniques.
The traditional supply chain management is more focused on the quality, optimum cost in
the production and delivery process to the end consumers. This management might not always
include environmentally friendly actions or ideas. On the other hand, GSCM includes the
mandatory regulations for incorporating the environmental idea in each of the stages of the
products and services is a supply chain. Thus, the supply chain managers play a fundamental role
in developing creative and innovative eco-friendly technologies for handling the problems of the
economy regarding the environment and in communicating the message to each stakeholder in
the supply chain (Tatar 2017). There are many stages in supply chain management, which are
turned into environment-friendly solutions under GSCM. For example, lean manufacturing is the
process of eliminating the wastes in every supply chain stage. The objective of this
manufacturing is to reduce the wastes during production and supply process. Hence, economic
production of environmentally efficient products to satisfy the customers’ needs and expectations

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is the purpose of lean manufacturing (Govindan et al. 2017). The benefit of using GSCM is to
reduce the inventories and saving energy and space and contribute towards a greener earth.
Khan and Yu (2017) highlight in their study on the impact of GSCM on the
manufacturing firms’ performance in the context of Pakistan that, proper controlling and
monitoring of the green information system is very necessary alongside implementing the eco-
designs in their supply chain to achieve the efficient functioning. The authors had also
highlighted 5 independent variables to measure the green supply chain practices, and those are
green manufacturing, green information systems, green purchasing, eco-design and cooperation
with customers. Thus, it can be said that green information system is an integral part of the
GSCM, which has a significant impact on the performance of manufacturing firms, provided the
firms monitor the information system efficiently. From these, it can be derived that efficient
implementation of GSCM requires various measures or practices, which can influence the
performance of the organizations.
As environmental issues have become major concerns for the manufacturing
organizations, the necessity of implementing GSCM has increased. These practices are different
than the practices in traditional supply chain management and hence, have a significant impact
on the business performance of a firm. The researcher would explore different aspects of the
GSCM and its influence on the organizational performance.
1.3 Research aim
The aim of the dissertation is to examine the significance of GSCM to improve
organizational performance.

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1.4 Research objectives
The research objectives are:
 To evaluate the costs and benefits of GSCM
 To explore the strategies for implementing GSCM
 To assess the potential challenges of implementing GSCM
 To recommend a possible GSCM model to improve the performance of the organizations
1.5 Research questions
1) What are the advantages and disadvantages of GSCM?
2) What strategies are usually undertaken by the firms while implementing the GSCM?
3) What are the potential challenges that the firms face while applying the GSCM
techniques?
4) What is the impact of GSCM techniques on the business performance of the firms
implementing these techniques?
1.6 Research rationale
GSCM has become a trend in the industries across the world. As the industrial activities
are increasing rapidly, the environmental damages are increasing too. Hence, the implementation
of GSCM has become necessary for a sustainable future, as GSCM aims to reduce the wastes,
which includes harmful chemicals, solid and energy wastes, GHG emissions and to incorporate
environmental sustainability. On the other hand, the industries operate for making profits. Hence,
to increase productivity and profitability and reduce the cost of production, they often ignore the
environment-friendly practices, which incur the high cost. The organizations that use natural

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resources must manage the resources in the most efficient manner to maintain the long-term
sustainability and profitability (Brandenburg et al. 2014).
The awareness about the global warming and other environmental issues started from the
1990s and the firms started to incorporate the ethical CSR policies in their operations including
the supply chain (Luthra, Garg and Haleem 2015). The ethical and green practices adopted by
the firms help them to gain an advantage in the industry as consumers have become more aware
of the environmental sustainability. Hence, the integration of green practices in the
manufacturing and supply process of the firms has gained importance among the consumers as
they are now more concerned about those. Hence, organizations following GSCM are being able
to capture the market share and that share is increasing. Organizational performance depends on
many factors including the GSCM. The researcher explored the extent to which the
implementation of GSCM impacts the organizational performance. The advantages,
disadvantages and potential challenges of the implementation of the GSCM practices were
explored through this research study.
1.7 Proposed outline of research philosophy and research approach
The researcher has adopted the interpretivism research philosophy to address the research
questions. Since, the topic of the study aimed to explore the impact of GSCM practices on the
business performance in the manufacturing industry in Hong Kong; it would be most suitable to
analyze the impact of these practices using qualitative method. Collecting primary data would be
difficult and hence, the researcher would collect secondary data on the past 5 years from the
manufacturing industry of Hong Kong regarding the implementation of GSCM and its impact on
the business growth. Interpretivism allowed the researcher to use the interpretation skills to
investigate the information regarding the research topic and present the analysis in a thematic

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manner. Following this research philosophy, the researcher has adopted deductive research
approach. This research approach enabled the researcher to analyze the gathered information
against already established theories and research studies. In other words, the secondary data on
the manufacturing industry of Hong Kong was used as supporting information to meet the
research objectives. The researcher did not generate any new theory from the gathered
information. The collected data helped to explain the research phenomena and the outcome was
used to validate research aim objectives.
1.8 Research structure
Chapter 1 presents the introduction of the research topic. It helps in introducing the research
topic to the readers. It presents background of the study, aim and objectives of the research,
research questions and hypothesis and significance of the research.
Chapter 2 represents the literature review of the previous literature. The researcher gained in-
depth knowledge on the research subject by studying various kinds of literature by previous
authors to gain information and idea about the research topic.
In chapter 3, research methodology is presented. This presents the strategy of the researcher
while conducting this study. Research paradigm, strategy, approach, design, sampling, data
collection and analysis methods are explained in this chapter.
Chapter 4 describes the data analysis, findings and its interpretation. The analysis was done using
mixed methodology, that is, by using quantitative and qualitative analysis method. Tables,
graphs, charts were used for visual presentation of the primary data and statistical tools were
used for quantitative analysis. Secondary data were analyzed using thematic analysis under
qualitative method.

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Chapter 5 is the concluding chapter. The researcher presents concluding remarks and
recommendations based on the findings and also establishes a link between the research
objectives and the findings.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
Literature review is done by the researchers to gain an in-depth knowledge of the
research subject. Studying previous literatures helps the researchers to obtain relevant
information and develop an outlook about the research subject. In this study, the researcher
conducts the literature review on previous papers by other authors. Through this chapter, the
researcher presents the knowledge gained from the previous works, which helps to understand
the context and background of the study. Different aspects of the topic and its implications as per
different theories are highlighted in this chapter to exhibit the background and context of the
research topic, that is, the impact of GSCM on the organizational performance.
Nowadays, businesses are becoming highly globalized and have become more
competitive. The organizations tried to broaden up their supply chain network across the globe.
The organizations are using natural resources, which are simultaneously necessary for the other
members of the society. The demand for the natural resources has increased due to maintaining
the supply chains of the organizations. For the sustainable development, the organizations
primarily related to the supply chains mode of business, need to balance out with the earth's
supply of natural resources. It is to fulfill this purpose sustainable practices of GSCM are
necessary. According to Ahi and Searcy (2013), the primary cause of the environmental
problems is related to business operations such as logistic, manufacturing, and sourcing. The
organizations, which are related to the supply chains, have already integrated the ethical
consideration of green practices. However, these organizations have extended their
environmental practices by including effective green practices throughout the supply chains.

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2.1 Factors influencing organizational performance
Al-Tit (2017) found that organizational performance is based on many factors in a
company. The author found in his study that it includes production, customer service, supply and
distribution, human resources, capital stock, strategic integration, marketing technique,
stakeholders’ support, knowledge creation, knowledge management capacity, creativity and
innovation, leadership style, corporate governance, supportive organizational culture and CSR
activities. The implementation of GSCM activities is often considered as a part of the CSR
activities as the organizations are adopting the GSCM activities to reduce the environmental
footprint from the manufacturing as well as supply chain practices. Hence, it can be said that
implementation of effective GSCM practices does not imply that the organizational performance
will improve. Many other factors need to perform well to deliver a better and improved
organizational performance.
However, these days, when the environmental sustainability has become a big issue in
regards to the sustainable future, the companies are now focusing on incorporating the
environment-friendly practices in their business operations. Hence, GSCM is one of the major
factors influencing the business operations.
2.2 Factors of GSCM
Hu and Hsu (2010) conducted a study on the critical factors of GSCM. The findings of
the study showed that 20 critical factors can be divided into four categories, namely, supplier
management, organization involvement, product recycling and lifecycle management. The study
was conducted on the electronic and electrical industries of Taiwan. According to the findings of
the study, since the Taiwanese electronics and electrical industry plays a significant role in the
international Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry, the validated

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instruments allow the managers and decision makers in the ICT manufacturers for evaluating the
perceptions of GSCM practices in their companies. Moreover, the critical elements in
implementing he GSCM practices, as shown in the study, are beneficial in identifying the areas,
where the GSCM practices can be implemented, accepted and improvements can be possible and
prioritized.
2.3 Types of GSCM practices
Stadtler (2015) has researched the various types of GSCM practices of different
organizations. He has compared those different sustainability practices of the organizations and
provides recommendations on how those practices could be improved. Some of the
environmental practices by the organizations involved in supply chains are joint waste
minimization with the suppliers, training and educational programs of the sustainability to the
suppliers, joint process design of recycling, transportation with the suppliers and designing of
methods that could reduce the consumption of energy. The supply chain firms in China have
incorporated the environmental practices into the purchase, logistic, reverse logistics, regulatory
and legislative practices (Zhu et al. 2017). They have taken practices related to the eco-
designing. Some of the firms involved in the supply chains are trying to reduce the harmful
effect of the environment through emission by choosing suppliers from the same geographical
areas and using smart transport modes shared trucks and heavy-duty trucks with other companies
and product lines. The two significant measures of the environmental pollution in the supply
chains are the rate of carbon emissions, and fuel consumption as the transport sector in the
supply chains are holding the significant impact of the environmental effect.
The key elements of a supply chain management are raw materials, component,
manufacturer, retailer and consumers. Each of the interfaces of the SCM represents movements

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of the goods, the flow of information, title transfer and purchase and sale (Laari et al. 2016).
GSCM is an extension of the SCM activities incorporating the environment-friendly techniques.
As highlighted by Jabbour and de Sousa Jabbour (2016), there are different ways of building a
green supply chain in an organization. Those ways are as follows:
 Selection of products: Organizations should design the product in a way so that it is safe
to use, creates less pollution and consumes less amount of energy. There should not be
any hazardous elements that could create obstacle during transportation or storage and
while disposing the products at the end of their life cycle. Design for Environment (DFE)
refers to the development of products, which has no negative side effects for the human
as well as for the environment, and which is cost effective and eco-friendly. This is a
necessary GSCM practice, which should be eco-friendly and cost-effective.
 Process and production: The manufacturing process should include the GSCM
initiatives to reduce the negative impact on the environment. Effective and efficient
production strategy for reducing the energy consumption includes reducing the waste
materials, and water and air emissions. This can be attributed to the lean manufacturing.
Recycling option can be evaluated strictly before scraping any waste.
 Selection of business partners: selection of suppliers who follow GSCM and use eco-
friendly raw materials in their operations is helpful while building the practice of
environment-friendly operations. Involving the vendors during the conception and
designing of the products is beneficial as they can provide the best inputs to align with
the business strategy and customer strategy as well. This way a green supply chain can be
formulated and established, which will meet the customer’s expectation and at the same
time reduce the footprint on the environment.

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 Designing logistics: In the logistics design, the organizations should put efforts to reduce
fuel and other energy consumption. Fuels in transport can be reduced if the suppliers are
set near to the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and the hubs. The plan of the
sourcing and delivery of the end products should be made in a way which would reduce
the unnecessary transportation. For example, the organizations can practice backhauling,
in which after the delivery of a finished good is done, an empty vehicle can be used for
collecting goods from other sources in the same route. Air freight should be used less
while more rail and ship transportation should be practiced.
 Packaging material: Organizations practicing GSCM replace the packaging material
with eco-friendly materials. They have to obtain fumigation certificate for international
shipments of the wooden crates and pallets. The packaging materials should be recyclable
and reusable. It should be made in a manner so that it cannot cause any hazard for the
environment.
 Reverse logistics design: Recycle, repair and reuse strategy should be adopted by the
organizations. Remanufacturing and redistribution process should also be incorporated.
Reduction of pollution during the transportation is an important activity in the reverse
logistics.
 Information technology: Companies are now focusing on providing green IT solutions
through different automatic processes to reduce their carbon footprint. Companies are
going for paperless solutions through digital processing.
 Green building: People nowadays prefer to deploy greener practices in the
manufacturing of buildings. Using energy saving lights and natural lights in an optimized

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manner are the primary agenda. Water is recycled, and renewable sources are used for
energy. These way green practices are following in making buildings.
Hence, the designs stated above would create a social and financial value to the customers if
those are implemented successfully at each stage of any supply chain. This is often termed by the
organizations as the value chain. In the end all these actions and must be sustainable and should
be improved continuously through research and innovation of new ideas.
2.4 Connection between GSCM and financial performance of businesses
The connection between the GSCM and financial outcomes has become a trending topic.
For the contemporary research, as it includes corporate strategies and policies and the economic
sustainability, Zhu, Sarkis and Lai (2012) have studied the impact of the green practices such as
GSCM and its implication on the performance of the organizations. They have seen that the
Chinese manufacturing companies, that adopted green practices, that are internal and external,
have achieved better results in terms of performances. Green supply chain practices focus on
reducing the environmental risks and its impacts and helps in environmental efficiency. The
green practices include the elimination of the resource waste and the pollution. Through this
process of GSCM, the firms could be beneficial as this practice saves the cost by the proficient
use of the resources and reduction of the additional materials. The firms could be beneficial by
the recycling process incorporated into the GSCM. One of the standard practices in the recycling
process of the GSCM is remanufacturing, which helps to reduce the cost of the production by
40%-60% (Miroshnychenko, Barontini and Testa 2017).

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2.5 Benefits and boundaries of GSCM
Sarkis (2012) conducted a study on the flows and boundaries of GSCM. He found in his
research that the current adaption of the GSCM framework is still limited to the firms. Some
firms have shown more proactive attitude and taken benefits from the sustainability practices by
adopting the policies of GSCM. The firms need to employ the green system in the supply chain
management, and for this, they have to take some policies, and the firms lack this.
Tramarico, Salomon and Marins (2017) point out some of the common benefits of
GSCM. As the society has become more aware of the green practices and its necessity in
sustainable development, the preference for companies implementing GSCM has been increasing
too. Hence, GSCM helps the companies in achieving a competitive advantage in the market and
attracting new customers. It also helps in optimum usage of assets, improved competence and
reduced price of production. GSCM leads to improved financial performance, reduces the risk of
hazards by manufacturing and using less hazardous materials, that cause environmental damages.
Lastly, GSCM results in improved quality of goods and services, giving higher customer
satisfaction and building a loyalty towards the company.
McKinnon et al. (2015) highlight four ideal measures of the green logistics. Those are:
1. Merge of two separately operated inbound networks, which consist of various hubs with a
potential of cost savings and emission reduction.
2. Longer combination vehicles (LCV) are more feasible in achieving the objective of cost
and emission reduction. The greater the shipping volume, the greater the cost efficiency
achieved.

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3. Extension of the delivery windows at the destinations, such as, in retail stores, by 30
minutes or more can lead to an efficient outcome by reducing the driving distances of the
delivery vehicles. This also reduces the negative impacts on the environment by reducing
carbon emissions.
4. At the same time, the frequency of delivery should be reduced to the destinations,
instead, the bulk delivery system should be introduced. This would also reduce the
carbon footprint by the manufacturing companies.
The measures can be categorized by applying characteristics such as the ability to deliver
effectiveness in the cost reduction and emissions as well, economic efficiency and ecological
features. In the GSCM, the measures are implemented as per the capacity of the company.
2.6 GSCM and organizational performance
Diab, AL-Bourini and Abu-Rumman (2015) conducted a study on the relationship
between the GSCM and organizational performance in the context of Jordanian Food Industries.
They collected primary data through a survey and quantitative analysis method was implemented
to get the outcome. The study showed that green supply chain practices had a significant impact
on the manufacturing and business performances, which consists of operational, financial and
environmental performances of the food industries of Jordan. With the outcomes of the study, the
industry utilized the managerial implications to improve their performances and profits by
implementing the GSCM practices. There was a scope of further study regarding the factors
influencing the business performance, which is being utilized in this given study.

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Green et al. (2012) conducted an empirical study to assess the comprehensive GSCM
activities and performance model. In this model, the authors explored the GSCM practices,
which connect the manufacturers with the suppliers and customers to support the environmental
sustainability of the entire supply chain. Data was collected from 159 managers from
manufacturing plants on the extent to which the organizations work with the customers and
suppliers for improving the environmental sustainability. The author found that implementation
of GSCM practices has helped in improving the environment as well as the economic
performances of the firms, which in turn had a positive influence on the operational performance.
Thus, from these studies, it was found that organizational performance depends heavily on these
factors, such as operational performance, financial performance and environmental performance,
and GSCM has a positive influence on these.
The supply chain consists of those activities associated with manufacturing from raw
material acquisition to final product delivery. Because of the recently changed environmental
requirements that affect manufacturing operations and transportation systems, growing attention
is given to the development of environmental management strategies for supply chains.
According to Staš et al. (2015), a green supply chain aims at confining the wastes within the
industrial system so as to conserve energy and prevent the dissipation of harmful materials into
the environment. In this paper, we compare and contrast the traditional and green supply chains.
Brandenburg et al. (2014), have shown that consumers’ perspective of the GSCM. The
consumers are aware of the environmental issues and want to buy substances that are produced
by sustainable practices. The firms could be benefitted if they incorporate the consumers’
perspective of sustainable practices. The conscious consumer would like to buy products that are
produced by green practices. In this regard, two studies can be highlighted. Customers'

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perception regarding the efficient resource utilization and their environmental effect is created
through increased awareness about the environment, and hence, the economic, social and
environmental factors affect the customer growth (Rasool et al. 2016).
On the other hand, Palovitta (2010) conducted a qualitative study with thematic analysis
on a focus group and found that the socio-cultural aspects encircling the locally produced food,
create the most important sustainability dimension for consumers. This is because of the reason
that for the customers, it is easier to track the supply chain activities for the local food
production. In case of international food supply chain management, people often cannot get
enough information to be aware of their activities. Thus, people are more concerned about the
environment-friendly GSCM practices adopted in the local industries than in the international
industries.
2.7 Conclusion
The research objectives for this study are to explore the costs and benefits of the GSCM
in the manufacturing industry of Hong Kong, along with the implementation strategies, and
potential challenges to be faced by the organizations in the industry. The literature review helped
the researcher to outline the concepts for conducting this study. It helped to gather knowledge
regarding the factors that have significant influence on the organizational performance, and the
importance of CSR activities on the organizational growth. The researcher also developed
knowledge on the factors of GSCM, its types, benefits and limitations, relationship between
GSCM practices and financial and overall performances of the organizations. This helped the
researcher to focus on the challenges of GSCM and how that influences the business activities,
which in turn helped to create the fundamentals for the given research study on manufacturing
industry of Hong Kong.

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It can be derived from the above discussion that there are various studies conducted on
the GSCM practices in various industries across the world, such as, local food production,
Jordanian food industry, Taiwanese electronic and electrical industry etc. however, no study was
conducted earlier on the impact of GSCM on the manufacturing industry of Hong Kong.
Through this study, the researcher had explored the above-mentioned topic.

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CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents an outline of the methodology adopted for this research study.
Research methodology refers to the strategies and steps taken by the researcher to answer the
research questions in the most logical and specific manner. It also represents the descriptions of
the instruments adopted for conducting the research study. It gives an overall idea of how the
researcher goes ahead in fulfilling the research objectives. Research methodology illustrates the
research paradigm, research approach, strategy, design, data collection, sampling technique and
data analysis method. The researcher collected secondary data on the GSCM practices and
business performances of the manufacturing industry of Hong Kong and analyzed it using
qualitative research or data analysis process to find out the impact of GSCM practices on the
business performances.
3.1 Research method outline
Organizational performance depends on many factors. The most common way to have an
idea of the organizational performance is to evaluate the trend of the revenue and profit of the
organization for the past few years. However, as many organizational factors contribute to the
productivity, it is important to narrow down the research topic. The manufacturing industries
follow a supply chain management in their business operations. When these companies integrate
environmentally friendly supply chain management activities and functionalities, it is termed as
GSCM. The researcher focused on the manufacturing industry of Hong Kong to evaluate the role
of GSCM in influencing the business performances. Firstly, the researcher has conducted a
comprehensive literature review to throw light on different aspects of the research topic, that is,
GSCM and organizational performance. After the conceptual framework was developed, the

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researcher focused on collecting the data and analyzing those. Secondary data was collected from
the manufacturing industry of Hong Kong through observational technique and thematic analysis
under qualitative analysis method was adopted to analyze the data to reach to the conclusion.
3.2 Research paradigm
Research paradigm refers to the set of general beliefs, assumptions and understanding
within which the theories and practices function (Lindahl 2018). The foundation, development
and nature of the information and knowledge gained while conducting the research study make
the basis of the paradigm or philosophy of the research. As stated by Ryan (2018), research
philosophy or paradigm is chosen based on the data collection process and analysis method. Four
major research paradigms are positivism, realism, interpretivism and pragmatism. Positivism
entails the researcher to deal with highly structured data, which are usually collected from large
samples. The researcher applied scientific analysis method to obtain the desired result and
research method is chosen accordingly (Bernard, 2017). In the realism paradigm, the researcher
has the liberty to choose either qualitative or quantitative research method on the basis of the
type of the data. Under interpretivism, the observational and interpretation skills of the
researcher are important. Data is collected from small samples and qualitative analysis method is
followed in this philosophy. According to Miller (2012), under interpretivism, the researcher
uses detailed information for depth analysis through the qualitative research method. Interviews
and observations are the two most commonly used method of research and data collection.
However, as stated by Reynolds et al. (2014), this approach is somewhat biased towards own
thought process of the researcher. Hence, there could be a gap between the findings from the data
analysis and interpretation of the observations. Lastly, pragmatism allowed the researcher to
implement both the qualitative and quantitative research method (Bryman & Bell, 2015). In this

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research study, the researcher followed interpretivism paradigm. Secondary data was collected
on the organizational performances of the manufacturing industry of Hong Kong and thematic
analysis was applied to interpret the findings.
3.3 Research approach
Three primary research approaches are inductive, deductive and abductive. The inductive
approach allows the researcher to establish new theories based on the research topic and explore
the subject without any preconceived notion. The deductive approach allows the researcher to
examine the research hypothesis in the backdrop of the relevant theories, which were already
established by other scholars (Åsvoll 2013). Lastly, in the abductive approach, the researcher
needs to choose one potential solution to the research problem as per the reasoning, from a set of
possible solutions.
The nature of the given research entailed the researcher to choose the deductive approach.
The performance of the firms in the Hong Kong manufacturing industry would not have the
scope of new findings or would not generate many potential solutions to the research questions.
Hence, deductive approach was adopted by the researcher to interpret the data to get the findings.
This allowed the researcher to observe the organizational performances in the industry and usage
of the GSCM and interpret the data to reach to the conclusion.
3.4 Research strategy
Research strategy explains the general plan of the researcher to proceed with the study to
get the answers to the research questions in a logical manner (Bryman 2016). Different type of
research strategies are there, among which the researcher selects one as per the nature of the
research topic. Surveys, case studies, experiments, grounded theory, narrative inquiry, action

27DISSERTATION
research, archival research and ethnography are various types of research strategy (Lindahl
2018). In the deductive research approach, the most commonly used research strategies are case
studies, experiment, surveys and observational research. The features of the research strategies
are different and based on the nature of the topic, the most appropriate strategy is chosen. This
strategy allows the research to make a framework or plan for how the data collection would be
done. In the given research, observational research strategy was followed. The researcher
observed the performance trend of the manufacturing firms in Hong Kong, who follows the
GSCM. With this observation, the data was collected and the researcher analyzed it using his
observational and interpretation skills. This strategy is beneficial for qualitative data collection
and study.
3.5 Research design
As stated by Mackenzie et al. (2012), research design refers to the procedures that enable
the researcher deal with the research problem on the basis of the data obtained from the research
study and to get to the conclusion in the most effective manner. Two fundamental research
designs are explanatory and exploratory. As highlighted by Lewis (2015), explanatory research
allows the researcher to explain the research topic on the basis of other established theories by
other scholars. The research questions or hypothesis are examined against the previous theories
and the logical inferences are made on the research topic as per the examination result of the
research hypothesis. On the other hand, Ioannidis et al. (2014) state that exploratory research
design allows the researcher to investigate the research subject to get an entirely new perspective
on the research topic. It also helps in getting a new theory or new angle to study the research
issue.

28DISSERTATION
In the given research, the researcher will study the impact of the GSCM on the business
performance in the Hong Kong manufacturing industry. In this study, the researcher explored the
costs and benefits of GSCM, potential challenges faced by the organizations during the
implementation of the GSCM practices, and the ways to overcome those challenges and get the
optimum productivity. The exploratory research design is suitable for qualitative analysis. The
researcher did not have to examine or evaluate any research hypothesis, rather he explored the
aspects of the research problem to get the answers to the research questions and to fulfil the
research objectives.
3.7 Data collection process and instruments
Data collection is a very crucial part of any research study. The purpose of research is
solved through the analysis of the gathered data. In any type of research study, two types of data
can be used, primary and secondary. The data, which the researcher collects directly from the
study field, is known as the primary data. On the other hand, the data that the researcher collects
from different authentic sources, such as, journals, books, newspaper articles, magazines, various
official websites, and online publications, is known as secondary data (Best and Kahn 2016). The
need for data collection is based on the research topic and at the same time, the sources are also
determined on the basis of the topic of the study. The data collection instruments are different for
primary and secondary data. Primary data is usually collected by using interview, survey
questionnaire, focus group, the self-assessment checklist, appraisal forms, feedbacks etc. On the
other hand, secondary data is collected from academic and non-academic sources, from various
authentic sources, such as governmental websites, company websites, peer-reviewed journals etc.
Primary data is most effective when research is conducted to study the individual level of

29DISSERTATION
behaviour and secondary data is collected when the research study revolves around
organizational or a broad level (Mackey and Gass 2015).
In the given study, the research topic is centered around the impact of GSCM on the
performance of the manufacturing enterprises in Hong Kong and its benefits, disadvantages, and
potential challenges faced by the firms during the implementation of the GSCM. In this topic,
personal level data would not be relevant. Thus, the researcher collected secondary data on the
manufacturing industry and on the firms that have implemented green supply chain practices or
green logistics in their business operations. The annual reports, company publications,
newspaper publications and government reports were collected from the governmental websites
to gather the information on the industry performance after the implementation of the GSCM
practices.
3.5 Data analysis process
The data analysis process involves the application of various analytical methods to
interpret the findings. There are two types of data analysis process, namely, qualitative and
quantitative. Qualitative data analysis methods highly focus on the descriptive analysis of the
research phenomenon, while quantitative analysis majorly focuses on the scientific and statistical
analysis of the research topic (Panneerselvam 2014). The information on the trends of businesses
has been collected and descriptive and thematic analysis structure was applied on the information
to present the findings. This type of analysis process was chosen as no statistical calculation was
performed on the data. Different themes of the study were designed and the trends were
represented through graphs, charts and tables. The data was collected over the past five years of
performance of the manufacturing industry after the implementation of the GSCM practices, its
benefits and challenges faced by the industry. Thematic analysis helps in focusing on different

30DISSERTATION
aspects of the research variables (Clarke and Braun 2014). The researcher interpreted the data
and presented the findings under different themes, which was beneficial in addressing the
research objectives and research questions. The researcher first familiarize with the data through
interactions and transcribing the reading. The researcher has immersed with comprehensive
understanding of the data to segregate the overall findings with different themes. After
understanding the findings, relevant data has been extracted according to the themes. In addition,
the researcher’s thought process has been alluded to the relationship between themes and codes.
A descriptive study was used to present the findings diagrammatically.
3.6 Research timeline
Activities Week 1 Week 2 Week 4 Week 6 Week 8 Week
10
Week
12
Selection of the
research
✓
Reviewing the
literature
✓
Selection of
research methods
✓
Data collection ✓
Data analysis ✓
Drawing
conclusions and
recommendations
✓

31DISSERTATION
Final submission ✓
Table 1: Gantt chart
(Source: Self-developed)

32DISSERTATION
CHAPTER 4: DATA FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS
4.1 Introduction
In this chapter, findings from secondary data on green supply chain have been analyzed.
Most of the data have been collected from the books, journals, websites and online articles.
Impact of the green supply chain has been focused on the manufacturing sector in Hong Kong
and data findings have strived to find out the improvement of organizational performance. The
researcher has collected information from various secondary sources about factors of the green
supply chain. Once familiar with the findings from the secondary data sources; the researcher
started to find out the initial codes those of the features of the data which appear interesting and
meaningful. These findings have been divided into six ‘themes' in order to pinpoint and examine
the different elements of the data findings. In this chapter, deeper review of the identified themes
has been refined, separated, combined and the researcher has discarded initial theme. The
researcher named the themes in order to provide theme names and clear working definitions
which can bring essence of the theme. Themes of this section have been set highlighting the
objectives of the research. Thematic analysis is widely used qualitative data analysis technique as
this analysis process is one of a cluster of methods that focuses on recognizing the patterned
meaning.
4.2 Thematic analysis
Theme 1: GSCM and potential challenges
GSCM associates traditional supply chain management and it integrates the
environmental criteria into the organizational elements or concerns into the purchasing decisions
of the organizations along with the long-term relationship with the local and international

33DISSERTATION
suppliers. Organizations can focus on the resources and energy for creating environmentally
sound supply chain (Fahimnia et al. 2015). Green supply chain provides the great advantage
towards the PR, CSR and improves the profit margin for the organizations as it reduces the waste
and improves customers' opinion. Green transportation costs more usually and it is the thing that
can add the base cost. The traditional supply chain is not seen as the revenue earning; therefore it
cannot increase costs unless it hits budget or margin. Manufacturing companies do not want to
increase the cost of the supply chain as ‘greenification' strategy of supply chain needs huge
modification and planning. The costs of the green supply chain are maximum as this process
integrates the product design, sourcing, selection, material sourcing, and manufacturing process,
end-to-end management of the product and delivery of the final product. Green logistics
emphasizes all the attempts to gauge reduce the ecological effect on the logistics activities. This
process includes all the activities of the reverse and forwards flow of the products and services
between the point-of-origin and information. The overall process of green logistics and supply
chain costs huge money as it aims to make the sustainable organizational value that balances the
economic and environmental effects of the organization. The organizations take the concept of
the logistics systems and approaches that have been used to advance the equipment and
technology in order to reduce the environmental damages during the overall operations. As stated
by Chin et al. (2015), GSCM is the cost driver which in turn increases the environmental
practices. The green supply chain is expensive and escalating to overall environmental concerns
can make transportation model to increase the interest of the green sustainable practices. The
supply chain process of the vehicles emits a large amount of the carbon resulting from the
transportation part of the supply chain. However, Tachizawa et al. (2015) argued that sustainable

34DISSERTATION
sourcing of the supply chain can be more cost-effective and the organizations can practice the
strategic sourcing when it is the cost alternative strategy.
The green supply chain in the manufacturing sector can face a challenge from the
competitors as a lot will not be going the whole hog on green issues. The companies must opt to
take green as it is the real differentiator as the organization can be the best off probably mirroring
unless it has the real long-term strategy and plenty of money. Competitors in the market can also
use the green logistics and the organizations need to surpass the competitors by using a different
strategy. Manufacturers and suppliers can fear that by operating the green supply practices; the
organizations can become expensive compared the competitors in the market (Dubey et al.
2015). The authors further stated that existing green supply chain increases the cost of the
product and the competitors will provide the same products with fewer prices to the customers.
Considering the market, where many of the firms produce the same types of products; the
customers will purchase the products which will cost less and quality of the products must be
higher. The competitors can create a challenges for the organizations to implement the closed-
loop supply chain in order to decrease the waste and make the re-manufactured products that
might outprice the compared the competition. Downstream organizations feel pressure to
implement the green supply chain and upstream organizations also face the challenge that they
can raise the price of the products and customers would no longer be interested in purchasing of
the products from the organizations.

35DISSERTATION
Supplier developer team efforts
Sustainable scorecards
Supplier training
3rd party audit
Work with industry-specific
Accountability standards
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
29%
17%
4%
9%
12%
39%
Challenges of green supply chain
Figure 1: Challenges of a green supply chain in the manufacturing industry
(Source: Green et al. 2017)
In Hong Kong, manufacturing industry is not much strength and the green supply chain
faces the issues of the suppliers' development of the team efforts. Sustainable, as well as
suppliers' training, are some of the issues of green supply chain in Hong Kong. Stakeholders'
position is another challenge that can face by the organization used for green supply chain. Out-
pricing is not the uncertain aspect of the customers' facing organizations as supply chain can
create the uncertainty to the changes of position of the stakeholders. Manufacturing
organizations can face the issue while implementing green supply chain when the employees are
adverse towards the change. Green supply chain process may transform the paper invoice
towards the faxing invoices among the departments. The organizations can start the e-
procurement software to reduce the use of paper that can intermediate by the change. In some of
the cases, stakeholders are interested to improve the profit and they can opt to take green supply
chain practice. Stakeholders can be adamant about the eco-friendly practices.

36DISSERTATION
Theme 2: Green supply chain practices and performance of the organisation
Business activities may pose important threat to the environment regarding the carbon
monoxide emissions, packaging materials, discarded wastes and scarped toxic minerals. In
addition, the supplying vehicles of the companies sometimes stuck to the traffic congestion and it
faces the issues of industrial pollution. According to Vijayvargay et al. (2017), for the
organizations; GSCM is considered as the environmental innovation. The management of the
organizations is trying to integrate environmental policies into the supply chain policies. The
organizations are trying to reduce and eliminate the wastes that are included hazardous chemical,
energy, emissions and solid wastes along the supply chain as it is associated with the product
design and material resourcing. Hong Kong has trading hub and well-developed cities that
include the considerable consumption. Hong Kong has the high potential to transform the world
to contribute the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that includes the clean water,
affordable and clean energy, sanitation and responsible consumption and responsible
consumption and climate action. Global supply chain plays the critical role for the Hong Kong-
based businesses and it can drive the transformation by taking adaptation and the expansion
approach towards sustainability which considers the supply chain and procurement. The
organizations based in Hong Kong take the benefits of the green supply chain that extends the
social and environmental rewards to consider the risk reduction and brand value development in
increasingly connected and transparent world. As pointed out by Laosirihongthong et al. (2013),
companies of Hong Kong leads on sustainability that can share the best practices, narrate the
approaches and develop the future trends related to the green supply chain and procurement.
Green supply chain strategies address environmental challenges that show managing the carbon
footprint of the products. Competition among the companies in the manufacturing sector has

37DISSERTATION
intensified the strategies and it has triggered the organizations to act in socially and ethically
responsible way in a supply chain.
Green supply chain intensifies the organizational performance as the supply chain
network comprises all parties and the stakeholders. Green supply chain requires the permission
and the decisions of the different stakeholders like supplier, manufacturer, wholesaler,
distributor, retailer and customers of the organisation. In order to deliver the products to the end
customers, the organizations can consider both upstream and downstream sides of both physical
distributions with information and finances. As stated by Zhu and Sarkis (2014), a typical supply
chain of the organizations has five stages that require organizations' input. Five stages of the
organisation are associated with the raw materials suppliers, retailers, customers, wholesalers and
manufacturers. The manufacturing sector is related to the intensive use of resources and with the
advancement of time the rate of resources and materials use has enhanced that leads to the
diverse influence in the environment. In the manufacturing sector; the environmental degradation
is occurred due to the following operations; industrial operation, procurement, disposal and
product use. The current eco-system in Hong Kong cannot promote and assist the mainstreaming
of the new technologies for extensive use. Speedy industrialization in Hong Kong has degraded
the environment for the profound contamination from the manufacturing industries. Some of the
major contributing factors to GSCM are the cost-related pressure, supply chain factors and
marketing and government regulations. Large organizations are advanced in GSCM than the
small or medium-sized organizations and these organizations initiate the design for reuse,
recovery and recycle (Green et al. 2012). The organizations which involve themselves, third
parties and suppliers in the greening process have made them advance in the development path

Corporate
Practice
towards GSCM
Green
Operation
Green Project Green Supply
Chain
Management
Organizational
Performance
38DISSERTATION
and advance of the competitors which can provide the sustained competitive advantage of the
manufacturing companies.
Figure 2: GSCM leads to organizational performance
(Source: Zhu and Sarkis 2014)
The above diagram proves the fact that GSCM has the elements like corporate practice
towards the GSCM, green project and green operation. GSCM has its relation towards the green
procurement, management of internal environmental, collaboration with the customers and
investment in waste-recycling. In addition, GSCM has its relation to the ecological design.
Therefore, these success factors of the green supply chain can provide the organizational
performance to improve in the economic performance, environmental performance and operating
performance.

39DISSERTATION
Theme 3: Green supply chain and transportation cost reduction
Green supply chain concept is gaining the popularity in mainly South East Asian region.
The manufacturing organizations are demonstrating the sincere commitment to sustainability.
GSCM practices can be fully adopted by the organizations to define the link between measures
and improving the economic performance. Green supply chain process can reduce the
transportation cost in long run and it can help in building up the competitive advantage.
Sustainable supply chain contains environmental, societal and economic goal. Environmental
and economic sustainability can measure the means of emissions and costs. Logistics is the
application that can be associated with the configuration if the organization's network. As stated
by Mitra and Dutta (2014), the ultimate objective of the logistics is the achievement of
ecological, economic and social goals. The green action helps to reduce the influence if mankind
and green logistics can deal with the production as well as the distribution of products and goods
in a sustainable way. In Hong Kong-based companies; GSCM comprises a large set of different
fields that help to reduce the waste management, reverse logistics, lifecycle assessment and
network design. Designing networks in a different way help in networking planning in an eco-
efficient way and it is associated with the merging of the networks. Relocating production can
also be part of the measurement of the GSCM; this relocating production is associated with the
back-shoring, local production and local sourcing. In GSCM, transportation rate can be different
by the locations and distance from the source to the destinations. In the traditional supply chain,
the vehicles use the fossil fuel and the whole process costs money. In the below chart, two sets of
rates have been given for full truck loads and less than truck loaded for the supply of the
products by the manufacturing organizations. Both the shipments process assumes that both rates

40DISSERTATION
are equal at the use of 60% of loading meters. The costs of the data are taken from the internal
database framework.
Figure 3: Transportation rates and emissions in GSCM
(Source: Rostamzadeh et al. 2016)
The manufacturing companies derive the transportation costs using the data from the
internal benchmark. The organizations use the formula considering different types of cost
including the fuel cost and capital cost for different means of repositioning risks, transportation
costs, indirect costs, labor costs and driving time. The comparison can be made between
traditional transportation and the green supply chain. The standard for calculating energy
consumption as well as the greenhouse gas emissions in transportation services can be done

41DISSERTATION
through experiment-based reference. In recent time, Apple's management has taken the decision
to come with the green supply chain to the US. In addition, the UK giant Marks and Spencer
announced the 50% of the supply process would be done through GSCM process. Walmart
announced that the organization saved more than $160 million in 2016 for the green supply chain
process and Walmart was at the top by saving $231 million from the waste reduction. The green
supply chain process is associated with the renewable energy resources, rethinking trucks and
boxes, time restrictions and considering the routines (Govindan et al. 2014). The whole process
saves money for the organization to improve the organizational performance. General Motors
made $1 billion through reusing and recycling of almost 97% of the waste from the
manufacturing process; therefore, the organizations can opt to take lean management. General
Motors sent the message that supply chain must not end with waste; however, it should start with
waste. In Hong Kong; the companies can start taking the waste as mini-supply chain and it can
become the track all of the materials that coming in the way of being generated by the company.
Theme 4: Environmental factors of GSCM
In the manufacturing industry, the management becomes aware of the environmental
issues and the concept of global warming. Customers in recent times are more cautious and
aware about the products they are buying. Organizations have to expect more questions about the
green manufacturing and supply chain process. The organizations are trying to lower the carbon
footprint and use the recycle process. The traditional supply chain process emits the smoke and
the overall process can harm the environment. Companies have observed the consumer interest
in the environment and the organization has been able to convert the interest of the public in
green so that the companies can increase the profit. Green supply chain connects the link
between the developed environmental performance and financial gains. Companies can look into

42DISSERTATION
the supply chain and they can observe the areas where the development operates to produce the
profit. As stated by Jabbour and De Jabbour (2016), companies find the cost-saving way to
reduce the eco-logical impact of the business process. The companies are evaluating the supply
chain of the organization, from the beginning of the planning and managing of the utilization of
the materials to distributing and shipping of the products. The companies can identify the
benefits of taking the green policies and environment and society will get benefit from this. The
public mainly focuses on the environmental benefits from the GSCM; however, these benefits
attribute to reduce the company's environmental influence that is forefront for executives of the
organizations. Green supply chain appears that many of the company staffs are still not aware of
improved environmental performance that means training cost and lower waste disposal, fewer
environmental permitting costs and reduced material costs. Interest in green and environmental
concern will not decrease the economic issues which have become more significant due to the
faltering economy.
70%
88%
74%
99%
85%
Environmental principles of green supply chain
in Hong Kong based manufacturing companies
Environmental impact
Water conservation
Waste minimisation
Carbon and GHG
Footprints
Energy used in
manufacturing
Figure 4: Green supply chain principles

43DISSERTATION
(Source: Beske et al. 2014)
Supply chain optimization will allow the customers to get the products at right time. The
companies in Hong Kong are spending the money while they accomplishing the green supply
chain. Many of the manufacturing companies in South Asian countries are opting to fast and
low-cost supply chain as these are compatible with green supply chain as well. In addition, green
supply chain initiative is good for the environment as this process does not harm the
environment. The green supply chain can reduce the shipping through fossil fuel. In a previous
time, traditional supply chain used fossil fuel which was burnt to run the vehicles. In recent time,
the organizations optimize and consolidate the material in packaging with fewer packing
products that are consumed. In green GSCM, the companies are using the packaging that does
not harm the atmosphere. Hazardous materials for the environment are not used as these things
and materials are taken out of the supply chain and lower costs are related to this in handling and
disposing of these materials. Green supply chain helps to minimize the waste; therefore costs can
be included in disposal and purchasing of the products. The companies which use the GSCM can
improve the public image and it will be marketing boon (Zhu and Sarkis 2016). When the
customers will get to know about the companies are saving earth through saving the waste and
saving the barrels of oil through the green supply chain; the companies' brand image will
increase automatically.
Theme 5: Benefit of the green supply chain for the manufacturing sector
In Hong Kong, mainly the fashion clothing manufacturing companies take the initiative
of the ‘go green' in manufacturing and supply chain process. The companies in Hong Kong are
evaluating the business models as well as sustainable supply chain. In the article by Srivastava

44DISSERTATION
(2017), the authors mentioned that Hong Kong-based companies have taken the initiative to
apply the Five-R framework to further assess the execution and institutionalization of the fashion
clothing. GSCM has the idea of reducing the waste by enhancing the efficiencies. In addition,
effective management along with resources can decrease the production costs, reuse the raw
materials and promote the recycling. Therefore, the management of manufacturing companies
can be efficient with money and resources as green supply chain saves the money in long run.
The organizations can partner with other organizations which value the energy-efficiency in the
supply chain with a positive impact on the overall efficiency. As stated by Holt and Ghobadian
(2014), green supply chain process can stand out the company from the competition as it allows
the whole supply chain to be dedicated towards the sustainability efforts. The companies can set
themselves apart demonstrating that the companies care for the community. GSCM will give the
edge and it will improve the reputation of the organization. The companies can opt to take the
measure to start the Sustainability Reporting that will document the CSR activities and
‘Greenification strategy' of the organizations.
45%
42%
39%
37%
Emerging technologies in GSCM
Inventory and network
Sensor and automatic
identification
Robotics and Automation
Predictive analysis

45DISSERTATION
Figure 5: Emerging technologies in GSCM
(Source: Holt and Ghobadian 2014)
In GSCM, emerging technologies help to bring the competitive advantage to the
companies in the manufacturing sector. In managing the GSCM, the companies are using
emerging technologies Green supply chains in business provide best interest to eliminate the risk
and opportunity to eliminate the risk can be optimized through the GSCM (Walker et al. 2017).
The authors further stated that sustainability in the supply chain can put the less risk towards
environmental and unethical practices. The organizations can reap the benefits from the GSCM
and the organizations can use the resources and money in a subtle way without having any risks.
The companies are now in an era with highly informed customers who care more about what
they use and how it's produced. So, when a company communicates its green supply chain, the
company is bound to retain and attract more customers than a company without a green supply
chain. Green supply chain brings out the customer loyalty and the organizations can have the
repeat value of the customers through the green supply chain. Green supply chain saves energy
costs, reduces operational costs, maintains a steady supply of materials and creates a safer,
secure working environment for the businesses (Hervani et al. 2015). This contributes to higher
revenues for the companies in the manufacturing sector. In addition, the green supply chain can
increase company's longevity. In recent time, most companies die prematurely because they
cannot survive market competition and innovation. Green supply chain supports sustainability on
very important levels for continuous business growth. However, innovation must continue to
thrive in the company to attain full benefits of the green supply chain.

46DISSERTATION
Theme 6: Strategies for implementing GSCM
GSCM (GSCM) is about delivering the services and products from the manufacturers to
the end customers and the suppliers through material flow, cash flow and information flow in
relation to the environment. However, traditional supply chain management mainly focuses on
the total quality management, best possible cost and this can be contributed to the environment.
GSCM typically mandates to incorporate the idea of developing the innovative ecological
technologies to handle the problems faced by the organizations. The organizations can
communicate to the stakeholders in the supply chain process through this green supply chain
with the help of the technologies (Zhu and Sarkis 2014). Lean manufacturing process helps to
eliminate the waste in each stage of the supply chain and it focuses on the producing of the
environment-friendly and economically maintained quality products which can meet the
expectations of the customers. GSCM is one of the best practices to reduce the inventory, saving
the energy and space. Therefore, the manufacturing industry can contribute to having the lean
manufacturing process so that they can facilitate the green environment.
At first, the manufacturing companies select the products and they can design the
products in a different way that it can be safe for the organizations. The executives of the supply
chain must follow the process so that it creates the least pollution and the vehicles consume less
energy. Green supply chain must not be hazardous during the process of each stage and the
vehicles must use the best transportation system. The companies can dispose of the materials
once it reaches to end of the product lifecycle. The companies in Hong Kong use DFE (Design
for Environment) so that it can develop the products with no side effects for the environment and
for the society. The green supply chain process of Hong Kong based manufacturing companies
must be cost-effective and the companies should be environment-friendly. The GSCM practice

47DISSERTATION
has to be implemented in the product design stage so that it will get the idea of designing of the
environment. In the article of Govindan et al. (2014), the authors mentioned that process can be
designed so that it can go with the green supply chain and it must reduce the negative impact of
the society. Effective production and efficient use of technology reduce the energy consumption
that includes the reducing material of waste. The companies check the process of production that
helps to reduce the air and water emission. Therefore, the process of production in manufacturing
industry contributes the lean manufacturing and all possibilities are checked to recycle the scrap
materials. In addition, manufacturing sector selects the business partners in the shape of suppliers
who use the lean and environment-friendly materials. The companies check the involving of the
vendors in the supplying process so that the suppliers can share the best practice to align the
strategy of the organizations.
Automotive
Industrial
Chemical
Consumer goods
Pharmaecuticals
Semiconsuctor
Telecommunication
0.00%
2.00%
4.00%
6.00%
8.00%
10.00%
12.00%
14.00%
9.20% 12.30% 10.30% 10.60% 9.00% 8.50% 7.30%
Green Supply Chain implementation Cost
Figure 6: GSCM implementation cost
(Source: Rostamzadeh et al. 2016)

48DISSERTATION
The manufacturing sector practice to reduce the fuel consumption and companies can
achieve logistics design to achieve by establishing the suppliers near to the Original Equipment
Manufacturer (OEM) and the hubs. The logistics process can use less air freight and the
manufacturers can increase the use of sea and rail transport. In addition, as stated by Beske et al.
(2014), logistics partners are included while product designing stage so that it can develop the
cubic space and effective fleet management. Additionally, the organization's use replaces
package materials that must be eco-friendly and the companies can obtain fumigation certificate
for international shipment for wooden crates and pallets. The manufacturing companies can use
the packaging materials that must design in a way to be reused and recycled. In Hong Kong, the
manufacturing products are mainly fashion clothing, jeweler and semi-precious materials; some
of the sections in Hong Kong manufacture mainly tobacco and plastics products. Companies in
Hong Kong re-use recycle and repair the materials and it is called the reusing of the containers
and pallets. The supply chain process has redesigned by the companies and proper design has
made them able to reduce the pollution through transportation and it is important activities to use
the reverse logistics. One of the most important things in a green supply chain is the use of
Information Technology (IT) as the companies have achieved through the various process of IT
as Automation. Thereby, the companies have already reduced the carbon footprint. Usage of
paper has been decreased as the companies have been using the automatic payment process and
e-invoice. The companies are using the EDI for transmitting the orders. Large international
companies have been using the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies to track the
containers.

49DISSERTATION
4.3 Summary
The manufacturing companies deploy the greener practices in supply chain and in the
warehouse and logistics; the companies use the efficient bulbs, considerable energy efficient
system and water recycling. The manufacturing companies may have the challenges to
implement the green supply chain as this might cost extra money and the implementation is not
easy. Green supply chain process is associated with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) that will be beneficial for the manufacturing companies. The GSCM process can
help the companies to gain the competitive benefits and it will help the companies to attract the
new customers. The companies can increase the use of various resources and they can improve
the efficiency and reduce the production cost so that the companies can improve the
performance. The green supply chain can contribute in the greater way towards the development
of the financial performance. These six themes have provided the findings and in the next
chapter; discussion would be made in order to have the clear idea of the GSCM in the
manufacturing sector.

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CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSIONS
In recent time, GSCM has become the talking point because of environmental concern
and the major inclusion of the green practice within the supply chain. Therefore, the interest of
the management executives is mirrored by the enhancing the interest in the climate change and
environment. The government put the effort to start the green supply chain to minimize the
influence on the environment. As discussed in literature review section, Hu and Hsu (2010)
stated that supply chain management has begun to gain popularity in the developing countries
and in emerging economy like Malaysia and Hong Kong. The authors further stated that GSCM
is related to the ICT which validates the thinking process of the managers. GSCM is interesting
opportunity to earn money and take good care of the planet as well. Green supply chain
initiatives have been taken among ISO1 4001 certified firms in Malaysian companies. The green
supply chain of the organizations fulfills both legal and customers requirements. The companies
face the pressure from the governmental agencies and the international regulations that can
influence the adaptation of the environmentally responsible behaviour. The companies also face
the issues regarding the external and internal factors to create the awareness of the non-
compliance with environmental imperatives. The companies have the legitimate concerns
regarding social approval and environment policies can be deployed to have the green supply
chain. In the scholarly paper of Zhu et al. (2017), it has been observed that China has been
implemented GSCM in the logistics, reverse logistics and regulatory and practices of legislative.
The authors provided examples; Toyota is the Best Global Green Brand as it tries to reduce
emission and increase the green logistics processes. In addition, Adobe Systems redesigns the
ecological sensitive of their popular software package. Adobe makes less use of Plastic to make
the global leader in environmental management.

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Green supply chain faces the issue regarding the lack of IT implementation as It systems
can support the collaborative supply chain that can increase the supply chain performance.
Information and technology process is very useful for supporting the GSCM in each and every
stages of the supply chain. Therefore, efficient information systems are wanted to track the
vehicles and the products. Green supply chain process makes riches the organizations with
technologies as the companies can have the higher innovative capability. Technological
development can be gained that can have the higher ability in technological innovation.
Technological advancement can be gained through higher transferability and it is easy to share
the technological knowledge that can create higher explicitness. Technology and innovation can
incorporate the corporate culture and they can encourage the new ideas. In the literature review
section; Laari et al. (2016) discussed about the SCM’s movement of flow of information, goods
and title transfer of the sale and purchase. The authors further stated that the companies have
been able to call consumers’ attention for the green services and products in order to have
increase of profits. A green supply chain can face the issue when the stakeholders can do the
resistance and the organizational barriers can make a difficulty of implementing the fundamental
change in the organization. Core features of the green supply chain are associated with the
organizational objectives, core technology, forms of authority and operational strategy and
market strategy. Therefore, improved communication and internal linkages help the companies
to adopt the practices. Therefore, education and training for gaining the successful
implementation can solve the issues also. In addition, in order to have the perfect green supply
chain, the management can face the issue of poor quality of human resources and market
competition can create global competitiveness.

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GSCM improves the operation process by employing environmental solutions. In Hong
Kong, the manufacturing sector is mainly associated with the fashion, jewel and tobacco. In
addition, the green supply chain process will improve the agility of the overall supply chain
process that assists to mitigate risks and increases the speed innovation. In addition, green supply
chain increases the adaptability that often leads to the innovative process and continuous
improvement process. As discussed in literature review; Sarkis (2012) stated that value chain of
the companies must go green as it will be easier for the organization to avoid the disasters and
bankruptcy. The author stated about challenges of the GSCM for the high level of uncertainty
about the positioning in the market. Green supply chain process can also improve the
performance of the companies promoting the alignment of the other departments. GSCM process
aligns the involvement negotiation policies with the customers and suppliers which provide
results in better alignment of the business principles and process. For example, GSCM allows
Commonwealth Edison to produce $50 million financial gain from managing the materials and
equipment with Life Cycle Management Approach. The organizations use the packaging system
that is mainly mercury free, PVC free, Recyclability and hazardous elements. In addition,
durability and energy efficiency is another issue in packaging. In logistics; the supply chain
process can be optimized for the truckloads and they can use direct shipment to the customers. In
addition, Hong Kong-based manufacturing companies go for routing of distribution process and
some of the manufacturing units use the reverse logistics. Green supply chain process goes for
achieving economies of scale in the production process and lean manufacturing process is
associated with this. In addition, fuel efficiency tools and machines are used in the green supply
chain. In the green supply chain operation, the organizations use selecting of the less carbon-
intensive energy.

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GSCM process reduces the environmental impact as it starts at the disposal of the waste.
Green supply chain emits less smoke and waste as the vehicles use less energy. In the second
stage of pollution, hierarchy deals with the control technology of the green supply chain. Green
supply chain deals with the technologies like EDI and RFID so that the vehicles can be tracked.
The technologies help to reduce the usage of papers. In addition, greenification process deals
with recycling and reduces the waste in the supply chain process. In the last stage of the pollution
prevention hierarchy that is the source of reduction of the waste. Therefore, the green supply
chain process solves the issues of increasing environmental constraints that are due to the global
warming and it is the part of the corporate social responsibility (CSR). Tramarico, Salomon and
Marins (2017), stated that a green supply chain is eco-friendly and it increases the environmental
awareness of the stakeholders. Governments of the countries are asking the firms to get greener
to get the tax exemption as it is good incentive. In addition, in Hong Kong, the green supply
chain is used to evolve the consumer and client demand. In recent time, the fuel prices are
increasing and fuel price is unstable. The green supply chain can be helpful in response to
increase the fuel price. In environmental factor; green supply chain will help to integrate the
international trade and market. The customers in Hong Kong are technologically savvy and they
are literate to know the overall process. The toxic waste must be eliminated so that it can be
addressed together in the production process and the industrial growth. Environmental factors are
covered by the organization in designing of the products, material purchase, warehousing and
packaging of the products.
5.1 Achievement of the research aim
The thematic analysis of the previous chapter has brought the attention to the integration
of the environmental movements and performance of the organization. The exhaustion of the

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natural resources along with climate change is the key catalyst which makes effort of greening of
the organizational supply chain. The aim of the research has been kept as bringing out the
significance of green supply chain to improve the organizational performance. This aim has been
achieved through discussing the themes where it has been observed that organisations are
obliged to give a balance between environmental, social and economic aspects of the
organizational performance. The thematic analysis has brought out the GSCM practices which
are based on the eco-design of international environmental management that is designed in the
developed environmental performance of the manufacturing industries in Hong Kong. GSCM
helps to demonstrate the recycling process and it reduces the decrease disposal waste of the
organization as well. GSCM also permits the organizations to develop product quality and
decrease the lead times that result in developing the operational performance. Green supply chain
process in manufacturing industry takes the initiative of eco-labeling that defines the products to
meet the certain environmental label. Green supply chain model of the organizations can use the
eco-labeling so that it can provide an advantage to the executives. As stated by Vijayvargy et al.
(2017), green sourcing is the process of sustainable procurement of the products from the
suppliers. In addition, the intention of the companies is to become carbon neutral and some of the
companies that use carbon neutral techniques are DHL, DELL, TESCO and Travelocity.
McKinnon et al. (2015) stated that the companies try to go the environment-friendly supply
chain to implement and design long-term help for consumers, companies and planet. The green
supply chain is the effective process where the companies can use the sustainability resources
and the organizations can purchase the green input that can flow through the environmentally
friendly production process to have the desired green outputs. The green supply chain can
increase the efficiency of the organizations and effective management of resources can reduce

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the production costs that promote the recycling process also. Relevant operational cost can be
reduced whilst the efficiency of the resources can be improved. GSCM can bring the competitive
advantage as this process can reduce the risk of being unethical practices. Sustained dedication
of the supply chain process can be measured through the management protocol. Green supply
chain process in the manufacturing sector can improve the quality of the products reached to the
customers. GSCM involves the collaboration between the manufacturers and the suppliers based
on the green design of the services or products; it provides the awareness of the seminar and it
helps supplier to build own environmental program. Social and regulatory dynamics can put real
pressure on companies to have both lean and green in the product sourcing, distribution, logistics
and operational practices.

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CHAPTER 6: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
6.1 Conclusions
Environmental impact has become a growing concern for the companies and the
manufacturing companies make themselves concern related to the GSCM. The carbon footprint
of the product makes during the manufacturing process and the end users can play a better role in
making the supply chain environment-friendly. Green supply chain process starts from the lean
manufacturing to waste disposal after being dispatched. The manufacturing companies provide
importance to making the products green with the profitable measure. Consumers like to have
the products which are environment-friendly and this can set up the link between profits and
environmental factors. The manufacturing companies cut the costs by decreasing the
environmental impact of the services and products. However, the thematic analysis brings out the
fact that complete evaluation of the green supply chain includes the managing the materials and
purchasing planning. Therefore, green supply chain adds value while minimizing the costs in two
types. Physical production and distribution costs are associated with the manufacturing costs,
transportation costs, facility utilization costs and inventory carrying costs. Traditional functional
view of the supply chain is mainly associated with the purchasing and procurement where they
do the inventory control. The supply chain is associated with the warehousing, materials
handling and transportation. In Hong Kong manufacturing industry, the sustainable supply chain
can meet the requirements of the present without compromising the capability of future
generations to meet their own wants and requirements also. Green has the primary focus of the
environment and sustainable includes the social and environmental process. Green supply chain
develops the operations by employing an environmental solution to improve the agility that helps

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to mitigate the risks and speed of the innovation. In addition, GSCM in the manufacturing
industry can increase the adaptability to lead the innovative process and continuous
improvements. Moreover, the green supply chain process can promote the alignment that
involves in the negotiation policies with customers and suppliers that result in better alignment of
the principles and business process. The traditional supply chain in Hong Kong based companies'
inputs the water energy in raw materials extraction and manufacturing process that provide the
impacts on transportation, retail and consumer use and disposal that emit the air and water waste.
The challenges of the GSCM are associated with the costs and competition. The manufacturing
companies can bring out the means of transportation which evaluates the emissions.
6.2 Linking with objectives
Objective 1: To evaluate the costs and benefits of GSCM
This objective has been met in theme 3, 4 and 5 and in the literature review section.
Green supply chain considers three objectives that make the measurement to achieve the goal
that makes different fields of action. Green supply chain comprises a large set of different
expenses with manufacturing, reverse logistics, waste management and network design. The cost
of the green supply chain is large at the initial stage as it is associated with the ideal, ecological
and economic. The transportation cost of the green supply chain depends on the internal
benchmark and it can be segregated into two different types including the fuel cost and capital
cost. However, GSCM provides the benefits of increasing the energy cost that can mount the fuel
cost and power. The management executives of manufacturing industry check the lower power
consumption in IT solutions and energy sources. Greenhouse gas emissions are another factor in
selecting the green supply chain and the global manufacturing industry is alarmed over the
greenhouse gas. GSCM can lower the carbon footprint. However, data of Hong Kong

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manufacturing industry is not specific as the manufacturing industry in Hong Kong is mainly
associated with the tobacco, jewel, shoes and semiconductor. Global warming can impact the
weather and green supply chain can minimize the negative factor associated with the
environment. The companies in manufacturing industry can improve the environmental
awareness among the community that must do better vendor selection on sharing the best
practices and green IT practices.
Objective 2: To explore the strategies for implementing GSCM
This objective has been met in the theme 2 and 6 and in the literature review section. It
has been observed in most of the authors' write up that product selection is the first step of the
green supply chain. The companies need to design GSCM in such a way that can process the
production to reduce the energy consumption in which it includes the waste materials, water and
air emissions. In order to implement the green supply chain, the organizations select the partners
that have right track records of practicing the lean manufacturing and using the environment-
friendly materials. The management of the organizations can use the best logistics design in
order to reduce the fuel consumption and logistics partners intervene in the product design. In
addition, secondary data provided the information using the case studies of the different
manufacturing companies like packaging materials and reverse logistics design.
Objective 3: To assess the potential challenges of implementing GSCM
This objective has been met in the theme 1 and in the literature review section. In theme
1, findings on challenges of the green supply chain have been discussed. Costs of the green
supply chain are costly than the traditional supply chain. Traditionally supply chain is not seen as
the revenue earning and they can offset to increase the costs unless it hits the budget and margin

59DISSERTATION
of the companies. The green supply chain needs long term strategy and plenty of cash in order to
overshadow the competitors in the industry. Limitations of the green supply chain are the
shipment use by the companies and the trading trends have been changing over time to take
priority and greening stuff.
6.3 Recommendations
Valid negotiation with suppliers
The manufacturing companies should ask the suppliers if their businesses practices are
sustainable. It is first to step to ensure the negotiation of the suppliers and the management
executives should ask the suppliers about the reduction of excessive waste. The suppliers must
measure the place to allow the transport their products in an environment-friendly way. The
suppliers should be asked to use the fuel-efficient vehicles and they can opt to take training
classes for the drivers. The suppliers should be negotiated to use the bulk-shipping to save the
costs and greenhouse gas emissions. The manufacturing companies can restructure supply
network and it is needed to first check any relevant public information. The manufacturing
companies can check and research the supplying data about usage of energy, emissions and
waste generation.
Choose industry partnership
In the industry; there are many others industry partners and in GSCM; the companies can
start the joint-venture situation. Industry partnership helps to share the knowledge and the
companies can take help to have existing supply chain. Therefore, the green goals can prove to
be profitable for the partners and the companies. The manufacturer company can purchase large
volumes from the suppliers and it can cut cost and it maintains the collaborative approach in the

60DISSERTATION
industry. The companies can have the aligned sustainable vision that will not divert the valuable
forces.
Track and maintain goals
Stable sustainability network can start to quantifiable to track the objectives on the
regular basis. The companies can have the actionable goals through the green supply chain and
each of the GSCM must be maintained with the supply chain executives. The organizations can
start the green seminars where they can train the employees to improve the organizational
performance. This type of goal of the organizations should be publicly transparent and this can
be internally tracked.
Following the framework of GSCM
The framework of the organization should start from the redesign of the product and it
will go from reconfiguring of the manufacturer to the shifting towards the green suppliers. In the
next stage, the companies can shorten the distance between the assembly and distribution. The
manufacturing companies should alter the service-level agreements when they evaluate the
effectiveness of the supply chain and carbon towards the measurement of the service, quality and
costs. The companies can start the review of the service-level agreements for the unnecessary
requirements that reduce the efficiency. In addition, the companies can start to shrink packaging
as the green supply chain should make the package lighter and smaller. Finally, the
manufacturing companies can plan to reverse the supply chain activities to reclaim the market for
an upgrade, recycle, disposal and refurbishment to gain the organizational performance.

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Table 2: Showing the action plan of the green supply chain framework
(Source: Self-developed)

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6.4 Future scope of the research
This research work may help the future researchers to have the idea regarding the GSCM
and its impact on the organizational performance. The future researchers will have the idea of the
benefits and challenges of GSCM. This study will help the manufacturing companies of Hong
Kong to have the concept of steps to create the lean and green supply chain. In addition, the
research work can help the supply chain executives to have the big picture objective of the green
supply chain. The organizations will also achieve the clear snapshot that will help the companies
to have green progress in maintaining the green model of the supply chain through this research
work. This research study will help in further research about ‘green supply chain and its impact
on sustainability performance' of the organizations.

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Glossary
CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility
DFE: Design for Environment
GSCM: GSCM
ICT: Information and Communications Technology
IT: Information Technology
LCV: Longer combination vehicles
LEED: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturers
RFID: Radio Frequency Identification
SCM: Supply Chain Management