Green Supply Chain Management: Benefits and Implementation

This essay provides an overview of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM), highlighting its increasing importance due to growing environmental consciousness. It discusses how GSCM integrates ecological principles into supply chain operations, from material selection to recycling, and its application across various sectors beyond manufacturing. The essay emphasizes that GSCM offers a win-win strategy by enhancing market share and profits while minimizing environmental risks. It details the internal benefits for firms, such as reduced production costs through efficient resource management and competitive advantages through improved customer perception. Additionally, it covers the external benefits, including reduced risks of environmental penalties. The essay references academic sources to support its claims, underscoring the strategic role of GSCM in achieving both financial and environmental performance through value addition and cost minimization.

Running Head: GREEN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT 1
GREEN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
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Consciousness in regard to environment has increased in the past few decades. This is
especially to counter the problems which have affected the environment such as global warming,
decline in non-replenishable resources and toxic substance usage. This has made governments to
release campaigns to enlighten people. Quite a small number of organizations have however
responded by adopting the ecological principles in their operations, such as using
environmentally friendly materials, reducing usage of oil and using recycled papers as means of
packaging (Nikbakhsh, 2015). Emergence of environmental management in the sector of supply
chain (GSCM) has made its appearance in the recent years to take care of all the steps involved
in the manufacturing sector right from the first stage to the last stage and from product design to
recycling. Green Supply Chain Management has also been applied in other economic sectors
such as government and education sector apart from manufacturing (Nikbakhsh, 2015).
Green Supply Chain Management has emerged as a new innovation to help organizations
in coming up with a win-to-win strategy that realizes market share as well as profits by reducing
their risks and impacts on the environment while promoting their ecological efficiency
(Nikbakhsh, 2015).
Firms implementing the program achieve efficiency by securing a competitive advantage
as well as improving the organizational performance. This is in consideration to the increasing
competition in current global market. GSCM has been used by many organizations as a strategic
weapon to gain competitiveness while promoting the firm’s financial and environmental
performance. This has been achieved through value addition to the business and minimizing the
costs in all parts of production system (Nikbakhsh, 2015).

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Internally, the firms which adopt GSCM program are likely to witness a number of
benefits when put into comparison with other firms which have not embraced the program.
These benefits are and not limited to (Zhu & Sarkis, 2014).
Lowered costs of production
The program is aimed at reducing the waste by effectively ensuring that resources are
managed. This reduces production cost, promote recycling and also the reuse of raw material.
Production of hazardous substances is reduced hence preventing a firm from fines which are
extended due to violation of environmental regulations (Zhu & Sarkis, 2014).
Competitive advantage
The program changes customer’s perception towards its products hence attracting new
customers for the firm. This gives the firm a competitive edge over its competitors in the market
(Zhu & Sarkis, 2014).
Externally the firm benefits by
Reducing risks
Adapting to GSCM program reduces the risk of a firm being prosecuted by the
environment organizations of unethical operations and anti-environmental practices. This may
lead to a firm being banned or heavily fined (Zhu & Sarkis, 2014).

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References
Nikbakhsh, E. (2015). Green supply chain management. In Supply chain and logistics in
national, international and governmental environment (pp. 195-220). Physica-Verlag
HD.
Zhu, Q., & Sarkis, J. (2014). Relationships between operational practices and performance
among early adopters of green supply chain management practices in Chinese
manufacturing enterprises. Journal of operations management, 22(3), 265-289.