Does low-carbon supply chain management reduce greenhouse gas emissions more effectively than existing environmental initiatives? An empirical analysis of Japanese manufacturing firms

The focus of corporate environmental initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has shifted from individual firms to supply chains, and to so-called low-carbon supply chain management (LCSCM). Because LCSCM is a more advanced environmental initiative than existing initiatives, this study empirically analyzes the influence of manufacturing firms’ LCSCM on their carbon productivity through GHG emissions reduction, with consideration given to the influence of environmental management systems (EMSs) as existing environmental initiatives. Our regression results using cross-sectional data on 139 Japanese manufacturing firms listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2011 suggest that although improved carbon productivity can only be achieved by firms implementing EMSs, those firms that also implement LCSCM could improve their carbon productivity further. It is also found that implementing LCSCM is not encouraged by EMSs, but rather by environmentally conscious interorganizational management control. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016