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Greening supply chains: the case of The Body Shop International

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  • Ian Wycherley

Abstract

The management of the supply chain is an important element in attempts by business to lower its environmental impact. The Body Shop International (BSI) has acquired significant experience in this area, starting with the launch of its supplier environmental star‐rating scheme in 1992. This paper reports on an interview survey of 20 BSI suppliers regarding the potential for improving the environmental performance of the BSI supply chain. BSI was generally seen as a company with a clear and consistent commitment to the environmental cause and good relationships with its suppliers, both of which are critical facilitators of the process of greening their supply chain. However, some barriers were perceived by the suppliers, including the confidentiality of ideas for improvement that might offer commercial advantage, a perception that increased costs could result and the fact that very few customers other than BSI were really interested in ‘green’ products. The paper concludes with a review of the prospects for BSI working with its suppliers to improve their overall environmental impact. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Ian Wycherley, 1999. "Greening supply chains: the case of The Body Shop International," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(2), pages 120-127, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:8:y:1999:i:2:p:120-127
    DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-0836(199903/04)8:23.0.CO;2-X
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    3. Stefan Ambec & Paul Lanoie, 2007. "When and Why Does It Pay To Be Green?," CIRANO Working Papers 2007s-20, CIRANO.
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    5. Grimm, Jörg H. & Hofstetter, Joerg S. & Sarkis, Joseph, 2014. "Critical factors for sub-supplier management: A sustainable food supply chains perspective," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 159-173.
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    7. Xu, Lei & Mathiyazhagan, K. & Govindan, Kannan & Noorul Haq, A. & Ramachandran, Navneet Vyas & Ashokkumar, Avinash, 2013. "Multiple comparative studies of Green Supply Chain Management: Pressures analysis," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 26-35.
    8. Chen, Chialin & Zhang, Jun & Delaurentis, Teresa, 2014. "Quality control in food supply chain management: An analytical model and case study of the adulterated milk incident in China," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 188-199.
    9. Yijie Dou & Qinghua Zhu & Joseph Sarkis, 2015. "Integrating Strategic Carbon Management into Formal Evaluation of Environmental Supplier Development Programs," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(8), pages 873-891, December.
    10. Andrea Revell & Robert Blackburn, 2007. "The business case for sustainability? An examination of small firms in the UK's construction and restaurant sectors," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(6), pages 404-420, September.
    11. Kudla, Nicole & Stölzle, Wolfgang, 2011. "Sustainability Supply Chain Management Research," Die Unternehmung - Swiss Journal of Business Research and Practice, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 65(3), pages 263-301.
    12. Fu Jia & Yan Jiang, 2018. "Sustainable Global Sourcing: A Systematic Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-26, February.
    13. Federica Cucchiella & Idiano D’Adamo & Massimo Gastaldi & S.C. Lenny Koh, 2014. "Implementation of a real option in a sustainable supply chain: an empirical study of alkaline battery recycling," International Journal of Systems Science, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(6), pages 1268-1282, June.
    14. Gopalakrishnan, Kavitha & Yusuf, Yahaya Y. & Musa, Ahmed & Abubakar, Tijjani & Ambursa, Hafsat M., 2012. "Sustainable supply chain management: A case study of British Aerospace (BAe) Systems," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(1), pages 193-203.
    15. Dorli Harms & Erik G. Hansen & Stefan Schaltegger, 2013. "Strategies in Sustainable Supply Chain Management: An Empirical Investigation of Large German Companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(4), pages 205-218, July.
    16. Sheu, Jiuh-Biing & Chen, Yenming J., 2012. "Impact of government financial intervention on competition among green supply chains," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(1), pages 201-213.
    17. Wijen, F.H., 2002. "Stakeholder influence and organizational learning in environmental management," Other publications TiSEM ae0f6234-b5a8-4e5f-9154-c, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    18. Abhijeet Digalwar & Rakesh D. Raut & Vinay S. Yadav & Balkrishna Narkhede & Bhaskar B. Gardas & Ashwini Gotmare, 2020. "Evaluation of critical constructs for measurement of sustainable supply chain practices in lean‐agile firms of Indian origin: A hybrid ISM‐ANP approach," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1575-1596, March.
    19. Andrea Revell & Robert Rutherfoord, 2003. "UK environmental policy and the small firm: broadening the focus," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(1), pages 26-35, January.
    20. Fontana, Enrico & Öberg, Christina & Poblete, León, 2021. "Nominated procurement and the indirect control of nominated sub-suppliers: Evidence from the Sri Lankan apparel supply chain," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 179-192.
    21. Hansen, Erik G. & Harms, Dorli & Schaltegger, Stefan, 2011. "Sustainable Supply Chain Management im globalen Kontext," Die Unternehmung - Swiss Journal of Business Research and Practice, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 65(2), pages 87-110.
    22. Lorenz Werndle & Nick Brown & Mike Packer, 2006. "Barriers to certified timber and paper uptake in the construction and paper industries in the United Kingdom," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(3), pages 121-134, July.
    23. Walter J.V. Vermeulen, 2015. "Self‐Governance for Sustainable Global Supply Chains: Can it Deliver the Impacts Needed?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 73-85, February.
    24. Susanna Xu & Helen Walker & Agnès Nairn & Thomas Johnsen, 2007. "A Network Approach to Understanding "Green Buying": A Literature Review," Post-Print hal-00858349, HAL.
    25. Luis Miguel Fonseca & José Pedro Domingues & Maria Teresa Pereira & Florinda Figueiredo Martins & Dominik Zimon, 2018. "Assessment of Circular Economy within Portuguese Organizations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-24, July.

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