Sustainable supply chain management: A case study of British Aerospace (BAe) Systems

Sustainability is viewed as possessing environmental, economic and social dimensions. The sustainability approaches adopted by individual businesses and the supply chains to which they belong must include these facets. These three components of sustainability are collectively termed the “triple bottom line” or 3BL. The idea of a triple bottom line, which originated in the 1990s, implies attending to the traditional financial aspects of an organisation as well as to the social and environmental criteria. The economic aspect of the 3BL refers to profit making and attaining and sustaining competitive advantage through sustainability. The environmental dimension involves factors relating to climate change, global warming, air, land and water pollution (or preservation) and ozone layer depletion. The social aspect involves health and safety issues, community well-being, employment opportunities, charities, cultural sensitivities and requirements and organisational behaviour. As global warming, climate change and depletion of resources are on a rise alongside greater demand for improvement in business processes, economic standards and technology, it has become necessary to sustain processes along the value chain in order to contribute to sustainability. This paper examines the drivers of sustainability and related key features based on extant literature and a case study. An overview is given of the British Aerospace (BAe) Systems' sustainability initiatives and activities. On the basis of the BAe Systems case study, two resultant frameworks emerge that display the interdependence of the triple bottom line and the essential elements required for a sustainable supply chain.

[1]  Robert Sroufe,et al.  EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS ON ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND OPERATIONS , 2003 .

[2]  M. Fa,et al.  Using environmental management systems to increase firms' competitiveness , 2003 .

[3]  D. Rogers,et al.  A framework of sustainable supply chain management: moving toward new theory , 2008 .

[4]  S. Banerjee,et al.  Who Sustains Whose Development? Sustainable Development and the Reinvention of Nature , 2003 .

[5]  R. Handfield,et al.  ‘Green’ value chain practices in the furniture industry , 1997 .

[6]  Michaela A. Balzarova,et al.  ISO 26000 and supply chains--On the diffusion of the social responsibility standard , 2008 .

[7]  Benita M. Beamon,et al.  Designing the green supply chain , 1999 .

[8]  S. Arunachalam,et al.  Analysis and selection of green suppliers using interpretative structural modelling and analytic hierarchy process , 2008 .

[9]  Danny Samson,et al.  Greening the automotive supply chain: a relationship perspective , 2007 .

[10]  H. Walker,et al.  Drivers and barriers to environmental supply chain management practices: lessons from the public and private sectors , 2008 .

[11]  A. Nagurney,et al.  Sustainable Fashion Supply Chain Management Under Oligopolistic Competition and Brand Differentiation , 2011 .

[12]  Lois A. Mohr,et al.  Building corporate associations: Consumer attributions for corporate socially responsible programs , 2006 .

[13]  Mette Andersen,et al.  Corporate social responsibility in global supply chains , 2009 .

[14]  H. Walker,et al.  Sustainable procurement in the United Kingdom public sector , 2009 .

[15]  Michael Bourlakis,et al.  The evolution from corporate social responsibility to supply chain responsibility: the case of Waitrose , 2009 .

[16]  Peter Jones,et al.  Corporate social responsibility and the UK's top ten retailers , 2005 .

[17]  Magali A. Delmas,et al.  STAKEHOLDERS AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: THE CASE OF ISO 14001 , 2009 .

[18]  Yiannis Gabriel,et al.  Organizing and Organizations , 2005 .

[19]  James Richardson.  Beyond Partnership: Strategies for Innovation and Lean Supply , 1994 .

[20]  Mariano Torras,et al.  An Ecological Footprint Approach to External Debt Relief , 2003 .

[21]  C K Walter,et al.  A Motor Carrier Wellness Program: Development and Testing , 1996 .

[22]  J. González‐Benito,et al.  Environmental proactivity and business performance: an empirical analysis , 2005 .

[23]  Hokey Min,et al.  Green purchasing practices of US firms , 2001 .

[24]  S. Zanoni,et al.  Chilled or frozen? Decision strategies for sustainable food supply chains , 2012 .

[25]  Sanjay Sharma,et al.  Proactive corporate environmental strategy and the development of competitively valuable organizational capabilities , 1998 .

[26]  Olivier Delbard.  CSR legislation in France and the European regulatory paradox: an analysis of EU CSR policy and sustainability reporting practice , 2008 .

[27]  Nicholas Capaldi,et al.  Corporate social responsibility and the bottom line , 2005 .

[28]  R. Sathiendrakumar,et al.  Greenhouse emission reduction and sustainable development , 2003 .

[29]  Michael J. Lenox,et al.  The Strategic Use of Decentralized Institutions: Exploring Certification With the ISO 14001 Management Standard , 2005 .

[30]  S. Vachon,et al.  Linking supply chain strength to sustainable development: a country-level analysis , 2008 .

[31]  Stefan Seuring,et al.  The use of environmental and social standards by German first‐tier suppliers of the Volkswagen AG , 2008 .

[32]  T. Lindhqvist,et al.  ISO 14001 in environmental supply chain practices , 2009 .

[33]  Steve New,et al.  PURCHASING AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: INTERACTIONS, POLICIES AND OPPORTUNITIES , 1996 .

[34]  Margot J. Hutchins,et al.  An exploration of measures of social sustainability and their application to supply chain decisions , 2008 .

[35]  V. Selladurai,et al.  Unsustainable development to sustainable development: a conceptual model , 2006 .

[36]  M. D. Brito,et al.  Towards a sustainable fashion retail supply chain in Europe: Organisation and performance , 2008 .

[37]  L. B. Cruz,et al.  CSR in the global marketplace: Towards sustainable global value chains , 2008 .

[38]  Byron W. Keating,et al.  In pursuit of a sustainable supply chain: insights from Westpac Banking Corporation | NOVA. The University of Newcastle's Digital Repository , 2008 .

[39]  Perry Sadorsky,et al.  The Relationship Between Environmental Commitment and Managerial Perceptions of Stakeholder Importance , 1999 .

[40]  C. Carter,et al.  REVERSE LOGISTICS: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE AND FRAMEWORK FOR FUTURE INVESTIGATION , 1998 .

[41]  W. R. Newman,et al.  Linking operational and environmental improvement through employee involvement , 2000 .

[42]  Stephan Vachon,et al.  COLLABORATION AND EVALUATION IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN: THE IMPACT ON PLANT‐LEVEL ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT , 2003 .

[43]  Ian Michael Wycherley,et al.  Greening supply chains: the case of The Body Shop International , 1999 .

[44]  Craig R. Carter,et al.  Purchasing's Role in Environmental Management: Cross-Functional Development of Grounded Theory , 2001 .

[45]  Steve New,et al.  Buying the Environment: The Multiple Meanings of Green Supply , 2000 .

[46]  Wendy L. Tate,et al.  Green, lean, and global supply chains , 2010 .

[47]  Reza Zanjirani Farahani,et al.  A genetic algorithm to optimize the total cost and service level for just-in-time distribution in a supply chain , 2008 .

[48]  Jeremy Hall,et al.  Environmental Supply Chain Innovation , 2001 .

[49]  Frank L. Montabon,et al.  ISO 14000: Assessing Its Perceived Impact on Corporate Performance , 2000 .

[50]  D. Pujari,et al.  Green and competitive: Influences on environmental new product development performance , 2003 .

[51]  Ruth V. Aguilera,et al.  Putting the S Back in Corporate Social Responsibility: a Multi-Level Theory of Social Change in Organizations , 2004 .

[52]  Stefan Seuring,et al.  From a literature review to a conceptual framework for sustainable supply chain management , 2008 .

[53]  Steven A. Melnyk,et al.  Core values and environmental management : A Strong Inference Approach , 2004 .

[54]  Eugenio Avila Pedrozo,et al.  Towards to sustainable development strategies: a complex view following the contribution of Edgar Morin , 2006 .

[55]  Qinghua Zhu,et al.  Green supply chain management in China: pressures, practices and performance , 2005 .

[56]  Paul Leinster,et al.  Environmental management systems and company performance: assessing the case for extending risk‐based regulation , 2003 .

[57]  James C. McElroy,et al.  CAREER STAGE, TIME SPENT ON THE ROAD, AND TRUCKLOAD DRIVER ATTITUDES , 1993 .

[58]  J. Linton,et al.  Sustainable supply chains: An introduction , 2007 .

[59]  C. Carter,et al.  Environmental Purchasing: Benchmarking Our German Counterparts , 1998 .

[60]  A. Ramudhin,et al.  Design of sustainable supply chains under the emission trading scheme , 2012 .

[61]  G. Brundtland,et al.  Our common future , 1987 .

[62]  R. Handfield,et al.  The Green Supply Chain: Integrating Suppliers into Environmental Management Processes , 1998 .

[63]  Rajesh Piplani,et al.  Sustainable supply chain management , 2008 .

[64]  Habib M. Alshuwaikhat,et al.  Towards a Sustainable Urban Environmental Management Approach (SUEMA): Incorporating environmental management with Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) , 2007 .

[65]  M. Helms,et al.  Performance measurement for green supply chain management , 2005 .

[66]  Gregory Theyel.  Customer and Supplier Relations for Environmental Performance , 2001 .

[67]  Iñ´aki Heras Saizarbitoria,et al.  ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standards: an international diffusion model , 2006 .

[68]  Charles J. Corbett,et al.  Extending the Horizons: Environmental Excellence as Key to Improving Operations , 2006, Manuf. Serv. Oper. Manag..

[69]  Göran Svensson,et al.  Aspects of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM): conceptual framework and empirical example , 2007 .

[70]  R. Klassen,et al.  EXTENDING GREEN PRACTICES ACROSS THE SUPPLY CHAIN: THE IMPACT OF UPSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM INTEGRATION , 2006 .

[71]  Joseph Sarkis,et al.  The relationship between ISO 14001 and continuous source reduction programs , 2000 .

[72]  A. Prakash,et al.  Covenants with weak swords: ISO 14001 and facilities' environmental performance , 2005 .

[73]  J. H. Dyer.  Effective interim collaboration: how firms minimize transaction costs and maximise transaction value , 1997 .

[74]  Steven A. Melnyk,et al.  Core Values and Environmental Management , 2004 .

[75]  B. Willard.  The Sustainability Advantage: Seven Business Case Benefits of a Triple Bottom Line , 2002 .

[76]  Amartya Sen,et al.  Human Development and Economic Sustainability , 2000 .

[77]  Damien Power,et al.  Use the supply relationship to develop lean and green suppliers , 2005 .

[78]  Melissa J. Markley,et al.  Exploring future competitive advantage through sustainable supply chains , 2007 .

[79]  Sime Curkovic,et al.  Using ISO 14001 to promote a sustainable supply chain strategy , 2011 .

[80]  Irene Henriques,et al.  Stakeholder influences on sustainability practices in the Canadian forest products industry , 2005 .

[81]  Minette E. Drumwright,et al.  Company Advertising with a Social Dimension: The Role of Noneconomic Criteria , 1996 .

[82]  P. Trowbridge,et al.  A Case Study of Green Supply Chain Management at Advanced Micro Devices , 2001 .

[83]  C. MacDonald,et al.  Getting to the Bottom of “Triple Bottom Line” , 2004, Business Ethics Quarterly.

[84]  Joseph Sarkis,et al.  Sustainability and supply chain management – An introduction to the special issue , 2008 .