Purpose: The aim of this paper is to analyze the suitability of the packaging strategy of an important Spanish agro-food company, regarding to economic and environmental sustainability.Design/methodology/approach: Three different types of packaging are analyzed to obtain a diagnostic of the initial situation. In this process, cost and carbon footprint are calculated in order to measure the economic and environmental impacts, respectively. Then, a new packaging allocation logic is proposed with the aim of improving both aspects.Findings: The results show that the carbon footprint is strongly and positively affected by the cost reduction, showing the viability of a win-win relationship between both aspects.Research limitations/implications: The strength of this win-win relationship may be conditioned by the input values considered in this case study. Conversion factors used to calculate carbon footprint vary a lot among researchers, showing the need of standardization in this topic.Practical implications: Since the existence of a positive relationship between economic and environmental sustainability has been demonstrated, organizations should find this kind of situations in themselves to satisfy their own stakeholders.Originality/value: This article shows the potential of unite waste elimination with eco-friendly activities with the aim of increasing the competitiveness of companies. This paper also contributes to the knowledge of economic and environmental sustainability and reinforces theoretical aspects, paving the way for further research on these topics.

PurposeGrocery sellers that have entered the online business must now carry out order fulfilment activities previously done by the customer. Consequently, in a context of online sales growth, the purpose of this study is to identify and implement best practices in order to redesign the order picking process in a retailer with a store-based model.Design/methodology/approachTo identify different work alternatives, an approach is developed to analyse the methods used in distinct stores of one large Spanish grocer. The methodology employed is a three-step statistical analysis that combines ANOVA and MANOVA techniques to settle on the best alternatives in each case.FindingsSubstantial improvements can be achieved by analysing the different working methods. The three-step statistical analysis identified best practices in terms of their impact on preparation time, allowing a faster working method.Practical implicationsTo manage business processes efficiently, online grocers that operate store-based fulfilment strategies can redesign their working method using a criterion based on their own performance.Originality/valueThis is one of the few contributions focusing on the improvement of e-grocery fulfilment operations by disseminating best practices through decision-making criteria. This study contributes by addressing the lack of approaches studying the order picking process by considering its various features and applying best practices.

Purpose: Road transport aspects are becoming increasingly important due to their high impact on economic, environmental and social sustainability. Considering the triple bottom line approach, best practices play a fundamental role within organisations. The purpose of this paper is to analyse several sustainable initiatives in road transport adopted by companies.Design/methodology/approach: The findings were developed and evaluated based on empirical data captured through a survey of 98 professionals involved in logistics and transport activities. Additionally, key literature on transport initiatives was reviewed to supplement the framework for the implementation of best practices in road transport.Findings: The exploratory study shows the importance of each best practice and determines the level of implementation of each initiative, comparing the results among different dealers (retailers, wholesalers, carriers and manufacturers), type of transport fleet and companies’ revenues.Research limitations/implications: The sample of 98 companies was based on simple search filters and the group is not wholly representative of all sectors. Respondents were mainly managers from Spain involved in logistics and transport activities. Surveyed companies included manufacturing, retailers, wholesalers and third-party logistics providers.Practical implications: The most common best practices in road transport are identified, including initiatives related to: efficiency, reusability, safety, optimization, emissions, waste and recycling. Initiatives that influence road transport are ranked by their degree of implementation in the companies analysed. Social implications: Implementation of some of these best practices may help lessen negative impacts of road transport on society and the environment.Originality/value: The study results indicate which practices are most frequently used and their level of implementation depending on companies’ roles in the supply chain, revenues and types of transport fleet. By implementing the proposed best practices, companies will adopt sustainable behaviors to improve their transport performance.

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Purpose: Employee participation is considered a fundamental pillar to implement continuous improvement. Based on this consideration, this article presents an action research case study in a large food manufacturer where employee participation is implemented. The experience has a two-fold objective: improve performance of the production system and make the participative philosophy deep-rooted among workers.Design/methodology/approach: The authors implement a structured participation system, establishing an approach of empowerment and focusing on the creation of suitable organizational structures. Under those premises, improvement teams were created on each of the firm’s production lines. Once the participation of the workers is finished, they were given a questionnaire to assess how deep-rooted the participative culture had become.Findings: The results show a remarkable improvement in the efficiency of manufacturing processes, as well as the consolidation of a participative philosophy. However, there are notable differences in the results obtained for each improvement team.Research limitations/implications: The differences obtained in the results highlight certain issues that future research must tackle. These include the way in which the staff should be rewarded for their participation or what the influence of the organizational context is when setting improvement objectives.Practical implications: The positive results obtained support the methodology proposed by the authors for structuring participation. Organizations can set up projects of this type to improve their competitiveness while at the same time strengthening the commitment of their personnel.Originality/value: This is one of the first studies in the field of employee participation that jointly assess the economic area and the cultural and organizational plane.