A Conceptual Model for Greening a Supply Chain through Greening of Suppliers and Green Innovation

Abstract

Nowadays, more organisations are focusing on how to improve their environmental performance, partly driven by recent regulations in this area. This means that green supply chain management plays an important role over traditional supply chain management. Companies could gain competitive advantage through the proper management of their supply chain activities, for example, purchasing management. In fact, organisations can now generate more business opportunities than their competitors by addressing environmental management successfully. More specifically, it has been identified that implementation of green innovation can become a company’s order winner. However, not many studies have investigated the relationships between the greening of suppliers, green innovation, environmental performance and competitive advantage. The objective of this article is to propose a conceptual model, developed from a review of relevant literature and performance indicators, and to identify how future research can address these issues.