APO: Asian Productivity Organization

Green Productivity and Green Supply Chain Manual

A guide to greening the supply chain applying GP principles, program, methodology, tools and techniques based on the Asian Productivity Organization (APO)’s GP handbook and relevant GP materials, compiled with references to the GSC guides of the USA, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, Japan, the European Commission and the United Nations Environment Programme

Dr. Kun-Mo Lee, Republic of Korea, served as the volume editor.

©APO 2008, ISBN: 92-833-7070-8

FOREWORD

book The APO has been promoting Green Productivity (GP) in the Asia-Pacific region since 1994. GP efforts have included numerous demonstration projects, international and regional forums, workshops, and seminars held in member countries over the past decade. As a result, GP is now widely accepted as a holistic approach to tackle environmental issues and problems while simultaneously enhancing productivity, the foundation of business competitiveness.

The APO has also introduced various GP tools such as pollution prevention, environmental management systems, eco-design, green procurement, etc., to assist small and medium enterprises in improving their productivity in a green, sustainable manner. “Greening supply chains” (GSC) refers to industries and enterprises requiring that suppliers and vendors take responsibility for meeting specific environmental requirements. GSC is part of the green procurement process, which is especially important for large and multinational enterprises that rely on many links in their supply chains for products and services. GSC not only strengthens customer-supplier relationships, but also reduces costs, leads to sustainable production and consumption, and provides potential opportunities to add value to businesses.

A published manual to provide guidelines on GSC was considered necessary to translate the concepts, practice, and tools involved into easily understood steps that enterprises can take to incorporate GSC into their procurement systems. The Green Productivity and Green Supply Chain Manual cites successful examples in many countries demonstrating the benefits of GSC and how it contributes to added business value. However, actual practice may differ from enterprise to enterprise and from country to country. This manual is written in a question, suggestion, and example format to assist enterprises to initiate a GSC campaign and stimulate discussion of the potential for GSC applications, along with the appropriate system, strategy, and tools to be adopted.

Many valuable references on GSC have been published by the United Nations Environment Programme and other organizations in the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, UK, and EU. The present manual is compiled based on the experience developed in those countries and in the Asia-Pacific region. Special acknowledgement is due to all the references consulted during the writing of the APO’s Green Productivity and Green Supply Manual. Efforts were made to ensure that it is a stand-alone document covering all aspects related to GSC in a lucid, stepwise manner.

We hope that the Green Productivity and Green Supply Chain Manual will serve as another effective, easy-to-use reference for any enterprise desiring to adopt the GSC approach.

Shigeo Takenaka, Secretary-General
Tokyo, August 2008

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INSIDE THE E-BOOK
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
CONTENTS
LIST OF BOXES
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF FIGURES
FOREWORD
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1	INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES 1.2 THE REVIEW AND DRAFTING PROCESS 1.3 HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL
2	GREEN PRODUCTIVITY (GP) 2.1 GP CONCEPTS 2.2 THE TRIPLE FOCUS OF GP 2.3 GP PRACTICE 2.4 GP GUIDING PRINCIPLES 2.5 GP STEPS AND TASKS 2.6 GP TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES 2.7 GP RESOURCES
3	GREENING YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN 3.1 THE GREEN MARKET TRENDS 3.2 GREEN SUPPLY CHAIN ADDS BUSINESS VALUE 3.3 IMPLEMENTING THE GSC PROGRAM Step 1: Getting Started on a GSC Program Step 2: Planning Step 3: Generation, Evaluation, and Prioritization of Options Step 4: Implementation of GSC Step 5: Monitoring and Review Step 6: Continuous Improvement in GSC 3.4 SUMMARY
4	WORKING WITH BUSINESS PARTNERS 4.1 COLLABORATIVE PARTNERING WITH SUPPLIERS AND CONTRACTORS/SERVICE PROVIDERS 4.1.1 Procurement Policy and Product Specifications 4.1.2 Supplier Standards and Criteria 4.1.3 Evaluation and Certification 4.1.4 Outreach and Assistance 4.1.5 Service Supply Chain Strategies 4.1.6 Summary 4.2 SUPPLY CHAIN LOGISTICS 4.2.1 Definitions, Business Trends, and Benefits 4.2.2 Planning 4.2.3 Storage 4.2.4 Transportation 4.2.5 Reverse Logistics 4.2.6 Summary 4.3 PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP 4.3.1 Planning Demand and Supply 4.3.2 Product Stewardship 4.3.3 Product Design
5	MEASURING PERFORMANCE ON GSC 5.1 PERFORMANCE ON GSC 5.2 GSC INDICATORS 5.3 METHODS 5.4 SUMMARY AND SUGGESTIONS FOR COMPARING POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF GSC OPTIONS
6	CASE STUDIES 6.1 WHO’S DOING WHAT ON GSC? 6.2 SAMPLE CASE STUDIES 6.3 LESSONS LEARNT FROM THE CASE STUDIES
GLOSSARY
REFERENCES
APPENDIX 1. TRAINING SLIDES ON GREENING THE SUPPLY CHAIN APPENDIX 2. TRAIN THE TRAINER SLIDES APPENDIX 3. GREEN PROCUREMENT DECISION MAKING TOOL APPENDIX 4. AWARENESS BROCHURE ON GREEN SUPPLY CHAIN

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Green Productivity and Green Supply Chain Manual

FOREWORD