A critical review of “green” procurement

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to help readers understand the nature of the food supply chain and the way that environmental “costs” are accumulated along its length, with a view to developing more sustainable supply chains from political, social, economic technological and environmental perspectives.Design/methodology/approachIn order to do this, the authors have examined elements of the supply chain starting off by looking at consumer expectations and moving on to the environmental impact of different food types, different production systems, food transport and food waste. A series of calculations looking at the costings for different types of meals, with different environmental credentials, that might be served at different events is included to put some of the more abstract ideas of and environmental cost/benefit into context.FindingsPerforming a thorough life cycle analysis of a meal is a very complex and far from certain procedure. It is essential for us to develop our techniques in order to make informed decisions, but in a commercial world probably the best approach is to adopt a broad set of criteria that are likely to give environmental benefits both to the business, the consumer and broader society. In some cases, this may be best achieved by adopting or developing some sort of accreditation scheme or brand.Practical implicationsThis paper gives event managers and others involved in the food supply chain context within which to start thinking about more environmentally sound peculiar and of foodstuffs.Originality/valueThis paper represents a broad overview pulling together many sets of original findings from a very diverse interdisciplinary literature base.

Low carbon supply chain: a state-of-the-art literature review

“…Rad et al (2013) found that the outsourcing decisions of companies have significantly reduced carbon emissions. Beer and Lemmer (2011), Tidy et al (2016) and Cerutti et al (2016) analyzed carbon emission issue in food procurement. Hsu, Kuo, Shyu and Chen (2014) considered energy efficiency of products, eco-labeling, carbon accounting, energy reduction strategy, carbon governance and transport efficiency as criteria for selecting suppliers for the hotel industry.…”

A systematic literature review of food sustainable supply chain management (FSSCM): building blocks and research trends

“…, 2014). Food types can affect the natural environment, due to the food production systems, transport distances from producers and consumers, waste management, and workers' conditions in the sectors involved (Beer and Lemmer, 2011). The situation is even more complicated in the agri-fresh food sector due to the perishability of products and the short shelf-life (Siddh et al.…”

“…, 2018). Finally, many firms in the FSC are small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (Beer and Lemmer, 2011; Ghadge et al. , 2017) that may find it difficult to address sustainability challenges and implement practices.…”

“…A food supply chain (FSC) is particularly complex, as it connects different sectors of the economy (agriculture and the food-processing industry and distribution sector) in a market dominated by rapidly changing customer preferences (Beske et al, 2014). Food types can affect the natural environment, due to the food production systems, transport distances from producers and consumers, waste management, and workers' conditions in the sectors involved (Beer and Lemmer, 2011). The situation is even more complicated in the agri-fresh food sector due to the perishability of products and the short shelf-life (Siddh et al, 2017).…”

“…Thus, examining sustainable development in the FSC is extremely complex due to the high level of unpredictability in terms of demand and cost, the fragile nature of food and consumers' increased awareness of risks and safety issues associated with diets and eating disorders (Siddh et al, 2018). Finally, many firms in the FSC are small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (Beer and Lemmer, 2011;Ghadge et al, 2017) that may find it difficult to address sustainability challenges and implement practices. The various FSC duties and tasks are often perceived as more demanding when sustainability is applied to enrich conventional profit-oriented models (Allaoui et al, 2018).…”