Green supplier development in supply chain – practical application

Abstract

Purpose: Reducing negative environmental impacts attracts a lot of attention among company managers around the world, which is related not only to fostering the idea of sustainable development, but also introducing the concept of circular economy.It includes sourcing and purchasing managers that are responsible for the cooperation with suppliers.One of the concepts related to this kind of cooperation is Green Supplier Development (GSD).The purpose of this article is to determine the scope of implementation of the GSD concept in production companies operating in Poland.Design/methodology/approach: The author adopted mixed research design approach.The research methods used in this study are the systematic literature review and a survey conducted using the Computer-Aided Telephone Interview technique (CATI).The reviewed literature is directly related to the concepts of GSD and green supplier evaluation that can be used to select suppliers for GSD programs.The empirical study focuses on the practical aspects of GSD implementation.Findings: The results concern the scope of implementation of the GSD concept, including company involvement in GSD programs, conducting GSD activities, and selecting suppliers for collaboration in the area of GSD.Furthermore, conducting GSD activities might be seen as a part of the cycle that might result in continuous improvement of environmental performance and continuous reducing of the negative environmental impact.Practical implications: The main implication for business is related to the participation in GSD programs.If only the minority of companies in the sectors studied participate in such programs, then this kind of participation might be a source of competitive advantage.Social implications: The main implication for government is related to facilitating possibilities of organising or participating in GSD programs or conducting GSD activities, such as tax reliefs for companies investing in this kind of operation.Originality/value: The originality of this paper lies in determining the scope of implementation of GSD concept and using GSD practices in Poland.