Dual-level eco-efficiency analysis in sustainable management: An empirical study on textile manufacturers and supply chains in China

Abstract

Eco-efficiency analysis at multi-levels can address the disconnection between its macro-level necessity and micro-level contribution. This cross-level analysis helps policymaking on systematically improving the sustainability of industry. Therefore, in this study, the dual-level eco-efficiency evaluation combing with interactive econometric analysis was applied for contributing a more holistic view of sustainable management in the heavy pollution industry. The empirical study was based on 12 international clothing brands and retailers' textile supply chains and their 202 major upstream manufacturers in China from 2015 to 2019. The dual-level evaluation uncovered a significant improvement in eco-efficiency both at the textile manufacturer and supply chain levels during the five years. The manufacturers' average eco-efficiency increased by 54%. The dyeing and finishing companies' efficiency of emissions to air, energy use, GHG emissions, and water use averagely increased by 165%, 39%, 28%, and 19%, respectively; discharges to water did not change significantly. Meanwhile, the interactive econometric analysis revealed the effects of green management certification, technological innovation, and the number of buyers/suppliers on dual-level eco-efficiency. The influencing mechanism of the same factor on eco-efficiency was demonstrated heterogeneous at manufacturer and supply chain levels. Adopting green management certification was an efficient facilitator to promote textile manufacturers' eco-efficiency, but not sufficient to advance supply chain's ecological performance until 2018. Conversely, inducing technological innovation can promote industry sustainability benefitting from knowledge search and absorption at the supply chain level. Depending on the multi-level lens, this study underlines that the same factor may have heterogeneous impacts at different levels and provides a drawable approach that can support decision-making on improving overall eco-efficiency for stakeholders such as companies, brands and retailers, and the government.