Incorporating green purchasing into the frame of ISO 14000

Abstract

More and more firms have begun to voluntarily adopt ISO 14001 as a tool for continuous improvements to meet the goals of sustainability. At the same time, these firms have also encouraged their suppliers to apply for the certification of ISO 14001 and to regulate the certification as a minimum requirement in selecting suppliers (Ind Mark Manage 4 (1997) 363; J Qual Manage 4 (1999) 111; Renew energy 23 (2001) 579). By contrast, green purchasing is increasingly being used as an effective tool to mitigate the environmental impacts of consumption and to promote the development of clean production technology (Am Prospect 11 (1992) 71). It mainly focuses on product design and process improvement (Acad Manage Rev 20 (1995) 18; Harv Bus Rev 75 (1997) 67), eventually bringing about a competitive advantage in international markets (Harv Bus Rev 75 (1997) 67; Harv Bus Rev 73 (1995) 120). This paper highlights the role of ISO 14000 and green purchasing in achieving sustainable development when firms focus their concerns on improving both financial and environmental performance, and asserts the importance of the incorporation of green purchasing into the frame of ISO 14000. We propose that (1) environmental purchasing is an effective tool in controlling pollution externalities and provides a positive effect on the implementation of ISO 14001 environmental management and (2) with the incorporation of green purchasing into the framework of ISO 14000, it can encourage firms to implement pollution prevention from the source and to educate the public to engage themselves in green consumption, which leads to the attainments of both environmental and financial performance. In this paper we also present a framework of guidelines for green purchasing and the related implementing procedures.