Chemical Technology June 2015

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Chemical Technology • June 2015 26
Exploring the challenges associated
with the greening of supply chains
in the South African manganese
and phosphate mining industry
Until the late 1980s, when the notion of ‘sustain-
able development’ surfaced as noted in the 1987
World Commission on Environment and Develop-
ment’s publication, Our common future. Annex to the
General Assembly document A/42/427, [66], it was
generally held that economic growth would inevitably lead
to environmental degradation through the consumption
of non-renewable resources, the overuse of renewable
resources and the production of waste and pollution [13].
This thinking was out of sync with the principles underpin-
ning the notion of sustainable development, defined as
the development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs [66]. Environmental impacts
resulting from industry are represented by emission inven-
tories of chemical release to the air, water and soil [25].
The environmental degradation resulting from economic
activities led some policymakers and scholars, such as
Beamon [1], to join in calls for a need to change manufac-
turing philosophy. Inevitably, this would have a bearing on
supply chain management. For many years, the concept
of supply chain management focused on enhancing op-
erational efficiency and minimising waste – not so much
for environmental reasons, but for economic reasons [59].
Essentially, the goal of supply chain management was
about cost reduction, transportation and storage efficien-
cies, whilst service enhancement came from better delivery
performance and fewer stock-outs for the retailer [17]. Ac-
cording to Ganeshan and Harrison [19], the supply chain is
a network of facilities and distribution options that perform
the function of procurement of materials, transportation of
these materials into intermediate and finished products to
customers and also involves extraction and exploitation of
natural resources [57]
The environment has now become critical in themanage-
ment of supply chains; leading to acceptance of the notion
of green supply chain management (GrSCM). Hui, Chan and
Pun [28] indicate that government policies and pressure
This article explores the challenges related to the
implementation of GrSCM and provides insight
into how it can be implemented in the South
African manganese and phosphate industry.
by Professor David Pooe, Associate Professor, Department of Business Management ,
University of Johannesburg and Khomotso Mhelembe, Category Specialist, Airports
Company South Africa