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31

Chemical Technology • June 2015

a green supply chain in the South African manganese and

phosphate mining industries.

Although few mines have adopted processes of mini-

mising environmental risk, the implementation of a green

supply chain remains an option and it is not generally em-

braced because of the notion that it is costly. Government

needs to play an expanded role in enforcing legislation and

set harsh penalties for non-compliance by the mines. But

it also needs to support more consciously the manganese

and phosphatemines more with an appreciation of the need

to implement GrSCM. At a policy level, it is recommended

that the adoption of cleaner production practices become

standard for all manganese and phosphate mining houses

in South Africa.

At a managerial level, top management in the various

mines needs to take the initiative of increasing aware-

ness amongst the supply chain stakeholders. This can be

achieved by holding environmental awareness seminars for

suppliers and vendors, undertaking programmes to inform

stakeholders on the benefits and relevance of green supply

chain initiatives, providing platforms for information and

offering rewards to stakeholders for pursuing the initia-

tive. Owing to the fact that supply chain practitioners are

custodians of the supply chain process, policies must be

introduced where sourcing strategies are only approved if

green issues are considered. Furthermore, management

needs to develop a GrSCM adoption strategy which enables

the mines to handle, minimise and anticipate problems with

waste. The critical elements of this strategy should cover:

• use of cleaner technologies

• training for stakeholders

• inclusion of environmental aspects in the sourcing strategy

• redesigning of plants to better accommodate wastes

• funding for environmental awareness and change man-

agement

• collaboration between stakeholders (internal and exter-

nal) to encourage knowledge sharing.

It is apparent that the mines have limited knowledge of

cleaner technologies and cleaner production practices.

Firstly, given the fact that the study sheds light on the chal-

lenges of the implementation of GrSCM in the managanese

and phosphate mining industry, it is recommended that

further research be undertaken to develop a green supply

chain implementation model for the industry. Secondly, a

study needs to be conducted on the perceptions and ex-

pectations of South African policymakers in this industry.

Thirdly, a feasibility study needs to be undertaken on the

link between the implementation of a green supply chain,

cost saving and competitive advantage.

References

A list of references for this article is available from the editor

at

chemtech@crown.co.za.

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT