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PurposeThis paper analyses the relationship between environmental protection and mid‐term financial performance, focusing on when and why this relationship is positive. In particular, the paper disaggregates environmental protection, differentiating between environmental management practices, environmental proactivity and environmental performance of the organization.Design/methodology/approachIt uses a cross‐section survey of 2,122 Welsh companies to gather information on environmental practices and the FAME database to collect data on accounting based financial performance. The paper uses regression analysis on a combined sample of 186 Welsh companies to evaluate the effect on performance of different types of environmental protection.FindingsOn the whole, the results show a positive effect of environmental protection on mid‐term financial performance. Financial performance has a positive and significant correlation with environmental proactivity and with environmental performance, while it has a no significant relation with environmental management.Originality/valueThe paper presents a disaggregated analysis of environmental protection in relationship with financial performance. The paper differentiates between environmental management practices, environmental proactivity and environmental performance of the organization in their relationship with financial performance.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the existence of differences in the implementation of environmental practices between companies that possess some form of certified environmental management system (ISO 14001 or EMS) and those that do not have any such system. This study also investigates whether companies with a certified EMS are also making additional environmental demands on their suppliers.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical study utilizing survey data from automotive supplier organizations was completed. A total of 157 in‐person interviews were conducted with managers of Spanish companies which are automotive supplier organizations. Logistic regressions and non‐parametric tests are used to evaluate hypotheses.FindingsA positive relation was found to exist between the possession of certified EMS, specifically ISO 14001 and eco‐management and audit scheme, and the environmental demands that these organizations impose on their suppliers. This finding implies that environmental concern spreads upstream in the supply chain. The environmental demands on suppliers increase with customer organization size, but the degree of internationalization, measured by the rates of imports and exports, does not show a significant relationship to these pressures.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited to a single (important) industrial sector and cannot be directly extrapolated to other industries.Originality/valueThere is a paucity of research that relates the adoption of certified EMS by companies to the adoption and implementation of environmental practices in their own organizations and in supply chain partners. This is the first such study to be completed for the automotive industry.

Firms are increasingly aware of environmental degradation and this has led many of them to include “quality, safety and protecting the environment” among their competitive priorities. This also involves large capital investments aimed at reducing the environmental impact of their manufacturing activities. This study suggests a method for estimating the return of manufacturing investments with environmental effects (costs and benefits). It considers the value of the asset being preserved as a consequence of a firm’s social responsibility. The practical case studied is Huelva’s industrial area.

The traditional approach of operations management has evaluated an organisation’s performance based on four main areas: cost, quality, time and service. However, the necessity to introduce environmental protection measures in firms so as to achieve sustainable development has forced a redefinition of the operations function. This paper reviews the literature on operations management and environmental issues, in order to determine the role of operations in sustainability. We justify the need to include environmental performance as a new dimension of operations performance. Finally, we analyse environmental performance as an operations objective and present certain aspects that should be taken into account when measuring it.

The impact of business operations on the natural environment has been a public concern for decades and a research concern for years. To date, the focus of environmental impact research has been almost exclusively on manufacturing industries. Environmental research specific to service industries have been neglected, despite the fact that economies of developed nations are mostly made up of service businesses. This paper explores potential distinctions of service businesses as they may influence management motivation for taking environmentally friendly actions. Through a number of case studies, we observe some commonality of environmental motivations between service and manufacturing industries, as well as some environmental themes unique to services. These themes pertain to customer awareness of environmental initiatives of service firms by virtue of their involvement in the production process. Interestingly, customer involvement can have an adverse affect on environmental initiatives.

This paper explores whether there are discernible differences in the environmental innovation and performance of US chemical firms that can be explained by differences in the management practices and characteristics of the firms. Using data from a national survey, firm visits, and phone interviews, this research assesses the pervasiveness of the adoption of environmental management practices. It also assesses whether the adoption of these practices is related to leadership in environmental innovation and performance. This paper shows high levels of adoption of several practices for improving environmental innovation and performance. Firms are using practices such as total quality management, certification of suppliers, R&D, and the involvement of employees in innovation and training to integrate environmental management with their production systems. In addition, firms with the highest adoption levels of environmental practices have substituted cleaner materials and changed their production processes for cleaner production, and they are leaders in reducing their generation of chemical waste.