Every day, consumers across the world, make complex purchasing decisions before ultimately parting with their hard earned cash. Many factors drive the decision to buy. Chief amongst them include price, quality, availability and delivery time. Factors for selecting products and services also vary due to different preferences and taste.
The growing list of factors considered by customers is also now including environmental sustainability. A new generation of green consumers are starting to question the sustainability of a product before they can purchase it. The so called, “Green Consumers”, are interested in buying products which are not only cost-competitive but also environmentally sustainable as well.
Businesses which ignore environmental issues in their production processes risk facing product boycotts. Banishment from global supply chains has also happened for businesses which ignore environmental sustainability.
Green purchasing can be implemented by individuals, private companies and public sector entities. This entails coming up with a criteria for selecting products and services. Many companies are including environmental criteria in their purchasing decisions. Greening the supply chain can ensure that environmental impacts are prevented. From a loss control perspective, companies can eliminate environmental emergencies by carefully selecting suppliers to avoid environmental risk.
There are arguments that green products are more expensive than conventional ones. Assessing costs throughout the life cycle provides a clear picture of costs and benefits of green products in order to avoid short term financial thinking. In the long term, eliminating environmental damage in the supply chain could be the solution to the global sustainable development challenges.