While many multinational companies have internal standards for environmental excellence, their supporting vendors may not abide by these same standards. Supply chain management refers to the process by which buyer companies require a certain level of environmental performance for their manufacturing partners and vendors. When a company imposes environmental conditions on the products and processes of its suppliers, it is called greening the supply chain. US-AEP encourages the use of greening the supply chain techniques because they provide the tools promoting consistent environmental performance for corporations operating in countries with varying levels of national environmental regulations and enforcement. Identifying and supporting multinational companies who champion the values of greening the supply chain through outreach and education.
Champions proactively provide outreach and publicly promote supply chain management.
Read about Nike's championing efforts . Collaborating with U.S. and Asian multinationals who seek to create supplier outreach programs US-AEP commissioned a survey of 30 global companies to ascertain their views on ISO 14001, an international standard for environmental management systems, and greening of suppliers. The survey revealed that many firms have environmental criteria for their suppliers, particularly in the textiles and apparel, automobile, and microelectronics industries. US-AEP is working to develop supply chain management programs in these three industries through associations, multinational companies, and research facilities. US-AEP encourages the greening of suppliers through workshops, seminars, professional exchanges, and technical training.