Published in Asia Environmental Review (ASER), February
1999
Ford Motor Company has advised potential suppliers of its huge new production plant in
the Philippines – due to open later this year – that environmental criteria are
to be taken into account in the company’s purchasing decisions. Under the terms of a
partnership agreement with the United States-Asia Environmental Partnership (US-AEP), the
company is to integrate environmental factors into its purchasing criteria, while US-AEP
will work with the company to develop environmental programs to assist their suppliers.
The Ford project is one of several initiatives to ‘green the supply chain’ being
carried out with the involvement of the US-AEP’s Clean Technology and Environmental
Management (CTEM) program, according to CTEM’s Conchita Silva, who says these
initiatives are still in their "formative phase" in the region.
Silva regards moves to green the supply chain as "a very powerful tool." But
she adds that cost considerations – for example the cost to a small company of
implementing environmental controls and an environmental management system – can
still be an inhibiting factor. Silva told ASER that Texas Instruments is one
multinational taking steps to dismantle this barrier to better environmental performance
by its suppliers in the region. "What they have done is to identify who their
strategic suppliers are … and if a strategic supplier is a tiny enterprise with no
money to install an EMS they provide a loan at a subsidized rate." CTEM has also been
working with Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), whose members include Nike, Gap,
Levi Strauss, and Patagonia.
Supply chain measures are one way in which some multinationals are helping to lift
environmental performance. Taking a leadership role in industry associations is another.
"Industry associations traditionally were more of a trade association, but that has
changed significantly," Silva told ASER. She noted that the association of
electronics in the Philippines has changed its mission and vision statements to include
the environment. "Their vision is that all of their members will have ISO 14001
certification." It’s a vision that is well on the way to becoming reality.
"In the Philippines only 23 companies have ISO 14001 certification, but 90% are in
the electronics industry, says Silva.
