4 Methodology

Environmental management in product chains

On the background of the 25 cases described and analysed in (Bauer & Ettrup 2002a) and (Bauer & Ettrup 2002b), eight different environmental initiatives in product chains have been identified. The 25 cases have been categorised according to these environmental initiatives, but with several companies having introduced more than one of the identified environmental initiatives and, most often, with co-ordinated efforts between these initiatives. The eight types of initiatives and the main company and the type of product or service are shown in table 4.1.

Environmental initiative/management effort	Companies (activity, product or service)
1) Life cycle assessment	Teknos A/S (paint manufacturer) Gabriel A/S (textile manufacturer) Jydsk Nylon (electroplating company) Danfoss Drives A/S (electronic product manufacturer) H+H Fiboment A/S (building materials)
2) Customer information, marketing	Bambo (production of nappies and sanitation products) HCI Nordic A/S (handling and distribution of chemicals) Danfoss Drives A/S (electronic product manaufacturer) Skylight A/S (plastic product manufacturer) Jydsk Nylon (electroplating company) Post Danmark (transportation) Brødrene Hartman A/S (packaging manufacturer) Levison and Johnson and Johnson A/S (printing company)
3) Green procurement policy or strategy	DSB (state owned railway company) Dan Rens A/S (distribution and sale of chemicals)
4) Recovery of materials and products	Danogips A/S (building material) Danfoss Drives A/S (electronic) Skylight A/S (plastic product manufacturer)
5) Supplier assessments and dialogues	Brødrene Hartman A/S (packaging mnufacturer) Novotex (textile manufacturer) Kompan A/S (playing ground equipment) Skanska Danmark A/S (contractor) HCI Nordic A/S (handling and distribution of chemicals)
6) Greening product development	Berendsen Tekstil Service (textile service company) Akzo Nobel Deco (paint manufacturer) Phønix Trykkeriet A/S (printing company) Trevira Neckelmann A/S (synthetic yarn manufacturer) Bambo (producer of nappies and sanitation products)
7) Eco-labels	Teknos A/S (paint manufacturer) Berendsen Tekstil Service (textile service company) Novotex (textile manufacturer) Phønix and Kontrapunkt (printing company and graphic design company) Leika Danmark A/S (furniture distributor) Trevira Neckelmann A/S (synthetic yarn manufacturer) Levison, Johnson and Johnson A/S (printing company) ISS Danmark (cleaning service company)
8) Strategic co-operation	Phønix Trykkeriet A/S and Kontrapunkt (printing company and graphic design company) Leika Danmark A/S (furniture distributor) ISS Danmark (cleaning service company) Centre for concrete construction Berendsen Textile Service (textile service company)

Table 4.1: The identified types of environmental initiatives in the product chains in the 25 cases and the main company and the products or services

Within these eight types of environmental initiatives in product chains, the different activities are analysed with respect to

What initiated these initiatives
How these initiatives were organised and what activities were involved
What the prerequisites in the companies were for these initiatives
What the role of sector affiliation was
How the initiatives were financed
What organisational and environmental impact the initiatives have had

The initiatives are also analysed with regard to regulatory measures within the categories

Demands, prescriptions and prohibitions
Soft measures such as environmental labels, environmental standards and certifications
Promotional measures such as support schemes, R&D policy etc.

Based on the analysis of the shaping of company practice in product chains from the cases, including the different regulatory measures, perspectives for future policy and the necessary preconditions for these to work as more widespread practice have been analysed. The aim is to analyse the specific company and product chain experiences (in chapter 5-10), and from the case analyses draw recommendations for future policy making (in the summary and conclusion at the beginning of the report).