Abstract
English summary
As the world struggles with numerous environmental challenges, industries everywhere need to reduce their environmental footprint. Being part of global production networks, Norwegian manufacturing suppliers are no exception. To make their production activities more environmentally friendly, manufacturing suppliers can use renewable energy, try to reduce their use of materials, develop more environmentally friendly products or introduce cleaner or more efficient technologies. However, we still know relatively little about the challenges Norwegian manufacturing suppliers face in their attempts to implement these changes.
This study looks at the conditions under which Norwegian manufacturing suppliers are working to improve their environmental footprint – and the outcomes of these efforts. To do this, this study uses the concept of environmental upgrading and a qualitative methodology.
The findings show that these conditions are highly complex. The studied suppliers serve different markets producing a wide range of products. Their relations with customers also vary: while some suppliers can negotiate changes due to more balanced power relations with their customers, others have less room to implement environmentally friendly initiatives. Trust, collaboration and even geographical proximity between partners in the value chains can facilitate or hinder the success of the new initiatives aimed at making production activities more sustainable. Meanwhile, the expectations to reduce environmental footprint are growing. In addition, the rules are changing rapidly, but not every actor manages to participate in shaping these rules, although they might have relevant knowledge and experience. In the end, environmentally friendly changes must occur, and often require changes in how value chains are organised. At the same time, when successful, these environmentally friendly changes can also shift actors’ roles and change relations in the existing value chains. Given this complex picture, some manufacturing suppliers may face more obstacles than others - or even risk becoming less competitive.
Overall, trust, collaboration forms and power relations together with rules, standards and regulations play a critical role in making existing production networks better for the environment. Therefore, to create effective solutions for making these networks more sustainable, we need to consider all these factors – not just the technical ones.