Title: Environment and resolutions to avoid discontinuity in supply chain management

Authors: Seyed-Mahmoud Aghazadeh, Lotfollah Najjar, Ziaul Huq, Saeedreza Hafeznezami

Addresses: Department of Business Administration, School of Business, State University of New York at Fredonia, Fredonia, NY 14063, USA. ' College of Information Science & Technology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, USA. ' College of Business Administration, University of Nebraska at Omaha, USA. ' College of Engineering, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach, California 90840-8306, USA

Abstract: Supply chain management (SCM) is a quintessential area that entails numerous external factors that are both controllable and uncontrollable. Nature is indeed one of the most influential disruptor that affects a steady supply chain. The US Government has implemented many environmental laws and regulations to protect today|s environment from pollutants caused by the general public, governmental operations and businesses. The costs can come in the form of lawsuits, fines, cleanup, testing, disposing and the implementation of necessary technology. Benefits from the execution of these regulations can come in various ways in the end. These include more efficient ways to dispose of chemical wastes, increased revenues, lower cost of production and a better overall wellbeing of the environment, providing a better quality of life for everybody. This paper discusses historical occurrences and suggests proper techniques, such as business continuity planning (BCP) that managers can employ to ensure they are prepared for significant disruptions to their respective supply chains.

Keywords: environmental impacts; supply chain management; global SCM; supply chain disruptions; Hurricane Katrina; South East Asian tsunami; business continuity planning; disaster recovery planning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESD.2009.023981

International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development, 2009 Vol.8 No.2, pp.95 - 112

Published online: 22 Mar 2009 *

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