Title: Green business among certified companies in Malaysia towards environmental sustainability: benchmarking on the drivers, initiatives and outcomes

Authors: Tarig Khidir Eltayeb, Suhaiza Zailani, Walter Leal Filho

Addresses: School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia. ' School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia. ' Faculty of Life Sciences, Research and Transfer Centre ''Applications of Life Sciences'', Lohbrugger Kirschstrasse 65, D-21033 Hamburg, Germany

Abstract: In recent years, environmental issues become more intense and widespread. This calls for considering the issues of sustainable development in business operations. This paper utilised interviews with three organisations to identify green initiatives adopted in Malaysia, their drivers and outcomes. Analysis of the interviews indicates that the most adopted green initiatives in Malaysia are eco-design and green purchasing, followed by reverse logistics. The key drivers are regulations, customer pressures, expected business benefits and social responsibility. The study indicates that the outcomes of green initiatives are environmental, cost reductions, economic, in addition to company and brand image and reputation.

Keywords: green initiatives; environmental sustainability; interviews survey; Malaysia; benchmarking; sustainable development; sustainable business; green business; ecodesign; green purchasing; reverse logistics; regulations; customer pressure; business benefits; social responsibility; brand image; reputation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJETM.2010.029983

International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, 2010 Vol.12 No.1, pp.95 - 125

Published online: 03 Dec 2009 *

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