Greening Organizations: Purchasing, Consumption, and Innovation

Abstract

The use of consumer pressure in greening the economy has long been advocated by environmentalists. This article takes the view that the traditional image of the consumer as the primary agent of environmental change is inadequate. Efforts to green the economy require an understanding of corporations and public organizations as consumers as well as an understanding of individuals as consumers. The article sets out the arguments for treating all organizations as consumers and as a dominant but underemphasized force in greening the economy. It then considers organizational consumption in the context of supply chains, with respect to the issue of agency within the organization and with respect to the transmissions of market signals for innovation. The discussion makes clear the importance of considering the interorganizational context and ways in which this context both constrains and enables green purchasing initiatives. Reference is made to examples from a range of organizations.