click on star to go back to Joseph Sarkis' HomepageThe young field of environmentally conscious design and manufacturing (ECDM) has primarily focused on internal functions and activities within an organization. The literature has neglected the advantages of strong customer-supplier relationships and their links to these internal dimensions. Yet, in practice, this concern has permeated to external enterprise practices and relationships. These external relationships serve as links in the development of a closed loop industrial ecosystem. The relationships have typically fallen within the field of supply chain management. Supply chain management from an ecological perspective is a necessary component of the industrial infrastructure for the success of design for the environment (DFE) and similar programs. This paper identifies emerging and potential research and development issues through the linkage of ECDM and supply chain management.
click on star to go back to Joseph Sarkis' Homepage