Statement of the problem of an evaluation of the implementation of green procurement Bakery Sector in Ireland

            The implementation of sustainable supply chain practices is going to be a vital component for business operations going by consumer expectations about the bread manufacturing sector of Ireland. Consumers want to know where the raw materials are sourced, how they are being used and the channels distributions (Magan, 2018). Most bread consumers are also interested in business operations that help conserve the environment and ensure the wellbeing of the consumers and the society in general (Keena, 2018).While  consumers’ interests in sustainable operations of bread manufacturers is apparent, the stance of the bread manufacturers is not known. The use of green procurement and other sustainable supply chain practices within the bread manufacturing sector is vague. Thus, it would be worthwhile to discover whether green procurement is a common practice within the sector as well as the barriers and enablers of implementing green procurement in the bread manufacturing sector.

            This is significant because green procurement will be one of the key operational features that shows responsible business operations among bread manufacturers and one that will leverage some businesses over others when it comes to gaining consumer’s trust.

            The bread manufacturing sector revenues as shown in Appendix A reveals that it has experienced both declines and improvements and as shown in the previous section, certain external factor such as consumer needs, inflation rate and future projections influence how the sector performs. However, the common theme when it comes to consumer needs and future projects is the significance of a transparent supply chain process. The consumers want to know how the ingredients are sourced and how the supply chain impacts the environment as well as the adaptation of more sustainable practices to reduce wastage and plastic packaging. This shows that there is a high level of consciousness about business operations, sustainability and environmental conservation. It can be assumed that in the future, businesses will be rated based on how they operate, that is, implement responsible practices that ensure the welfare of the consumer and environment as well as the firm’s economic sustenance – in other words, the triple bottom line.

1.3 Purpose of the study of an evaluation of the implementation of green procurement Bakery Sector in Ireland

            This study was significant for two reasons; foremost it helped fulfill a research gap about the application of green procurement in the bread manufacturing sector of Ireland. This is because there were no studies evaluating green procurement application in the bread manufacturing sector of Ireland to the best of my knowledge. The preliminary studies focused on the manufacturing and construction sectors. Very few studies explored the application of green procurement in the public and private sectors in Ireland – and it became obvious that green procurement is largely applied in the public sector. Therefore, this study will contribute knowledge to the field of green procurement within the bread manufacturing sector of Ireland.

            Secondly, the study has implications for the bread manufacturers of Ireland as regards to the adaption of sustainable operations – supply chain process – efficiency and economic improvement. Even though the revenue margins of the bread manufacturing sector in Ireland has increased and remained stable in recent years, the bread sector is facing intense competition both locally and internationally due to several factors such as entry of foreign players, lack of innovation for product development, quality provision and insufficient business training in the bakery field.

            This study assessed the bread manufacturers in Ireland to determine whether it applies green procurement so as to determine the barriers and improve on them. The supply chain within this sector was also evaluated because it deals with a sensitive commodity that has stringent legislative directives. The role of the stakeholders directly affected by the operations of the baker sector such as consumers and suppliers was also assessed to determine their needs and expectations, which has a bearing on the economic performance of the sector in the future.

            The concept of green procurement is relatively new and hence, this study analyses its application in the private and public sectors of Ireland to determine whether its application is feasible in the bread manufacturing sector. This is because several factors influence the application of green procurement such as the existence of clear regulatory guidelines as well as understanding and awareness of the use of green procurement. As regards to the implementation of green procurement within the bread manufacturing sector, the idea was to determine how the integration of green procurement can help streamline the sector, improve productivity and efficiency, and eliminate wastage.            

1.4 Research questions of an evaluation of the implementation of green procurement Bakery Sector in Ireland

            The research questions that guided this study were drawn from the implementation or lack of implementation of green procurement within the bread manufacturing sector of Ireland and the possible outcomes of implementing green procurement. The questions were also drawn from the situations influencing the use of green procurement in the bread manufacturing sector, for instance, the enablers and obstacles as well as consumer perception about the use of green procurement.   

Main question of an evaluation of the implementation of green procurement Bakery Sector in Ireland

1)  Would green procurement help improve the economic stance, efficient and sustainable production in Ireland’s bakery sector?

Sub-questions of an evaluation of the implementation of green procurement Bakery Sector in Ireland

1)  Would the integration of green procurement in a bakery business woo consumers?

2)  What are the enablers and barriers of integrating green procurement in a business operation?

3)   Why is green procurement concept significant for the bakery sector?

4)   What is the state of green procurement in Ireland’s public and private sectors?

1.5 Study implications of an evaluation of the implementation of green procurement Bakery Sector in Ireland

            This study has implications for bread manufacturers in Ireland when it comes to integrating responsible and sustainable business practices that have ripple effects for the business in terms of economic gain, customer loyalty, and sustainable reputation, elimination of wastage, and environment conservation as well as cost reduction. The following are considered key implications for bread manufacturers.

Adaption and implementation of a sustainable procurement model of an evaluation of the implementation of green procurement Bakery Sector in Ireland

        Preliminary studies show that green procurement is effective for eliminating waste, reducing cost, and ensuring quality provision from suppliers and for consumers (Bag, 2017; Lehtinen, 2012). The findings of this study will provide bread manufacturers with insight about the significance of integrating a robust procurement process or green purchasing process in place. Bag (2017) notes that even without taking into account the issue of sustainability, the green procurement process will inevitably help reduce costs and attain a more sustainable procurement model. This will occur through supplier consolidation, replacement of paper-based payment, use of recyclable materials, use of quality raw-materials sourced from suppliers who adhere to relevant and pertinent environmental regulations concerning food supply chain, streamlined electronic procedures –all of which can help attain instantaneous economic benefits (Bag, 2017).

        Moreover, with a sustainable green procurement and supply chain in place, bread manufacturers can begin to investigate other opportunities for enhancing sustainability, for instance, supplier and customer reviews. This can be done through a survey process using questionnaires to request information about packaging policies, delivery methods and the use of relevant green accreditations. Furthermore, selecting the most sustainable suppliers and working them creates an opportunity to renegotiate contracts with suppliers to create more opportunities for costs savings (Beer & Lemmer, 2011). According to Zalwango (2013), the green procurement is also designed to collect data and information that can be analyzed to evaluate ways to improve and decision-making process. For instance, information that can be sourced from the green procurement process include trends in purchasing behaviour such as a decline in orders or delivery numbers and this can be used to determine other stakeholders’ interests.

Reputation of an evaluation of the implementation of green procurement Bakery Sector in Ireland

        Gaining a reputation for environmental consideration and application of sustainable supply chain can be good for business when a firm wants to have loyal customers – this can improve sales and profits. However, the dilemma for meeting shareholders profits, reducing cost and stakeholders’ interests has persisted for most firms in most sectors. However, very few bread manufacturers in Ireland manage public companies as most of the bread companies are liability companies or run by sole proprietors. According to Coughlan (2015), the goal of most bread manufacturers in Ireland is growing the business and for this to happen, the sales and profits need to increase. Reducing the cost of operation would help with increasing the profit margins. Green procurement model can help bread manufacturers source reliable and quality-driven suppliers as well as save cost by sourcing green and efficient services such as renewable energy and recyclable materials.

        Not only will such operation ensure sustainability in the long-run, but improve the firm’s image among conscious consumers. Keena (2018)notes that in an era of real-time social networking global communication, perceptions of poor business operations can have immediate and in some cases, permanent impact on reputation and revenues. It is, however, worth noting that rather than basing decisions mostly on price, quality and time, green procurement takes into account the whole life cost of products and the likely benefits or impacts to the firm, community and economy, while reducing the harm to the environment.  

Financial savings of an evaluation of the implementation of green procurement Bakery Sector in Ireland

            Green procurement can influence a firm’s bottom line because multiple environmentally-acceptable products are competitive in terms of quality, while costing the same or even less than traditional substitutes (Bag, 2017). In addition, most green products use less energy, water, fuel and other resources that lead to extra saving. Given that environmentally-acceptable products and services are designed to produce minimal to no waste, they help decrease or eradicate the cost of waste and other hazardous materials (Keena, 2018). As mentioned earlier, cost reduction creates opportunities for savings and profits. Gormly (2014) study had found that one of the reasons why green procurement isnot popular despite its varied benefits is because it is assumed to increase the cost of business due to a wide misconception that green products and services are expensive. His study found that firms that use green procurement use less energy as they mostly use renewable energy (that may be expensive to integrate initially, but cheaper to use in the long-term), generate less waste that can be expensive to rid, use recyclable materials, and use quality products that are better that their toxic substitutes (Gormly, 2014). Therefore, green procurement can help cut the following costs: operational costs, disposal costs, repair and replacement costs, and health and safety costs.

1.6 Hypothesis of an evaluation of the implementation of green procurement Bakery Sector in Ireland

        This study applies quantitative study and as such hypothesis testing is an essential procedure in statistics. The proposed hypothesis for this study is the alternative hypothesis (HA):

“If individual bread manufacturers implement green procurement, then they will engage in sustainable operations that improve their economic stance”

           This hypothesis evaluates two mutually exclusive statements about bread manufacturers to establish which statement is best supported by the sample data. These two statements also happen to be two variables, independent (economic stance) and dependent variable (use of green procurement). The hypothesis is testable and falsifiable. The null hypothesis (H0) in this case is:

“If individual bread manufacturers implement green procurement, then they will not engage in sustainable operations that improve their economic stance”