Actualmente en las organizaciones y sus cadenas de suministro pasan de preocuparse solamente de los flujos de productos e información generados desde sus proveedores hasta el cliente final, para satisfacer sus necesidades, para atender y recuperar los productos, una vez sean utilizados y desechados por dichos clientes. Esta recuperación en algunas industrias y sectores se ha convertido en obligatoria para proteger el medioambiente, mientras que en otros es observada como una oportunidad para la generación de valor y beneficios económicos, esta actividad se llama logística inversa (Gómez, 2010).
La gestión logística inversa y ambiental se convierte en factor clave de éxito en la sostenibilidad de los procesos logísticos en las empresas modernas. Ambas inciden y afectan al medio ambiente y al entorno de las operaciones empresariales. Este libro muestra las mejores prácticas logísticas para que las empresas adopten medidas que permitan ser eficientes en las actividades de retorno en sus productos y la sostenibilidad de sus operaciones a mediano y largo plazo, contribuyendo al equilibrio con el medio ambiente y al uso y protección de los recursos renovables. De esta forma, se potencia la reducción de costos de materia prima, lo cual convierte a la logística inversa en una ventaja competitiva para las empresas que la adopten, permitiendo implantar medidas que protejan el medio ambiente y asegurando la sustentabilidad con soluciones que disminuyan el impacto ambiental. El libro está dirigido a tecnólogos y profesionales y en general, a todas las personas involucradas en la cadena de abastecimientos y en lo relacionado con los procesos críticos de la cadena de valor, desde el flujo de compra a los proveedores hasta la reincorporación de los productos terminados en la cadena inversa y entorno ambiental del flujo de suministros empresariales.
Environmental concerns can greatly affect business success, regardless of whether a business person or corporation shares those concerns. Today's corporate managers must understand the power of environmental issues, and shift their mindset from one focused on environmental "management" to one focused on strategy.Competitive Environmental Strategy examines the effects of environmentalism on corporate management, explaining how and why environmental forces are driving change and how business managers can think about environmental issues in a strategic way. The author discusses: the evolving drivers of corporate environmental strategy, including regulators, shareholders, buyers and suppliers, insurers, investors, and consumers how environmentalism alters basic conceptions of competitive strategy and organizational design how external institutions create both opportunity and limitations for environmental strategy how environmental threats can be incorporated into risk management, capital acquisition, competitive position, and other management concerns The book ends with an overall discussion of competitive environmental strategy and draws connections to the emerging issue of sustainable development. Each chapter features insets that ask fundamental questions about the relationship between environmental protection and business strategy, and ends with a list of additional recommended readings. Every individual who wishes to engage in business management in the 21st century will need an appreciation for the implications of environmental issues on corporate activities, and vice-versa.Competitive Environmental Strategy offers a valuable overview of the subject, and provides a wealth of real-world examples that demonstrate the validity and applicability of the concepts for business people, clearly showing how managers are turning an understanding of environmental issues to competitive advantage.
A manifesto for a radically different philosophy and practice of manufacture and environmentalism "Reduce, reuse, recycle" urge environmentalists; in other words, do more with less in order to minimize damage. But as this provocative, visionary book argues, this approach perpetuates a one-way, "cradle to grave" manufacturing model that dates to the Industrial Revolution and casts off as much as 90 percent of the materials it uses as waste, much of it toxic. Why not challenge the notion that human industry must inevitably damage the natural world? In fact, why not take nature itself as our model? A tree produces thousands of blossoms in order to create another tree, yet we do not consider its abundance wasteful but safe, beautiful, and highly effective; hence, "waste equals food" is the first principle the book sets forth. Products might be designed so that, after their useful life, they provide nourishment for something new-either as "biological nutrients" that safely re-enter the environment or as "technical nutrients" that circulate within closed-loop industrial cycles, without being "downcycled" into low-grade uses (as most "recyclables" now are). Elaborating their principles from experience (re)designing everything from carpeting to corporate campuses, William McDonough and Michael Braungart make an exciting and viable case for change.
Vacant urban land--the product of land market activity, the actions of private agents, and the policies of public agents--is an important challenge for policy makers. Vacant lots on the urban fringe and in central and interstitial areas have affected growth patterns in Latin America. Contributors to this book analyze the problems and opportunities related to vacant urban land in five cities: Buenos Aires, Argentina; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Quito, Ecuador; Lima, Perú; and San Salvador, El Salvador.
La logística medioambiental, la “logística de la recuperación y el reciclaje”, es un nuevo avance en la gestión de la cadena de suministro y el desarrollo sostenible. Logística inversa describe los criterios y los sistemas para gestionar con éxito el tratamiento y la recuperación de productos y materiales. Los autores sitúan a los retos medioambientales como uno de los valores estratégicos del desarrollo competitivo de las empresas. I Premio Mecalux de Logística a la mejor Monografía.
Sustainability: Key Issues is a comprehensive introductory textbook for undergraduate and postgraduate students doing courses in sustainability. Highly original, it covers the very broad spectrum of ideas covered under sustainability, from participation, resilience, growth, ecological modernism through to culture, sustainable communities and sustainable consumption. Each chapter covers one key idea, and has been written by an expert in that field. This book makes key issues approachable, with each chapter containing: a definition of the key concept a history of how and why the issue has emerged a discussion of the advantages, drawbacks, main contributions and controversies associated with this issue case studies to demonstrate how it works in reality critical discussion of mainstream models of sustainability and the reason why they don't work introduction of beyond-the-convention alternatives, including circular economy and cradle to cradle approaches This is the ideal book for students and anyone interested in understanding the key issues within sustainability and how they interact.
The circular economy is a policy approach and business strategy that aims to improve resource productivity, promote sustainable consumption and production and reduce environmental impacts. This book examines the relevance of the circular economy in the context of developing countries, something which to date is little understood. This volume highlights examples of circular economy practices in developing country contexts in relation to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), informal sector recycling and national policy approaches. It examines a broad range of case studies, including Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, South Africa, and Thailand, and illustrates how the circular economy can be used as a new lens and possible solution to cross-cutting development issues of pollution and waste, employment, health, urbanisation and green industrialisation. In addition to more technical and policy oriented contributions, the book also critically discusses existing narratives and pathways of the circular economy in the global North and South, and how these differ or possibly even conflict with each other. Finally, the book critically examines under what conditions the circular economy will be able to reduce global inequalities and promote human development in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals. Presenting a unique social sciences perspective on the circular economy discourse, this book is relevant to students and scholars studying sustainability in economics, business studies, environmental politics and development studies.
This book addresses decision making in reverse logistics, which concerns the integration of used and obsolete products back into the supply chain as valuable resources. It covers a wide range of aspects, related to distribution, production and inventory management, and supply chain management. For each topic, it highlights key managerial issues in real-life examples and explains which quantitative models are available for addressing them. By treating a broad range of issues in a unified way, the book offers the reader a comprehensive view on the field of reverse logistics.
