BSP 400 Final Document Updated Warren22 N

ASSESSINGTHEEXTENTOFIMPLEMENTINGGREENPROCUREMENTINZAMBIA -ACASEOF
MANUFACTURINGINDUSTRIESINLUSAKACITY
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction
Green procurement involves the purchasing of environmentally friendly products and services, the
selection of contractors and setting of environmental requirement in a contract Coddington, (2013).
Green procurement is becoming a cornerstone of environmental policies both at European Union
and member state level (Tukker et al, 2008). Green procurement is rooted in the principle of
pollution prevention, which strives to eliminate or to reduce risks to human health and the
environment (Bolton, 2010). Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) has a mandate
to do all such things as necessary to ensure the sustainable management of natural resources and
protection of the environment, and prevention and control of pollution. The greatest challenge of
the 21st century is to achieve sustainable production and consumption patterns (Kovacs, 2015).
According to UNEP (2012) countries spend the 15-30% of GDP on public procurement allocating
(spending) a lot on waste minimization, this enormous purchasing power, if spent in a sustainable
way, can contribute to sustainability goals, further the market of innovative and green goods, and
help develop green procurement (Nabiswa,2008).
With the increase in environmental concerns during the past decade, a consensus is growing that
environmental pollution issues accompanying industrial development should be addressed
together with supply chain management; thereby contributing to green procurement (shau, 2005).
Confronting diverse sustainability issues relates closely to their business activities such as climate
change, and ecological degradation, cultural and social problems, companies start to integrate
various kinds of sustainability strategies into corporate management system, for instance
automobile manufacturing companies emphasize greatly on cleaner energy in addressing climate
change while household application companies tend to focus on social responsibilities. It is
important we make our procurement processes environmentally friendly and climate neutral, a
process we can call "Green Procurement". Factors such as the efficient use of energy and resources,
reclamation of mined sites, reforestation and eliminating wasteful practices that could lead to
global warming and environmental pollution should be adopted. We need to develop sustainable
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BY WARREN, CHRISTINE AND SEGGIE BSc PUBLI PROCUREMENT © 2018
procurement guidelines which will establish the criteria that may be used by any organization or
procurement entity for the procurement of local order categories of goods, works and services in
Zambia (Muniru, 2013).
According to Arisa (2001,p2); “The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in

Johannesburg, South Africa, stated that relevant authorities at all levels should: "promote green
procurement policies that encourage development and diffusion of environmentally sound goods
and services". Studies have been done regionally on green procurement; South Africa has had a
very different procurement history than the commonwealth countries such as Kenya and Ghana,
which have similarities in the nature of post-colonial procurement organization in the approach to
procurement reform (Nagel, 2000).
In living its commitment to exemplary environmental stewardship, Copperbelt Energy Corporation

(CEC) has undertaken to integrate best environmental management practices and considerations
in the way it procures its goods and services. The Company has introduced a green procurement
policy aimed to encourage and increase the use of environmentally preferred products and services
within the supply chain. Senior Manager – Health, Safety, Environment, Social & Risk, Caroline
Sinkamba, explained to Watts On! That green procurement was a concept that guides an
organization in purchasing products and services that are more environmentally friendly. She said
that all efforts by the Company to go green would be futile if consideration of the environment in
sourcing its products and services was not made. Sinkamba explained that the procedure was
introduced to provide guidelines and essential information regarding green procurement that
should be considered as part of decision-making in the procurement process of products and
services. “The guidelines are in support of the Environmental Management System implemented
at CEC and the Procurement and Supply Policy, which favour products and services that exhibit
clear environmental advantages,” she said. The policy describes environmentally preferred
products and services and those that have a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the
environment when compared to competing products and services that serve the same purpose.
These products are non-polluting or have reduced pollution, they are durable and easily upgraded
and repairable, and they are reusable and recyclable (CEC, 2017).
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The CEC (2017) policy outlines some of the benefits of green procurement, including monetary
savings resulting from reusability and/or increased durability; increased savings due to
employment of energy, water and fuel conserving devices, and reduced health costs related to
exposure to dangerous substances.
According to Odhiambo, (2008) many private firms in Kenya are working to improve the
environmental performance of their operations and products and green procurement has been a
logical extension of this work. Similar to public buyers, private sector organizations have in the
last two decades adopted green procurement practices for specific products (e.g., recycled-content
office paper, renewable energy, paints, cleaners), with a few others have developed green
procurement policies that cover a wider range of products, services and environmental issues
(Odhiambo, 2008). As the business benefits of these efforts become better known, green
procurement is continuing to grow in the private sector (Lucas, 2007). For manufacturing and
process-oriented firms, green procurement practices look at the materials, substances and
chemicals in the products and services they provide (Theyel, 2010). Subsequently, this approach
looks beyond the company’s “gates” to include the materials, substances and chemicals its
suppliers use. According to Stephen & Helen, (2011) the ongoing efforts to reduce costs, leading
companies in Kenya use life-cycle assessment and material tracking tools to identify materials,
substances and chemicals in their products that pose significant environmental, health and safety
risks and re-design their products to reduce or eliminate such materials. The Kenya government
has put in place a wide range of policy, institutional and legislative to govern all business activities
to ensure there is protection of the environment (Odhiambo, 2008).
Industrialization is defined as a social or economic system in which manufacturing industries are

prevalent (oxford dictionary, 2011). Impliedly, implementing green procurement should not be an
exception in such issues. As far as manufacturing industries in Zambia are concerned, their concern
towards environment is very low and the knowledge on green procurement is considerably less
(Chibinda, 2016). The industries pollute the environment in Lusaka city to great extent knowingly
and unknowingly, if knowingly they pollute what would be the reason behind it and why they are
forced to do so, to what extent Zambia has been helped is a question whose answer is not clearly
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certain. Whether or not Zambia can be heavily industrialized minus harming the environment is
critical to its sustainable development. On the other hand, Zambia is one of those industrialized
countries in Africa and air pollution and resulting acid rain are growing problems. To what extent
have these manufacturing industries gone with the implementation of green procurement (GP),
what are the challenges facing GP implementation and how to mitigate those challenges in order
to achieve a sustainable development. These are some of the questions that this paper will address.
1.1 BACK GROUND

The high level of environmental pollution in Lusaka is alarming and one wonders whether the
manufacturing industries were being sensitized on the dangers of environmental pollution. It was
however not clear whether Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA), whose mandate
was to disseminate information to the public pertaining to pollution and its effects, was providing
enough information to combat this trend and using what methods (Hildah, 2017). However,
according to Chari and Chiriseri (2014), progress is slow and the percentage of green procurement
in the manufacturing industry of Zambia has remained considerably low for the past few years.
Green procurement is the selection of products and services that minimize negative environmental
impacts and also considers the continued availability of such non-renewal resources to the future
generations according to Brammer and Walker (2011).
Drumwright (1994) argues that going green has become an important environmental issue in
contemporary business practices worldwide. In light of the growing importance of green
procurement and green supplier development, Robinson and Stranberg (2008) state that various
studies have been conducted all over the world, particularly among European Union members and
the Middle East on green manufacturing, challenges of green procurement and opportunities
related to environmental responsibility. Green procurement requires a company to consider the
costs of securing raw materials, production, transportation, storage, use and disposal of the product
(Matthews and Axelrod 2004). It is rooted in the principle of pollution prevention, eliminating
risks to human health and the environment at the same time ensuring the availability of the natural
resources to the future generations. Carlsson and Waara (2006) say that green products are
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produced in a way that consumes fewer natural resources or uses them more sustainably. Buying
'green' on the other hand, involves buying recyclable products that last longer or produce less
waste. Ryan (2009) adds that green products require fewer resources to manufacture and operate,
so savings can be made on energy, water, fuel and other natural resources.
While modern societies face growing concern about global environmental pollution, developing
countries like Zambia are experiencing complex, serious and fast-growing pollution problems of
their own. The potent combination of industrialization, urban development and mass consumption
trends is exacerbated by foreign companies operating with little regard for the impact on the local
environment. Environmental pollution is more than just a health issue (Hildah, 2017).
All over the globe, both public and private sector organizations are focusing on sustainability in
resource extraction, use and disposal (Gonzalez et al., 2008). Carlsson and Waara (2006) found
out that, while the western countries are leading users of Green Procurement (GP), some
developing countries are following suit. Carlsson and Waara (2006) assert that EU countries are
particular about environmental considerations in the awarding of contracts, and in contract
performance clauses. Companies are under regulatory pressure from government and the public to
adopt green procurement policy (UNEP, 2002) (cited in Chari eta l, 2016).
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
In as far as manufacturing industries in Lusaka are concerned, their concern towards environment
is very low and the knowledge on green procurement is considerably less, the lack of awareness
about green procurement and because of high recklessness the environment is affected to great
extent by these industries (Chibinda, 2016). The high level of environmental pollution in Lusaka
is very alarming (Hilder, 2017). Despite Zambia’s provision in the constitution to provide for
measures to curb mismanagement of environmental issues, environmental degradation continues
to affect Zambia negatively, giving more reason to assess as to what extent manufacturing
industries in Zambia have gone with the implementation of green procurement in their
organizational policy in complying with the laws concerning the maintenance of environment.
Green procurement research within manufacturing sector is particularly important considering
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recent studies indicate a rise in costs of waste management, worker safety and public health
concerns both locally and globally, implying that it is an area that still needs addressing (Jayaraman
et al., 2013). Even though developed countries have initiated the use of green procurement as a
tool to protect the environment, resources and the wellbeing of the earthly residents, manufacturing
industries in Zambia can adopt green procurement in order to minimize rapid deterioration of the
environment.
1.3. PURPOSE
The purpose of this study is to assess the extent of implementing green procurement in Zambia
focusing on manufacturing industries based in Lusaka city. The main purpose for undertaking this
research is to look at how the manufacturing industries can be engaged to reduce the unsustainable
consumption of natural resources that end up as garbage. The outcomes are meant to benefit the
local authorities and residents of Lusaka in having a cleaner environment and reduce the costs
associated with managing garbage and diseases that result from it as they can formulate better
policies that include implementation of green procurement in reducing environmental pollution.
Besides, if the findings would be embraced, the manufacturing companies would benefit from
enhanced returns from their businesses as they will improve on resource efficiency and ensure a
good corporate image. Finally, the outcomes of the research would benefit all those, general public
and scholars alike, interested in the management of municipal solid waste and further contribute
to sustainable development in Zambia.
1.4. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
This study was guided by the following objectives:
1.4.1 To determine if the levels of awareness affect the extent of implementing green procurement
in the manufacturing industries
1.4.2 To establish the extent to which legal and regulatory framework affects the Implementation
of green procurement in the manufacturing industries
1.4.3 To find out if green procurement practices can contribute to competitiveness of a firm
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1.5. RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
1.5.1 Do the levels of awareness affect the extent of implementing green procurement in
manufacturing industries?
1.5.2 Do legal and regulatory framework affects the implementation of green procurement in the
manufacturing industries?
1.5.3 How do green procurement practices contribute to competitiveness of a firm?
1.6. SIGNIFICANCE
The study will help us to achieve sustainable development and waste minimization, pollution
prevention and save the cost that comes from penalties for non-adherence to environmental
regulations by Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA), the study will add great
value to the existing literature and benefit those organization that wish to implement green
procurement. Not only this, but also firms wishing to engage in green procurement practices will
find this study very useful in terms of the challenges they are bound to face in the process and how
to mitigate those challenges. This will aid in future adoption of green procurement in other sectors
of the economy.
1.7. SCOPE
The study will be restricted to manufacturing industries that are based in Lusaka city’s industrial
area, the information will be collected from procurement practitioners or those who assume the
responsibility of a procurement practitioner since this category of employees is the most active,
and hence they present a better representative sample for the research.
1.8. OPERATION DEFINITION
Green procurement-this is the purchasing of goods and services which are environmentally
friendly.
Sustainability- the ability to make development sustainable to ensure that it meets the needs of
the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
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CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 INTRODUCTION
Literature review is a body of text that aims to review the critical points of current knowledge on
a particular field or topic (Cooper, 1988). Literature reviews are secondary sources, and as such,
do not report any new or original experimental work it gives an overview of what has been said.
Therefore, this chapter critically reviews what other scholars have written on implementing green
procurement in manufacturing industries. The chapter will further try to bring out information from
what has been said about pollution prevention, sustainability and then focus on green procurement
practices based on past researches by different scholars.
2.1 GREEN PROCUREMENT
Green procurement is defined as a practice whereby purchasers seek to procure goods and services
with reduced environmental loads throughout their life cycle with consideration of their necessity,
from suppliers who make constant efforts to be environmentally conscious (MOE,2017).
According to CIPS (2007) green procurement is the consideration of the environmental, social and
economic consequences of design, materials used (renewable and non-renewable) manufacturing
methods, logistics and disposal. Coddington (2013) argues that green procurement is the
purchasing of products or services which have a lower impact on the environment over their whole
life cycle than the standard equivalent. Green Procurement ensures that purchasing or supply chain
managers consider the issue of sustainability in the purchasing of inputs, in addition to the
traditional purchasing criteria of cost, quality, and delivery (Kannan et al., 2008). According to
Salam (2008) Green Procurement is defined as an environmental purchasing which involves
activities like reduction, reuse, and recycling of materials in the process of purchasing. Salam
(2008) has further stated that it is a solution for environmentally concerned and economically
conservative business. This concept minimizes environmental impact by selection of products.
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Richard and Nicolas supported the argument of Salam stating that Green procurement is the
purchasing of materials or services which have less impact on environment over the whole life
cycle. Green procurement also involves the integration of environmental issues into purchasing
decisions based on price, performance and quality. Along these decisions the environmental
impacts has to be considered more important for reducing the waste and pollution. Nicolas
suggested some typical Green procurement program elements:
 Recycled content products
 Energy efficient products and energy efficient standby power devices
 Alternative fuel vehicles, alternative fuels, and fuel efficient vehicles
 Bio-based products
 Non-ozone depleting substances
 Alternative fuels and fuel efficient vehicles
 Environmental Protection Priority Chemicals
These program elements help in selecting the product for manufacturing process but the supplier
selection plays a major role in green procurement. The materials and parts should be purchased
only from Green partners (Zhu, et al. 2007). The suppliers who have ISO 14000 should also be
considered (Sarkis, et al. 2003). The supplier who control hazardous substances in the industries
and has obtain green certificate achievements can be considered has efficient supplier (Ninlawan
et al., 2010). Stigson and Russell (1998) indicate that procuring green should include a process of
ensuring that suppliers meet required environmental standards. ICLEI (2000) is of the opinion that
apart from green procurement positively contributing to environmental protection at a local Level;
it also creates a powerful market demand for greening production. This way, green procurement
serves as a model to influence the behavior of companies, private institutions and households. In
the public sector, green procurement will thus influence any procurement action that is aimed at
reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that result in global warming leading to address climate
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change. For the purpose of this study, green procurement is considered to be the purchasing of
goods and services that reduce negative impacts on the environment, with a special emphasis on
the desire to address climate change. While the discourses surrounding sustainable development,
sustainable procurement and green procurement continue, a notable challenge globally as indicated
earlier is climate change. Climate change comes about mainly as a result of GHG emissions
generated by various human-induced activities (Klein et al. 2005). Green procurement has been
identified as one of the climate change intervention measures. This is because research shows that
procurement policies and practices of both the public and private sectors have the potential to
influence environmentally friendly modes of production and the provision of ‘greener’ goods and
Services that include infrastructure. In many developing countries, the big spending power of the
public sector, particularly municipalities, makes them influential players in the Nature of goods
and services production and provision. Some of the advanced and visible green procurement
practices are in place in the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development countries
(OECD). One of The objectives of the OECD is to address the sustainability challenges of
globalization that Include economic, social and environmental challenges (OECD 2007). From the
UK, Walker and Brammer (2009) established that green procurement at local government level
emphasized strongly on purchasing from local and small suppliers with cost being the leading
barrier to achieving sustainable procurement. According to Bolton (2008), the use of procurement
to promote environmentally sound practices is referred to as green procurement; environmentally
preferable purchasing; eco-procurement; environment- orientated procurement; environmentally
friendly procurement; environmental procurement; greener purchasing; sustainable procurement;
and environmentally responsible procurement. Bolton (2008) notes that despite the variety of
terms, they all generally refer to the selection of products and services whose environmental impact
are not harmful or the least harmful to the environment and human health when measured against
competing products and services.
2.1.1 green procurement in pollution prevention and waste management
A manufacturer is the one who designs and develops the product or packaging, as well as choosing
the materials for that product or package. It is at this point that the most efficient and effective
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decision can be made to reduce waste and encourage reuse. Reduction and recycling is at the
product design and development stage, a point in the product's life cycle when crucial decisions
can be made to minimize the environmental impact of their product (DANIDA, 2005).
The responsibility to ensure that the industry is strategically fit to reduce environmental impact
does not rest with the consumer or the government but the firm itself. Employees who work under
harsh environmental conditions affect productivity. Those that are aware of their green rights will
demand for the same and if this is absent then consequences of employee turnover will increase.
Lin and Ho (2010) postulate that green practices are more likely to be adopted if firms provided
organizational support, such as extra resources and training and increasing employee motivation
for adoption. Furthermore, when they are subjected to regulatory pressures/or received government
support. In Kenya, it is a mandatory requirement for manufacturing firms to insure their employees
against such risk as stipulated in Occupational Health and Safety (OSHA) Act, 2008 (GOK, 2007).
Most environmental protection efforts have traditionally been directed towards the control of
pollution from waste substance after it has been generated. Pollution should be prevented or
reduced at the source whenever feasible, pollution that cannot be prevented should be recycled in
an environmentally friendly manner. To fully understand the role of green procurement in pollution
prevention and waste management, it is necessary to return to the basics of waste management.
The very first principle in waste management is to avoid the generation of waste in the first place.
Blowers (quoted by Bosman, 1999) observes that sustainability can only be achieved if energy and
resources are conserved by reducing waste and if resources are protected by the prevention and
control of pollution. In essence, green procurement aims to incorporate effective control measures
to prevent and avoid the purchase of products and services that will cause and produce excessive
and unnecessary waste at source. Green procurement can, therefore, be seen as a waste
minimisation strategy. Bosman (1999) argues that waste minimisation strategies have their
foundation in the precautionary principle and are inseparably linked to the management of waste
disposal, since the only way of preventing potentially hazardous waste from entering the
environment is through the implementation of strategies aimed at minimization of the waste at
source. Green procurement will, therefore, ultimately reduce the amount of waste going to a
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landfill and reduce the environmental impacts of goods and services of organisations. Figure below
illustrates how procurement staff can apply the principles of the familiar waste hierarchy usefully,
namely: reduce, reuse, recycle, recovery and landfill (dispose or ‘end of-life management’) to
reduce waste management. This can also be thought of as a ‘procurement hierarchy’ insofar as it
helps procurement personnel to focus on the relevant options. A useful starting point for this
hierarchy is to re-think the purchase (Improvement and Development Agency, 2003). 2.1.2 Waste
management hierarchy
Source: (chibinda, 2016, p14).
Reducing the amount of pollutant or waste produced initially will result in a reduction of costs
associated with handling of that waste (Theodore and McGuinn, 1992). Therefore, the cost
resulting from the transportation, disposal, and treatment of wastes will be lowered. In addition,
income can be derived through the sale, reuse, or recycling of certain waste. However, economic
analysis has to be carriage out to determine the viability of measures and to establish whether the
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investment costs can recouped and how long that would take. Liabilities can be short term or long-
term. Short- term liabilities are associated with the releases to the environment resulting in
noncompliance with permit, personnel exposure and workplace safety. Long-term liabilities result
from on-site or off-site disposal if it is established that waste is releasing contaminants into the
environment and the generator is compelled to undertake remedial action. Pollution prevention can
be the least expensive means of reducing industrial discharge Lindsey et al (1996). For private
sector organizations, green procurement policies measure a financial payback from purchasing
products and services with lower environmental impacts and from selecting suppliers that are
committed to improving their own environmental, health and safety performance (CEC, 2003).
2.1.3 GREEN PROCUREMENT PRACTICES
Blomea et al. (2013) carried out research on green procurement and supply chain performance of
Western European companies. They considered three green procurement practices namely,
supplier development, supplier selection and e-procurement while García-Rodríguez (2013)
identified e-procurement as a practice in green purchasing. A study by Kyalo (2015) on green
supply chain practices on alcoholic beverage manufactures identified supplier selection as a
practice under green purchasing. From the foregoing, none of the studies have considered all the
three green procurement practices namely; supplier selection, e-procurement, and supplier
development.
2.1.3.0 Supplier Selection
In the past, sourcing for a supplier considered the following elements; price, flexibility and quality
in order to identify and select a desired suplier (Dowlatshahi, 2000). In the recent past, the basis of
selection has widened to include more parameters on green issues, over and above the traditional
criteria (Bai and Sarkis, 2010). Supplier selection, monitoring and auditing supports the green
agenda to a greater extend and therefore has prominence over other variables (Seuring and Muller,
2008).
Guo and Tsai (2015) conducted research on evaluating green supply chain suppliers and found out
that the criteria used to assess suppliers were green design, green materials including supplies,
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adoption of green processing, selling and packaging in a green way, environmental friendly
transportation, and recycling. Further, in their study, Guo and Tsai used twelve criteria for
evaluating green suppliers and analyzed the results. The research concluded that four green criteria
which include; design, material use, waste reduction and energy conservation, and reduction of
harmful substance use are the key drivers for green practices. Requirement for ISO 14001
certification and ICT is widely accepted as a basis for assessing suppliers, going by the literature
review (e.g. Stevenson, 2009; Iloranta, 2008; Petcavage and Pinkerton, 2010). Performance of the
supply chain system is depended on adoption of the three criteria in evaluating suppliers to achieve
the green objectives of a company (Pembere, 2016).
2.1.3.1 E-procurement
E-Procurement is where companies use the internet platform to automate traditional procurement
processes such us planning, supplier selection, order processing, payment and post procurement
monitoring and evaluation (Croom and Brandon-Jones, 2004). E-procurement facilitates
implementation of business strategies that lead to high profitability. In the same vein, it has been
an enabler in implementation of green procurement strategies by eliminating use of paper and
printing solvents that reduce impact to the environment (Hasan and Abidin, 2010).
GarcíaRodríguez (2013) noted that adoption of E-Procurement, complimented by system
integration with suppliers and strong customer relationship, ensured that the value chain becomes
waste free due to implementing practices like recycling, and reuse of materials.
Walters (2008) suggested that to ensure customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, companies
must work with their suppliers as well as the customers to ensure delivery of desired goods, just in
time. For such supply chain integration that delivers value to happen, organization use ICTs to
enhance supply chain efficiency. E-procurement, enabled by advance in ICTs, has been promoted
as one way of improving procurement efficiency and effectiveness (Musau, 2015).
2.1.3.2 Supplier Development
Firms are now adopting green procurement practices as a result of tightening environmental
regulations and genuine demands from customers and other stakeholders (Rusinko, 2007). Firms
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in the service and manufacturing sector may minimise business activities that negatively affect the
environment by first adopting technologies that promote environmental conservation and secondly
by being proactive through investment in prevention of environmental degradation as opposed to
pollution control (Klassen and Vachon, 2003). Business are now engaging upstream suppliers,
including tiered suppliers in the implementation of sustainable strategies through a long term
collaborative arrangement (Awasthi, 2010).
Collaborative engagements between procurement function and suppliers have positively

influenced environmental impact on businesses especially in the following areas; reduction of
inbound logistics’ environmental pollution, positive environmental impact of supplied material,
optimised energy consumption and emissions in the manufacturing process, and eco-efficiency of
the product through its life cycle (Jayaraman, 2009). Green supplier development is a practice of
green procurement and it involves various activities that include; working with suppliers to build
their capacity on green issues, carrying out supplier visits in factories to review performance
metrics, continuous communication on green performance metrics, and rewarding suppliers who
make improvements in adopting green strategies (Krause and Scannell, 2002). Green supplier
development therefore borrows from the resource based view on acquiring core competencies
(Pembere, 2016).
2.2 IMPLEMENTING GREEN PROCUREMENT IN AN ORGANISATION
Many organizations worldwide are making an effort to purchase products and services that are less
harmful to local and global environments. Both public and private sector organizations are
implementing purchasing practices that include environmental (and social) considerations—green
procurement. These activities are part of a broader movement toward more sustainable forms of
production and consumption. Internationally, government procurement markets in 1997 accounted
for 5–18% of GDP within OECD member countries (OECD, 2002). Many private firms are
working to improve the environmental performance of their operations and products (Laios, 1999)
and green procurement has been a logical extension of this work. Private sector organizations have
in the last two decades adopted green procurement practices for specific products (e.g., recycled
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content office paper, renewable energy, paints, cleaners, etc.), but are also looking at the materials,
substances and chemicals they purchase that go into the products and services they provide. This
supply chain approach looks beyond the company’s “gates” in an ongoing effort to reduce costs
and risk. Leading companies are using life-cycle assessment and material tracking tools to identify
materials, substances and chemicals in their products that pose significant environmental, health
and safety risks and re-design their products to reduce or eliminate such materials (Lacroix,
2008A), (Lacroix, 2006B). In the private sector green procurement is seen as a means towards
improving their products and operations from environmental perspective to reduce risk, total cost
of ownership and improve supply chain performance (Lim, 2006). A study undertaken by the
Commission in 2003 on the ‘State of Play of Green Procurement in the European Union’ revealed
the wide variation in achievement in this area within Europe (Lacroix, 2010),. Denmark showed
an impressive amount of commitment to green public procurement with 40% of administrations
that include environmental criteria for more than 50% of their purchases. Similarly in Sweden 50%
of administrations include environmental criteria for more than 50% of their purchases. Germany
rated third with 30% and the UK at 23% still beat the average of 19%. It is clear that other countries
in the European Union could learn from the example of Denmark and Sweden.
Walker et al., (2008) explored the factors that drive or hinder organisations to implement supply
chain management initiatives. A literature review identified the main categories of internal and
external drivers of green supply chain management practices, including organisational factors,
regulation, customers, competitors and society. The study found that internal barriers include cost
and lack of legitimacy, whereas external barriers include regulation, poor supplier commitment
and industry specific barriers. According to (Emmett and Sood, 2010), several challenges exist for
organisations in implementing and stimulating green procurement programmes all across the
supply chain. These include uninformed advocacy groups, lack of clear definitions, integration into
management systems, educating marketing and sales professionals, potential barriers to trade,
changing the ‘only cost' mindset, among others. Lacroix (2008) noted that organisations face
several challenges when implementing and stimulating green procurement programs. These
include estimating hidden costs and potential savings, misinformed advocacy groups, lack of clear
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definitions, integration into management system, educating marketing and sales professionals,
potential barriers to trade, changing the first cost mindset, and insufficient and incomparable
environmental information. It is often difficult to implement policies due to legislative constraints,
accounting methods that do not take into account the unique qualities of green products, poor
organization design, and poor procurement practices (Williams et al, 2007).
When implementing green procurement, public sector organizations, are often limited by
international and national procurement laws (Driscoll, et al, 2010). These regulations do not allow
buyers to introduce irrelevant pre-qualifications to contracts (Williams et al, 2007). The author
notes that often times, buyers are concerned that environmental sustainability would be considered
an irrelevant pre- qualification. However, with careful wording and interpretation of the law,
buyers can show that environmental sustainability is relevant to the contract. Monetary constraints
are often cited by procurement staff as a barrier to green procurement (Driscoll et al., 2010).
Assessment of the costs and benefits of green procurement requires a different type of economics
than traditionally used. Organizations need to acknowledge immediate costs, such as higher
purchasing prices, as well as long term costs, such as electricity costs and the cost of environmental
clean-up (Epstein, 2008). Organizations are often hesitant to purchase environmentally friendly
products due to their high initial costs, although the long term savings may be substantial. Studies
have shown that increasing energy efficiency is often more effective than curtailing energy use of
inefficient technologies (Gardner & Stern, 2008) and this often requires the purchase of new
equipment and supplies, but results in large financial return. As experience and investments
increase overtime, the price of environmentally friendly alternatives is likely to fall (Stern, 2007).
2.2.1 Guidelines to implement a green procurement program
In most companies, greening the supply chain requires a comprehensive understanding of one’s
supplier relationships: which suppliers most affect environmental (Lacroix, 2007), (Lacroix,
2006B), health, and safety costs, risks, and reputation; which represent the greatest leverage points
for efficiency and cost improvements; how to communicate effectively with suppliers on EH&S
issues; and what are meaningful and verifiable means of tracking and measuring supplier
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environmental performance. Following are ten ways of implementing an effective

greenprocurement program:
 Research company procurement policies. Find out if and to what extent your company’s
procurement policies give price preference to environmentally preferable products.
 Define your terms. Many people don’t have a specific understanding of common phrases
such as “environmentally preferable purchasing.”
 Screen suppliers and subcontractors. Survey them on specific EH&S practices and use
a point scale to judge their responses. Encourage or require suppliers to implement
environmental management systems. Provide suppliers with "blacklists" of undesirable
chemicals or other materials.
 Collaborate on an action plan. Involve suppliers early and often in product, process, and
strategic decisions that impact them. Add suppliers to planning teams to implement design
for environment initiatives. Within your own company, seek to collaborate at multiple
levels, involving the technical personnel that plan and manage day-to-day operations.
 Choose green products. Purchase raw materials that contain fewer toxic ingredients, are
recyclable, or utilize recycled materials.
 Test new products in small quantities. Evaluate results before expanding purchasing
department- or company-wide.
 Buy in larger quantities. Buyers’ cooperatives enable smaller buyers to aggregate

purchasing power, providing them with more leverage to persuade suppliers to undertake
EH&S initiatives.
 Have clear, written ground rules and expectations. Laying out guidelines in advance
will make for smoother supplier audits, periodic reviews, and other performance
assessments. Plan for face-to-face performance reviews with your suppliers on a periodic
basis -- perhaps quarterly or twice a year.
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 Expect slow, incremental change. Put your procurement plan through an initial testing
phase to pinpoint and solve potential problems. Assume that it will take time for programs
to roll out company-wide.
 Communicate the benefits. Resistance to change is common. Sharing the positive

environmental impacts of purchasing policies with suppliers and procurement managers
can help green-procurement programs maintain momentum (lacroix, 2010).
2.3 CHALLENGES FACING IMPLEMENTATION OF GREEN PROCUREMENT IN

MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES
Monetary constraints are often cited by procurement staff as a barrier to green procurement
(Driscoll et al., 2010). Assessment of the costs and benefits of green procurement requires a
different type of economics than traditionally used. Organizations need to acknowledge immediate
costs, such as higher purchasing prices, as well as long term costs, such as electricity costs and the
cost of environmental clean-up (Epstein, 2008). Organizations are often hesitant to purchase
environmentally friendly products due to their high initial costs, although the long term savings
may be substantial.
Studies have shown that increasing energy efficiency is often more effective than curtailing energy
use of inefficient technologies (Gardner & Stern, 2008) and this often requires the purchase of new
equipment and supplies, but results in large financial return. As experience and investments
increase overtime, the price of environmentally friendly alternatives is likely to fall (Stern, 2007).
In other words, the costs of environmentally friendly products are expected to decrease with
experience and scale.
In addition to monetary and legal barriers, poor organizational design, institutional inertia, and
poor procurement processes can prevent successful green procurement practice. Scattered and
complex procurement functions cause unnecessary work as different departments or organizations
work to meet identical needs (Williams et al., 2007). This leads to teams being under-resourced
and over-worked. Organizations should centralize procurement and have one team that creates the
procedure, manages contracts, and acts as a liaison with other departments.
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It is worth noting that research on green procurement practices is still limited given the fact that
this is a new area. Thus, not a lot has been researched on the challenges of green procurement thus
the limited number of authors and challenges in this area. Further, most of the studies on green
procurement borrow heavily from those of environmental sustainability, corporate social
responsibility, and sustainable environmental studies. Finding studies that are purely on green
procurement practices is hard and most on the same are on the overall green supply chain
management hence the reason for the use of studies on sustainable procurement and green supply
chain management in the empirical review that ensues all environmental initiatives have their
positives and negatives. It is, therefore important to highlight the challenges and possible solutions
to these challenges and to clarify the perceptions associated with green procurement. The negatives
should, however, not be seen as a threat, but rather as a challenge for initiating the green
procurement initiative in developing countries. Fortunately, developed countries have been
struggling with green procurement initiatives for the past decade. South Africa can, therefore,
benefit from the knowledge gained from the mistakes made by the developed countries. The most
important challenges and possible solutions to these challenges include (adapted from the
International Institution for Sustainable Development, 2002):
 Price: There is a perception that green products are more expensive than conventional
alternatives. This can be true in some cases, particularly where development costs are
reflected in the price or if the products are not available locally. The real problem may
simply be that products are ordered in small quantities. Green procurement may also offer
cost savings. In particular, buying “green” usually involves products that are easily
recycled, last longer or produce less waste. Sometimes a product or service may have a
higher up-front purchase price, but will cost less over its lifetime.
 Lack of commitment: For a municipality or any other organization to implement green

procurement practices and programmes, it must have commitment from all levels,
including senior management and purchasing agents and officers. A policy statement
outlining the commitment from senior management to green procurement can help with
this regard.
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 Insufficient knowledge: Most manufacturing and other organisations are not familiar with
the concept of green procurement. For an organisation to participate in green procurement,
it must have an understanding of the concepts, vocabulary and terms. South Africa is also
fortunate to have excellent environmental training institutions, which may be approached
for assistance in green procurement practices.
 Availability: In developing countries in particular, local distributors do not stock green

products, or they stock only small markets. Increasing market demand will help to
overcome this obstacle.
 Purchasing habits: The most common culprit in South African history may possibly be:
“We’ve always done it this way”. This mental shift might be the most difficult problem to
overcome, after price, in developing countries. There may also be existing relationships
between purchasers and suppliers that make it difficult to switch to alternatives.
2.4 LEVELS OF AWARENESS ON GREEN PROCUREMENT PRACTICES
Awareness refers to the right information regarding green procurement practices in the
procurement function and if the employees are aware of its importance in the institution, and if
employees are not aware then it will be difficult to implement the green procurement practices in
the institution. Green procurement efforts suffer if end – users and the purchasers are unaware of
a government’s preference for environmentally preferable products and services or if they are
unfamiliar with available green products and services that could meet their procurement needs
(Kimbwereza, 2016). To overcome this governments may prefer pursue efforts to raise awareness
of green procurements programs, product and service and benefits of buying green (Thai, Rahm,
&Cogburn, 2007 cited in kimbwereza, 2016). While early Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP)
efforts were based on raising awareness and awareness-raising tools such as guidelines and training
materials, today they are gradually giving way to programs that explore how environmental and
social considerations can be integrated into procurement processes. The concept of purchasing
environmentally and socially preferable goods and services is not new, even though sustainable
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procurement by the manufacturing sector is almost unheard of at the level of national government
in many countries (Perera et al., 2007 cited in kimbwereza).
There has been an increasing awareness of environmental protection worldwide. Due to this, the
green trend towards conserving resources and protecting the environment has exerted pressure on
companies across the world (Salam, 2008). This pressure has prompted organisations to improve
their environmental performance (Zhu and Sarkis, 2006). Consequently, organisations have shown
growing concern for the environment. Increasing environmental concern has gradually become
part of the overall institutional culture and, in turn, has helped to re-focus the strategies of
corporations (Salam, 2008). According to Salam (2008), the types of environmental impact that
are due to the coordinated activity of companies in a supply chain include global warming,
reductions in air quality, pollution of waterways and widespread loss of biodiversity. Much of the
activities arise from the manufacturing sector which produce and emit unnecessary large wastes
rather than investing in better technologies that prevent such generation (King and Lenox, 2002).
Hervani, Helms, and Sarkis (2005) add that addressing the influence of supply chain management
on the natural environment is a green component to supply chain management. Organisations
worldwide are making an effort to purchase products and services that are environmentally
friendly. According to Lacroix (2008), both public and private sector organizations are
implementing procurement practices that focus on environmental considerations. Public and
private sector companies are buying green because it results in a number of benefits. Public sector
organizations find that green procurement policies reduce overall costs, offer significant
opportunity to use materials, resources and energy more effectively, improve employee health and
stimulate markets for innovative new products and services. Implementation of the Globally
Harmonised System (GHS) The globally harmonized system of classification and labeling of
chemicals (GHS) provides the framework for chemicals according to the hazards they pose to the
humans and the environment. Zambia has also developed a National Action Plan to facilitate the
implementation of GHS and there is awareness raising activities, registration of chemicals by
ZEMA, enactment of Environmental Management Act No.12 of 2011, enhancing emergency
response because 90% ninety percent of chemicals in Zambia are imported (ZEMA, 2017).
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2.5 LEGAL AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Despite the problems emanating from issues to do with environmental degradation, efforts should
and have been made to regulate and maintain environmental standards. This section of literature
review concentrates on writings concerning legislation in ensuring environmental safety,
especially in as far as green procurement is concerned. A large number of EU environmental
directives have been issued relating to quality, waste, chemicals, and prepackaging waste.
European legislation represents the minimum environmental demands and is legally binding for
all EU member states. A current list of all legislation is provided by the European information
service (Lyson 2006:p668).
Every law that is passed enables people and organisations to perform according to what has been
stipulated. Perhaps the reason why environmental standards differ in Europe and in Zambia may
be the level of legislation and degree of enforcement. There seems to be adequate legislation on
the control of environmental degradation for European countries. To what extent the
implementation of green procurement strategies considers environmental safety is partially
dependent on the extent to which environmental laws are adhered to. The Zambia Environmental
Management Agency (ZEMA), formerly known as the Environmental Council of Zambia (ECZ),
is an independent environmental regulator charged with ensuring the sustainable use of the
country’s natural resources. ZEMA’s mandate is outlined in the Environmental Management Act
of 2011 that covers “all matters affecting the environment from pollution to waste disposal.” The
ZEMA was established in 2011 to address concerns around there being multiple regulators for
environmental resources and low penalties that did not discourage breaches (Peter, 2015).
According to the Environmental Protection Act of 1991, the environment has been defined as
consisting of all or part of any of the following: the air, water, and the land; and the medium of air
within buildings and the air within the natural or manmade structures. Responsibility of the
business and should be considered when formulating strategies (CAP 204; sec 204 -part vii, the
Zambian constitution).
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According to the 2009 National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) for Zambia, prepared
by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with support from the Ministry of
Tourism and Natural Resources, climate related hazards include: Droughts, Floods, Extreme heat,
shorter rainy season. The vulnerabilities and livelihood impacts associated with these risks include:
Agriculture and food security, Natural resources, wildlife and forestry, Human health, Water and
energy. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a systematic process which identifies, predicts
and evaluates potential positive and negative impacts that a proposed project may have on the
environment in its totality that is, physical, biological and social economic aspects. The EIA
process dates back to the 1960s when social awareness on environmental issues increased to high
proportions. Over time, the process has spread across the globe with most developed and many
developing countries including Zambia adopting EIA as an important tool for caring about the
environment. The Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) has a limited part to play in waste
reduction as it depends on institutions such as ZEMA that propose standards, where aspects of
product reusability, durability, repair-ability and recyclability should be reflected, which ZABS
enacts through standard guidelines that producers should follow (pers.com., Lungu, 2015). As
indicated by Lungu (pers.com. 2015), there is no deliberate policy to procure green products as
such directives were a preserve of the Zambia Public Procurement Authority. The agency ZEMA
had no specific plan for meeting producers or players involved in waste valorization but conducts
routine audits on manufacturers to monitor compliance with existing regulations and advise was
given on how the players could minimize waste generation (pers.com. Sichinga, 2015). The agency
has no deliberate policy to procure green products and is not in any mutual relationship with private
sector player(s) involved in waste minimization (Chibinda, 2016). Zambia has not submitted
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) data to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCC) for
18 years. In 2012, manufacturing and energy contributed 86 percent of the GHG emissions at a
rate of 38 percent and 48 percent, respectively. The country’s total carbon footprint is now
estimated to be 663,000 metric tons CO2e. Zambia is a party to the Copenhagen Accord but, as a
Least Developed Country (LDC), bears no mitigation obligations under the convention, the Kyoto
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Protocol and the Bali Road Map. However, as an LDC, Zambia may benefit from the ability to sell
carbon credits through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) KPMG (2013).
Regulatory pressure refers to the extent to which regulators threaten to or actually impede a
company's operations. Pun (2006) argues that environmental issues are critical concerns of
operations management arena. They force manufacturers to comply with regulations and to search
for potential legal findings of financial liability for environmental damage. New environmental
regulations came up which included Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Toxic Substances Act, ISO
14000 series and others where Kenya plays a role - Kyoto Protocol, EMCA 1999, Controlled
substances regulation 2007, and Waste Management regulation 2006. This pressure forces firms
to develop strategy through which they can demand from suppliers‟ products that are in line with
the regulatory standards. Environmental regulation compliance serves the purpose of improved
raw material conservation for sustainable development in Kenya (GOK, 2006). Kenya has adopted
several green economy-related approaches and policies, which include implementing renewable
energy feed-in tariffs in 2008, embedding sustainable natural resource utilization into its 2010
Constitution and mainstreaming green economy in its Second Medium Term Plan (2013-2017)
(UNEP, 2014).
The Zambia Public Procurement Act (ZPPA) of 2008 is however silent on green procurement. This
means that there is no legislative mandate in Zambia for public or private entities to adopt green
procurement measures. (Peter, 2015). Any such adoptions are voluntary and driven by other factors
other than legislation. It is not clear, given the absence of legislation in Zambia on green
procurement, to what extent the manufacturing companies are practicing green procurement and if
so, the drivers for adopting the same and the challenges they face in the process. Further, the
absence of legislation or government policy on green procurement provides the need to evaluate
how the practice is carried out among the manufacturing industries given the voluntary nature of
the practice.
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2.6 GREEN PROCUREMENT PRACTICES CONTRIBUTES TO COMPETITIVENESS OF

A FIRM
These are all activities involved in purchasing products and services that cause minimal Adverse
environmental impacts. It incorporates human health and environmental concerns into the search
for high quality products and services at competitive prices (Lee &Klassen, 2008). The activities
of green procurement in cooperates the selection of products and services that minimize
environmental impacts. It requires a firm to carry out an assessment of the environmental
consequences of a product at all the various stages of its lifecycle. This means considering the
costs of securing raw materials, and manufacturing, transporting, storing, handling, using and
disposing of the product. Organizations that invest in Green procurement ensure that their purchase
must look at various elements. These include purchasing goods that have improved recyclability,
greater efficiency, products that operate on green technology, goods that used reduced water
consumption, goods that emit fewer toxic during use and installation, goods that have reduced
packing and greater durability and goods that produce minimal waste when recycling (Lee &
Klassen, 2008). Green procurement also offers cost savings. Buying 'green' usually involves
products that are easily recycled, last longer or produce less waste. Money is therefore saved on
waste disposal. In addition, green products generally require fewer resources to manufacture and
operate, so savings can be made on energy, water, fuel and other natural resources. Green products
involve fewer toxic or hazardous materials, reducing associated expenses such as permit fees, toxic
materials handling charges and staff training (Baenasa, Castro, Battistellea & Junior, 2010).
On the other hand, Firm competitiveness would thus relate to the ability of an organization to
provide goods and services in a particular market, and be able to do better than comparable firms
in sales, market shares, or profitability (Liargovas & Skandalis, 2008) in the same market. A firm
can be said to be competitive when it adapts to changes in its environment and still generate profits.
Firm competitiveness thus requires a continual harmonisation of activities in accordance with
changes in its immediate environment (Chikán & Gelei, 2010).
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Firms’ competitiveness consists of firm performance in terms of sales, market share, profitability
(Lalinsky, 2012) and operational efficiency in terms of cost and delivery flexibility. The core focus
of competitiveness of a firm is price and cost developments of production factors that can
potentially affect economic growth, market shares and other performances of companies in the
targeted sectors (Testa, 2010). This enables an organization to create, strengthen and sustain
competitive advantage. Competitiveness is identical to a firm’s long-run economic performance.
Economic performance of a firm determines its ability to compensate its employees and provide
superior returns to its owners (Mwaura et al, 2015). Meeting the economic performance goals
remains the primary objective of firms. If a firm does fail to meet high levels of operational and
business priorities in a highly competitive world then its very survival is short-lived. It is therefore
important for firms to meet economic performance and respond to green imperatives, so as to gain
a competitive advantage. Economic performance goals include all features of a firm’s economic
interactions. They examine how the financial status of the stakeholders changes as a result of the
organization’s activities. Economic performance indicators include market share, sales growth and
profitability (Yang, 2013). Competitiveness is the ability for an organization to offer products and
services that meet the quality standards of the local and international markets at prices that provide
adequate returns on the resources employed or consumed in producing them. Competitiveness also
pertains to the ability and performance of an organization to be able to sell and supply goods and
services in a given market (Robertz, 2002).Competitiveness is synonymous with an organizations
long-run profit performance and its ability to compensate its employees and provide superior
returns to its owners. Indicators of competitiveness in an organization include customer values,
shareholder values and the ability to react within a competitive environment (Barney, 1992).
Upon knowing the aspects of green procurement and competitiveness we can therefore find out if
green procurement practices contributes to the competitiveness of the firm. The purchasing
function within an organization contribute at least as much to the competitiveness of an
organization as other functions in the areas such as marketing, finance and accounting, engineering
and operations, (Dobler et a1996:pp.3-4). The purchasing department is one of the few sections
within any organization that spends about 70% of the organization’s cash resources and therefore
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has a unique opportunity to reduce some of the organization’s costs and thereby increase
sustainability. (Price et al 1993). Researchers have explained that, the organization can become
more sustainable by the introduction of efficient and professional purchasing strategies and
techniques which are no other than green procurement practices. They further argued that
organizational savings is made through agreements, quality, delivery, price, performance etc. and
these are all the rewards of effective purchasing that leads to winning competitive advantage. In
most organizations, there is the need to achieve continuous process improvement, in order for
products or services to be more effective in enhancing the organization’s competitiveness which
would enable them to give their customers better value whilst they are supporting green issues.
According to Fearon et al (1997, p.1), “one of the keys to accomplishing this, is working with key
suppliers to help them provide materials meeting high quality standards, faster, safer and more
reliable delivery, innovative design, production, distribution ideas and a lower total product or
service cost.(Porter, Michael E 1985) further assets that Environmental concerns are the dominant
macro-level justification for sustainable procurement; Born out of the 21st century consensus that
humanity is placing extensive demands on available resources through unsustainable but well
established consumption patterns. This will involve non-human factors. This is a significantly
influential issue that environment-centric procurement (Green procurement) is sometimes seen to
stand alone from sustainable procurement.
The most straight forward justification for green procurement is as a tool with which to address
climate change, but it offers the broader capacity to mitigate over-exploitation of any and all scarce
resources. In support of sustainable procurement the organization should develop and publish
“sustainable development procurement guidelines and procedures”. When it comes to purchasing
product and service, referral to guidelines would help make the organization become a leader in
environmentally responsible purchasing and hence bring about competitiveness of a firm. As
environmental concerns increase, the integration of environmental issues into the supply chain
studies has become a thriving subfield (Sarkis, 2009). Studies carried out in the Chinese
Electronics industry emphasize that the implementation of green procurement practices does
enhance firm performance (Zhu & Sarkis, 2007). As firm managers are confronted with the
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question of how to increase their market share, they have to show commitment to the natural
environment. Some authors suggest that environmental management may be a tool, which helps
organizations to improve their competitiveness (Ambec and Lanoie, 2008) while others have
questioned the optimism of environmental advocates (Jaffe et al., 1995). Studies done on green
supply chains in Kenya have recognized a positive relationship between green marketing and
organizational performance in ISO 14001 certified companies (Kinoti, 2012).
Studies have also been done on green purchasing/procurement in the public sector (Nasiche &
Ngugi, 2014) and in the aviation industry (Lagat, 2013). Both were case studies and showed that
despite Kenya having the Procurement and Disposal Act (2005), many companies still have to
incorporate green purchasing which can be done by appreciating environmental issues and
inculcating the same to their employees and suppliers. According to Al-Odeh and Smallwood
(2012), factors like: fuel, modes of transport, infrastructure, and operational practices are important
factors to consider in developing green transportation. Vehicles powered by gasoline and diesel
emit carbon dioxide, which causes global warming and acid rain. Further, use of fossil fuels
contributes to the increasing scarcity of these fuels. Businesses can thus adopt sustainable practices
by using fleets run by alternative fuels. Also, businesses can use alternate transport methods, such
as rail instead of using company fleets to transport materials. Businesses can also implement new
operations, such as building distribution Centre’s closer to where they deliver or form partnerships
with local merchants and distributors to reduce the miles they must drive. This will improve
operational excellence by reducing waste, enhancing their sources available. This should translate
into bigger profits and competitive position. The storage facility should be able to store different
categories of materials. Businesses should use sustainable practices when powering their storage
facilities. Instead of powering these storage facilities with electricity, companies can use hydro,
wind or solar power further optimizing resources. Furthermore, the design and construction of
storage facilities should meet the prerequisites of non-polluted environment, while strengthening
maintenance of good humidity, corrosion, water proofing in addition to other factors (Zhang and
Zheng, 2010).
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This will not only help generate efficiencies but will also enable organizations to contain costs. As
organizations restructure to reduce their company’s environmental footprint, supply chains have
increasingly become a key area of focus. Improvements in transportation efficiency and packaging
should beat the top of the green supply chain initiatives list. In order for firms to fully implement
and realize potential gains of green procurement, manufacturers should comprehend the
requirements and ensure that their products conform to the environmental concerns in addition to
controlling and accessing their procurement patterns to gain a competitive advantage. Qinghu
(2005) observed that Green procurement in the developed nations such as China has become a key
approach for enterprises seeking to become environmental sustainable and increase performance
in instances where there is increased competition, a lot of regulations and market pressure and
drivers. According to Otokiti & Awodun (2003) organizations are paying more attention to their
environment due to the complexity, turbulence and rapid changes and hence formulating and
implementing policies and strategies that will enhance their survival and growth. However in
developing countries like Kenya, the green procurement concept is yet to be adopted by many
organizations. The East African Breweries Limited faces challenges in maintaining
competitiveness, through quality, increased operating costs especially energy related costs and
sustainable end to end supply of raw materials in order to ensure continued regional leadership in
growth and most profitable share (Kiereini, 2011).
According to the 2011 detailed financial statements of the East African Breweries Limited there
has been an increase in growth after strategic acquisitions, implementation of the Enterprise
Resource Planner (ERP) in 2001 and launching of the green goal 2010 initiative and change of raw
materials from barley to sorghum, in which the net profits have increased at a rate of 16% to Kes.
44.4 Billion in 2013. Poor environmental performance by a supplier can affect badly the
performance and image of the buying companies (Christmann & Taylor. 2001; Cousin et al., 2004;
Faruk et al., 2002; Darnall et al., 2006; Hall, 2001).
With the literature given so far, it is still not clear how green procurement can help the firm to
achieve competiveness and contribute to sustainable development. Most of the studies done by
researchers have just shown how green procurement contributes to performance of the supply chain
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and not focusing so much on the manufacturing industries in Zambia and hence the need to carry
out this research.
2.7 SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW
Most authors who have written about implementing green procurement have not related their
writing to assess whether the manufacturing industries in Zambia are implementing green
procurement in order to meet the sustainable development goals and are helping to reduce the
pollution levels in Lusaka city. Previous studies are based on developed countries and other types
of manufacturing sectors, Hall (2006) study focused on how green procurement can be encouraged
when the public sector buys from suppliers in construction industry. The closest study to the
present in Zambia was done by Mwirigi (2007) on green supply chain management practices by
manufacturing firms in Kenya but it did not focus on the on how the manufacturing industries can
be engaged to reduce the unsustainable consumption of natural resources that end up as garbage
hence the deviation from the present study. The study also noted that the practice was very low
hence the need to establish whether the Zambian manufacturers are implementing green
procurement in their organizational policy in complying with the laws concerning the maintenance
of environment.
The few that have tried to do so have left a number of issues unanswered, which this research
endeavor’s to explore in the Zambian context. The known authors have not really shown whether
the Zambian manufacturers can be heavily industrialized minus polluting the environment,
whether the manufacturing industries of Zambia are aware about green procurement practices and
what methods are being used to prevent pollution in the city of Lusaka by these Manufacturing
industries and to what extent are the industries adhering to environmental regulations. Therefore,
so many uncertainties concerning green procurement implementation still exist despite the present
literature. This study is also taking place at a time when environmental awareness is on the
increase; if procurement function is handled carelessly it has a potential of causing harm to the
environment. Given the importance of green procurement, the absence of studies on green
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procurement practices in the manufacturing sector in Zambia provides a gap in literature that the
present study seeks to bridge.
CHAPTER THREE
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
3.0 INTRODUCTION
This section brings together some of the concepts that have been applied in the research. The
concepts are the knowledge base that has been used to build a strong link in how green procurement
can be implemented.
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3.1 Conceptual Framework
According to researcher (Stratman and Roth, 2004) Conceptual framework, are structured from a
set of broad ideas and theories that help the researcher to properly identify the problem they are
looking at, frame their questions and find suitable literature. Mathieson et al.,(2001) define a
conceptual framework as a virtual or written product, one that explains, either graphically or in
narrative form, the main things to be studied- the key factors, concepts, or variables and the
presumed relationship among them. Most academic research uses a conceptual framework at the
outset because it helps the researcher to clarify his research question and aim. The conceptual
framework demonstrate how independent and dependent variables interact in the research study.
A variable is a measurable characteristic that assumes different values amongst the subject. In the
study there are two variables; independent and dependent. An independent variable is one that is
antecedent to the dependant variable, while a dependant variable is a variable that depends upon
or is a consequence of another variable (Kothari, 2006). The conceptual framework represents the
basis of the research and it provides the interrelationships or linkages between the concepts or
constructs of the study. This framework results into the development of a conceptual model that
tries to address the research problem and research questions (given in chapter one) and provide the
required answers. In this section of the research, the research questions of the study are
conceptualized.
Levels of Awareness refers to the right information regarding green procurement in the
procurement function and if the employees are aware of its importance in the institution. And if
the employees are not aware then it will be difficult to implement the green procurement practices
in the Institution, there is great need to find out if the top management policy has influence in the
implementation of green procurement. Employees are very sensitive to the organization current
issues and mostly the ones that affect the organization directly. Therefore, training the employees
for the purpose of implementing effective GP is a positive measure. With proper trained and mind-
set employees, the institution will reap overall cost reductions, environmental impact and reduce
health hazards generally. Government policies are guidelines or directives issued by the
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government to all entities inclusive of private sectors to guide the daily operations and services
being rendered or disposal of assets. It is the duty of institution charged with the implementation
of green procurement to disseminate the information within the institution (Benson & Davis,
2008).
Legal and regulatory framework, the institutional theory is the traditional approach that is used to
examine elements of public procurement (Obanda, 2010). Scott (2004) identifies three pillars of
institutions as regulatory normative and cultural cognitive. The regulatory pillar emphasizes the
use of rules, laws and sanctions as enforcement mechanism, with expedience as basis for
compliance. According to Scott, (2004) institutions are composed of cultural-cognitive and
regulative elements that, together with associated activities and resources give meaning to life. The
normative pillar refers to norms (how things should be done) and values (the preferred or
desirable), social obligation being the basis of compliance (Preuss, 2013). The cultural-cognitive
pillar rests on shared understanding (common beliefs, symbols, shared understanding). According
to Peter (2011) the Zambian Government has put in place a wide range of policy, institutional and
legislative frameworks to address the major causes of environmental degradation and negative
impacts on ecosystems emanating from industrial and economic development programmes.
Organizations should clarify the way to verify products’ conformity to evaluation criteria and
collect the product information of specific target items in advance for the smooth implementation
of green procurement. It is essential for an organization to keep all employees motivated to improve
their knowledge and skills in implementing green procurement permanently.
To implement green procurement permanently, it is essential for an organization to go through the

stages of “drawing up procurement policy,” “implementation,” and “analyzing achievements and
planning improvements”.E-procurement facilitates implementation of green procurement
strategies that lead to high profitability. In the same vein, it has been an enabler in implementation
of green procurement strategies by eliminating use of paper and printing solvents that reduce
impact to the environment (Hasan and Abidin, 2010). Green supplier development is a practice of
green procurement and it involves various activities that include; working with suppliers to build
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their capacity on green issues, carrying out supplier visits in factories to review performance
metrics, continuous communication on green performance metrics, and rewarding suppliers who
make improvements in adopting green strategies (Krause and Scannell, 2002). A firm can be said
to be competitive when it adapts to changes in its environment and still generate profits. Firm
competitiveness thus requires a continual harmonisation of activities in accordance with changes
in its immediate environment (Chikán & Gelei, 2010).Firms’ competitiveness consists of firm
performance in terms of sales, market share, profitability (Lalinsky, 2012) and operational
efficiency in terms of cost and delivery flexibility. The core focus of competitiveness of a firm is
price and cost developments of production factors that can potentially affect economic growth,
market shares and other performances of companies in the targeted sectors (Testa, 2010). Green
procurement helps a firm to achieve competitiveness by evaluating the economic performance of
the cities, region and countries IGI global (2018). Porter and van der linde (1995) proposed that
the competition between the firms on adequate environmental management has become a critical
competitive advantage and it can be a source of profit for the firm.
Therefore, going by the objectives suggested in chapter one below is a conceptual framework as
per objective set;
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INDEPENDENT VARIABLES DEPENDENT VARIABLE
Levels of
awareness
Implementing
Competitiveness
green of a firm
procurement
Legal and
regulatory
framewor
Source: author (2018)
Figure 3.1 conceptual framework
This figure 3.1 illustrates the relationship between independent and dependent variables. It shows
that implementing green procurement is affected by the levels of awareness, legal and regulatory
framework and therefore, implementing green procurement can contribute to the competitiveness
of a firm. The levels of awareness, legal and regulatory framework are the independent variables.
The overall competitiveness of the firm is the dependent variable.
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CHAPTER FOUR
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
4.0 INTRODUCTION.
This chapter outlines the methodology that was used to collect data as well as the conceptual
framework drawn from the research objectives in chapter one. The chapter expounds on the
research design, population, data collection procedures and instruments, the techniques and
approaches of analysis. The chapter also looks at various sources of data.
4.1 RESEARCH DESIGN
Research design is the plan of what data to gather, from whom, how and when to collect and
analyses the obtained data. This study adopted a survey design. This design was selected because
the study sought to provide a broad overview of green procurement implementation in the
manufacturing sector of Zambia. The research design is mainly aimed at bringing out information
in a systematic way. Survey method is the best as it has the advantage of being suitable for
distributing across a wide geographical area to a large number of organisations Alreck and settle
(1995). The explanatory research design was used to obtain insights and ideas on environmental
degradation and the descriptive research was also used to describe the role of green procurement
in achieving competitiveness of the firm, using both primary and secondary data as a result of the
requirement to produce an accurate representation of events. This made easy and necessitated the
accurate collection of data required to address the problem at hand.
4.2 DATA COLLECTION METHOD
4.1.0 PRIMARY DATA
Primary data is defined as data originated by the researcher for purposes of the investigations at
hand (Churchill 1987). This included data collected from questionnaires. A questionnaire is
defined as a list set of questions that are answered by a number of people so that information can
be collected from the answers (Oxford dictionary 2006). One hundred and eight (108)
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questionnaires were used to collect data from manufacturing companies that are based in city of
Lusaka. They contained research questions that are relevant to the study. The questionnaire
structure was in two parts; part one has eleven questions and part two. A five point likert scale was
used for questions regarding the objectives in chapter one. For example in part one of the
questionnaire has questions from one up to ten which was used to answer the research question
one and two in chapter one. The questionnaire construction had both open and closed ended
questions. Questionnaires have advantages over some other types of surveys in that they are cheap,
do not require as much effort from the questioner as verbal or telephone surveys, and often have
standardized answers that make it simple to compile data. Questionnaires are also sharply limited
by the fact that respondents must be able to read the questions and respond to them. The
questionnaires were administered by the researchers to ensure that they were received by the
intended respondents at the right time.
A three week period was given for data collection. The targeted respondents were the procurement
managers (stores managers). In cases where stores managers were unavailable, the
finance/accounting manager became respondents. This is so because certain organisations had lean
structures. Respondents target were procurement managers as they had vast experience and
industry knowledge, this ensured reliability of data collected. Questionnaires were distributed to
each of the respondent’s organization through a “drop and pick later” method because most of the
respondents were managers and usually this people were ever busy with other commitments, and
so, it became more convenient for us to ask for permission to leave the questionnaire with the
respondent and then we come back and collect it after a period of 15-25 minutes, and while we
were waiting for one respondent to finish answering the questions, we divided ourselves to attend
to other respondents during that time and that helped us not to waste much of the time on one
respondent.
4.1.1 SECONDARY DATA
Secondary data is defined as statistics not gathered for the immediate study at hand but for some
other purposes Churchill (1987). This includes books, journals and data from the internet. It is the
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data collected from any other source except the targeted respondents of the study. Secondary data
was collected mainly from the records and journals of Zambia Environmental Management
Agency (ZEMA), the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA). Evaluation of various
literatures that are significant to the study and examining already existing research work such as
journal articles, internet data and other literature that was relevant to the study.
4.3 POPULATION
The target population was 108 manufacturing companies of Lusaka that were registered with
Zambia Association of Manufacturers (ZAM) as at 16th March 2018. The study adopted a census
approach since the population is relatively small.
4.3.1 RESPONSE RATE
A total number of 108 questionnaires were distributed, of which 97 were returned answered.
However, from this number only 86 were correctly answered. Representing a 79.6% response rate.
4.4 DATA ANALYSIS
Data analysis is the process of making sense out of the data (Sharan 2009, p.175). The researchers
collected the data from various sources as indicated above and used an SPSS software to analyse
data collected. Other tools include Microsoft excel and word.
4.5 RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY ISSUES
Validity is the degree to which results obtained from the analysis of data actually represents the
phenomenon under study Foster (2001). According to Forster (2001) reliability refers to the
consistence of the results on different items in the tests. Reliability can be identified as the extent
to which the measurement of tests remains consistent over repeated tests of the same subject under
identical conditions. To ensure validity and reliability of data collected during the research, a
recognizance survey and pilot study was conducted. This helped the researcher to be familiar with
the targeted area which make easier for data collection. The researcher frequently visited the
Supervisor to get advice and consultation on the progress of the research study and check the
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reliability and validity of the data collected. Reliability was ensured by pre-testing the
questionnaires with a selected sample. The pre- test exercise took place at the convenience of both
the researcher and the research assistant. To ensure validity of data, the questionnaire constructed
was adopted from Danson who conducted a similar study in Europe. Questions were also cross
checked with the supervisor for credibility, since validity measures the degree to which the result
of the study can be generalized.
4.6 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Ethics are simply moral principles that guide our behavior and based on shared values and beliefs
about what is good or bad. For this reason, ethical principles helped us to ensure that the research
was directed towards achieving worthwhile goals. Below are the ethical principles that were
applied during the research;
Honesty with professional Colleagues: This is where a Researcher is expected to report their
findings in a complex and honest fashion without misrepresenting what they have done or the
nature of their findings. In this study all the data that was collected from the respondents is very
true we did not attempt to manipulate the respondent’s responses we got during the data collection
process.
Right to privacy: Most of the primary data that was collected using a questionnaire was from the
procurement officers who are mostly in top management, as the researcher we ensured that
discipline and integrity was maintained in the way we approached these respondents. A researcher
should respect the respondent’s right to privacy. Under no circumstance should a researcher record
orally or written about a respondent in such a way that they are aware of which respondent behaved
or responded in a particular manner. During the research we had to ensure that the names of the
respondents who gave us information on this topic is treated with utmost confidentiality, we did
not attempt to write the name of the company nor enumerating the “what” was being done as this
may jeopardise the security system of the respondents.
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Informed Consent: When we started the process of data collection, the questionnaire has briefly
explained the nature of study so that respondents feel free to give us a good response on the
questions that was asked. Respondents should be informed of the nature of study to be conducted
and be given the choice of ether participating or not. They were also told that should if they want
to change their minds later, they are free to withdraw at any time. Thus any participation in a
research study should be strictly voluntary.
4.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The researcher could have considered other industries like the mines to see how green procurement
is being implemented. However, on account of time this could not be achieved and to generalize
the findings.
4.8 SUMMARY OF CHAPTER FOUR
In summary, the chapter has outlined the methodology that was used to collect data as well as to
analyse the data collected. The up-to-date software package that was used played the major role in
fostering the project success.
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CHAPTER FIVE
DATA ANALYSIS, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
5.0 INTRODUCTION
Chapter five presents the results from the data collection exercise and the analysis thereof. The
study aimed at assessing the extent of implementing green procurement in Zambia focusing on the
manufacturing companies based in Lusaka city, it seeks to achieve sustainable development and
waste minimization, pollution prevention and save the cost that comes from penalties for
nonadherence to environmental regulations by Zambia Environmental Management Agency
(ZEMA). This chapter describes the analysis of data followed by a discussion of the research
findings based on the manufacturing companies where the research was conducted. Summaries of
the findings together with their possible interpretations were presented by use of frequency tables
measuring responses in form of mean scores, percentages, frequencies, variances and standard
deviations. Microsoft word and SPSS helped in the analysis of the data in tables and charts for
easy understanding. Therefore, the findings are being presented in line with the research questions
set in the introductory chapter.
5.1 LEVELS OF AWARENESS
In this question, respondents were asked if they had ever heard about green procurement, those
who were aware was 27% and those that were not aware was 73 % the figure 5.1.0, below shows
the distribution of awareness about green procurement. This findings concludes that the majority
of procurement officers in most manufacturing companies were not aware of green procurement.
According to the research done by Kimbwereza (2016) “Green procurement efforts suffer if end –
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users and the purchasers are unaware of a government’s preference for environmentally preferable
products and services or if they are unfamiliar with available green products and services that could
meet their procurement needs” The results are that the level of awareness is generally intermediate
among the staff.
FIGURE 5.1.0 Levels of awareness
Source: Author (2018)
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In our quest to further evaluate the feasibility of green procurement awareness in manufacturing
companies based in the city of Lusaka, five questions were also asked to the respondents as shown
in table (1a), (1b), (1c), (1d), and table (1e ) below;
(1a) Do you have a procurement policy?

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent
Yes 56 65.1 65.1 65.1
Valid No 30 34.9 34.9 100.0
Total 86 100.0 100.0
Source: author, 2018
Table (1b)
Are any environmental issues considered in your procurement?

Percent
Yes 39 45.3 45.3 45.3
Valid No 47 54.7 54.7 100.0
Total 86 100.0 100.0
Source: (author, 2018)
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Table (1c)
Do you have any knowledge regarding green procurement?

Percent
Yes 38 44.2 44.2 44.2
Valid No 48 55.8 55.8 100.0
Total 86 100.0 100.0
Table (1d)
Do you have a green procurement policy?

Percent
Yes 45 52.3 52.3 52.3
No 41 47.7 47.7 100.0

Valid
Total 86 100.0 100.0
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Table (1e)
Would you consider green procurement as a potential environmental project

in the future?
Percent
Yes 52 60.5 60.5 60.5
Valid No 34 39.5 39.5 100.0
Total 86 100.0 100.0
In table (1a) and (1b) it is clear that there is ample opportunity for incorporating green procurement
(GP) into the existing procurement policies. Manufacturing companies are more than willing to
incorporate GP into their purchasing practices but due to insufficient knowledge and training in
manufacturing companies (MC) in Zambia are deprived of this privilege. The fact that there are
few manufacturing companies using green procurement as an environmental management strategy
may be explained by the results obtained in table (1c), this highlights the fact that the companies
did not receive adequate information and training about green procurement. It is therefore, clear
that all manufacturing companies through GP, have an opportunity to improve their commitment
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to sustainable development. Continued support will be needed to ensure that the first bold step in
the unexplored territory of green procurement is implemented.
5.1.2 ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS IN ZAMBIA
5.1.2.0 Environmental policies
In Lusaka’s industrial area in Zambia where most manufacturing companies are based has been
growing at a very steady rate in the past few years. It must be mentioned that information
concerning organizational environmental policies is very confidential and as such, it was not easy
for any organization to reveal true information, especially if the concerned organization is affected
negatively to large extent, however, since respondents target were procurement managers as they
had vast experience and industry knowledge, this ensured reliability of data collected.
On a positive note, the various companies of interest to the study did have policies on
environmentally friendly purchasing. Although some companies claimed to have no need of such
policies instituted on grounds that their activities had nothing to do with environmental safety. This
can be seen from the responses given in the Figure 5.1.2.0 below; the results indicates that there
is very little concern for environmentally friendly purchasing. The study also shows that,
sustainability issues are generally not considered in their organizational policies. A greater
percentage of people, considered energy wastage, water pollution, air pollution deforestation and
greenhouse effect as grave sustainability issues, but do not take concrete steps in mitigating them,
some of the reasons being lack of creating consumer awareness about environmentally friendly
products
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Figure 5.1.2.0 Environmental laws in Zambia
Environmental laws and guidelines are helpful in

creating consumers general awareness about
environmentally friendly purchasing
STRONGLY AGREE 12.8
AGREE 15.1
NEUTRAL 25.6
DISAGREE 22.1
STRONGLY DISAGREE 24.4
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Environmental laws and guidelines are helpful in creating consumers general awareness about
environmentally friendly purchasing
5.1.2.1 Sustainable procurement
Sustainable Procurement (SP) is a process whereby organisations meet their needs for goods,
works, services and utilities in a way that achieves value for money on a whole-life basis in terms
of generating benefits not only to the organisation, but the society and the economy while
minimising damage to the environment (EPA, 2014). The Brundtland Commission's defines
sustainability in terms of development as the "ability to make development sustainable to ensure
that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs" (UNWCED, 1987).There has been an increasing awareness of
environmental protection worldwide. Due to this, the green trend towards conserving resources
and protecting the environment has exerted pressure on companies across the world (Salam, 2008).
This pressure has prompted organisations to improve their environmental performance (Zhu and
Sarkis, 2006). In order to achieve sustainable procurement, a green procurement policy should be
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put in place and vigorous sensitization has to follow this to make people aware of sustainable goods
and services. The government of Zambia has made efforts as far as this is concerned to ensure that
companies start to incorporate sustainability decisions in their procurement policies as evidenced
in the diversification from the use of hydroelectric to solar electric which is cleaner (green) (CEC,
2017). To this effect respondents were asked if at all the knowledge on sustainability is widespread
in Zambia and below are the results;
Figure 5.1.2.1 A
Knowledge on sustainable procurement is widespread in Zambia

Percent
Valid strongly disagree 12 14.0 14.0 14.0
Disagree 24 27.9 27.9 41.9

Neutral
20 23.3 23.3 65.1
Agree
11 12.8 12.8 77.9
strongly
19 22.1 22.1 100.0
agree
86 100.0 100.0
Total
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Figure 5.1.2.1 B

There is however limited commitment, in working on sustainability elements in the procurement
process. This can be seen from the responses obtained, the majority of the companies are not
incorporating sustainability decisions in their procurement policies.
The figure below shows the different opinions of procurement managers about sustainability.
Figure 5.1.2 opinions about sustainability
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It was revealed that most procurement officers are not aware as some remained neutral due to lack
understanding and those that agreed to have knowledge on sustainable procurement are just but a
few implying that decisions about sustainability are not taken into consideration where purchasing
of green goods and services are concerned.
5.1.3 green procurement in pollution prevention
Most environmental protection efforts have traditionally been directed towards the control of
pollution from waste substance after it has been generated. In essence, green procurement aims to
incorporate effective pollution control measures to prevent and avoid the purchase of products and
services that will cause and produce excessive and unnecessary waste at source. Green
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procurement can, therefore, be seen as a waste minimisation strategy. Bosman (1999) argues that
waste minimisation strategies have their foundation in the precautionary principle and are
inseparably linked to the management of waste disposal, since the only way of preventing
potentially hazardous waste from entering the environment is through the implementation of
strategies aimed at minimization of the waste at source.
Figure 5.1.3 Environmental degradation

The question sought to find out whether pollution and environment degradation have an effect on
global warming and climate change.
In Figure 5.1.4 above, the findings indicates that 84.88% of respondents are aware while 15.12%
of the respondents were not aware. This clearly shows that most procurement managers are aware
of the benefits of implementing green procurement as they are the final arbiter of the purchasing
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decisions. Knowing the effect of environmental degradation helps to make sustainability decisions
which fosters economic development. The results are also in support of the Environmental
Management System implemented at Copperbelt energy, which favour products and services that
exhibit clear environmental advantages (CEC, 2017). This concludes that there is need to educate
more staffs about pollution and environment degradation as this have an effect on climate change
and global warming.
5.1.5 Green procurement and waste management
The environmental impact assessment program carried out by the environmental management
agency (ZEMA) revealed that in Zambia, industrial and commercial development, the growth in
manufacturing activities and a corresponding increase in population have brought about the risk of
environmental damage by exerting unmitigated pressures on the environment. In figure 5.2.5 a
question was asked to find out how firms were fairing in terms of waste management and if
companies are adhering to environmental regulations by ZEMA. The results are shown below;
Figure 5.2.5 an assessment of company waste management
how is your company fairing in terms

of waste management
excellent very poor
very good 8% 16%
15%
poor
good 20%
14%
fair
27%
very poor poor fair good very good excellent
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There is a clear indication that most of the manufacturing companies are not doing fine in terms of
waste management as evidenced from the figure 5.2.5 above, It is evident that even though some
companies are doing better, the majority are of those not doing fine are a lot as indicated by the
percentages above, those fairing very poor, poor and fair combined are more than those doing
good, very good and excellent. It was also discovered that the companies doing fine in terms of
waste management are those that have incorporated green procurement in their organizational
policy, while those not doing fine it’s because they have not yet initiated the idea of going green.
5.2 LEGAL AND REGULATORY FRAMAEWORKS
5.2.0 Factors affecting implementation of green procurement
The second objective is to establish the extent to which legal and regulatory framework affect the
implementation of green procurement in the manufacturing industries. According to Hildah (2017)
the government of Zambia has put in place a wide range of policy, institution and legislative
frameworks to address major causes of environmental degradation and negative impacts on
ecosystems emanating from industrial and economic development programs. Obanda (2010)
identifies three pillars of institution as regulatory, normative and cultural cognitive. The regulatory
pillar emphasizes the use of rules, laws and sanctions as enforcement mechanism, with expedience
as basis for compliance. According to scott (2004), institutions are composed of cultural cognitive
and regulative elements that, together with associated activities and resources give meaning to life.
The normative pillar refers to norms (how things should be done) and values (the preferred or
desirable), social obligations being the basis of compliance Preuss (2013). The cultural-cognitive
pillar rests on shared understanding (common beliefs, symbols, shared understanding).
The respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which the factors (legal and regulatory
frameworks) mentioned in table 5.2.1.; affect the implementation of green procurement, the
findings are on the scale of 1 to 5, where 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= undecided, 4=
agree, 5= strongly agree. The scores of strongly disagree and disagree have been taken to represent
a variable which had a mean score of 0 to 2.5 on the continuous Likert scale. The scores of
undecided have been taken to represent a variable with a mean score of 2.5 to 3.4 on the continuous
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Likert scale and the score of both agree and strongly agree have been taken to represent a variable
with a mean score of 3.5 to 5.0 on the continuous Likert scale. A standard deviation of >0.9 implies
a significant difference on the factors affecting the implementation of green procurement of the
variable among the respondents. The factors pointed out by the respondents includes legal and
regulatory framework (Government regulations) with a (m=4.19, std =0.847). This shows that
Government regulations are a key success to implementation of green procurement by the
manufacturing companies listed at ZAM. The finding concurs with the literature review of studies
done by Klassen (2010) which noted that commitment by the Government regulations positively
affected the orientation of the business towards green issues which agrees with similar studies
conducted by Anis et al. (2013).
The table 5.2.1 indicate the results as shown below;
Table 5.2.1
Descriptive Statistics
N Mean Std. Deviation
Legal and regulatory framework (Government regulations) 86 4.19 .847

appropriate technology 86 4.50 .763
adopting environmental standards 86 4.45 1.002
presence of new markets for green products 86 4.49 .715
Organization culture on green practices 86 2.73 1.231
Government incentives and practices 86 3.03 1.443
Collaborative partnership with suppliers 86 2.87 1.235
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Valid N (listwise) 86
Source: (Author, 2018)
Appropriate technology with (m = 4.50; std = 0.763) shows that green procurement gives a higher
importance to technology. By using various technologies, which help in green procurement, the
companies listed at the Zambia Association of Manufacturers can create a paperless society. Other
factors includes; adopting environmental standards, the presence of new markets for green
products and government incentives and practices. The government is a major enabler since it
helps the companies listed at ZAM to comply with the rules and regulations to implement green
procurement.
5.2.1 Legal and Regulatory Framework in Zambia
In Zambia, procurement is governed by the Public Procurement Act No. 12 of 2008 and the Public
Procurement Regulations of 2011. Prior to this, public procurement was governed by the Zambia
National Tender Board Act, Act No. 30 of 1982. The objectives of the Public Procurement Act of
2008 are to; ensure transparency and accountability in public procurement; regulate and control
practices in public procurement in order to promote; integrity; fairness; and public confidence
(ZPPA, 2017). But why the public procurement Act no. 12 of 2008? It must be mentioned that in
awarding contracts by the government for the supply goods by the manufacturing companies, it is
this same public procurement Act no.12of 2008 and its regulation that the government uses to give
specification to the manufacturing companies when buying various products. To this effect
respondents who were procurement managers in various manufacturing companies were asked if
at all the PPA address the issues of green procurement as part of the requirement by the government
to by green products (clean products) and below were the results obtained; TABLE 5.2.2 PPA
does the Zambia public procurement Act of 2008 and its regulations address the issue of
green procurement

Percent
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Yes 29.7 34.48 34.48 34.48
Valid No 56.3 65.52 65.52 100.0

Total 86 100.0 100.0
The results obtained were as follows; those who said yes were 34.48 % while those with a different
opinion were 65.52%. This is also shown by the pie chart below;
Source: (author, 2018).
The results clearly indicates that green procurement is not addressed in the PPA of 2008, those
who said yes it is as a result lack of understanding about the procurement systems in the public
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sector or they were ignorant about the public procurement Act pointing out the fact that the Act is
only accessible to those found in the public sector and not in the private sectors.
5.2.2 Legislations on environmental standards
Every law that is passed enables people and organisations to perform according to what has been
stipulated. Despite the problems emanating from issues to do with environmental degradation, a
large number of EU environmental directives have been issued relating to quality, waste,
chemicals, and packaging waste. To what extent do procurement managers agree with these
regulations and standards is the question we wanted to get an answer from the respondents and for
that matter, respondents were asked if green procurement is the tool earmarked by the international
community to combat pollution and human healthy. Results are obtained in figure 5.2.3 below
Figure 5.2.3
green procurement is the tool earmarked by the international

community to combat environmental pollution and human
health effects

Percent
Yes 69 80.2 80.2 80.2
Valid No 17 19.8 19.8 100.0

Total 86 100.0 100.0
The results were that 80.2% agreed and 19.2% of those who said no stating lack of awareness about
the international regulations. This implies that most companies have recognized green procurement
as a potential tool to combat human health effects resulting from the use of unsustainable
consumption of products even though others pointed lack of awareness about these laws and
standards as the reason for not incorporating green procurement.
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5.2.3 ANALYISIS OF CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING GREEN PROCUREMENT
The respondents were asked to indicate the challenges faced in implementing green procurement,
the table below indicates the results; the findings are on the scale of 1 to 5, where 1= strongly
disagree, 2= disagree, 3= undecided, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree. The scores of strongly disagree
and disagree indicated a mean score of 0 to 2.5 on the continuous Likert scale. The scores of
undecided indicated a mean score of 2.5 to 3.4 on the continuous Likert scale. While that of both
agree and strongly agree had a mean score of 3.5 to 5.0 on the continuous Likert scale. A standard
deviation of >0.9 showed a significant difference on the challenges faced in implementing green
procurement of the variable among the respondents. The findings in table 5.2.4, indicates that most
companies did not consider the above mentioned challenges to apply in their organisations.
This is explained by the fact that the standard deviation was insignificant to make a conclusion.
However, since the questionnaire was adopted from Pembere who did a similar research in Europe,
in Zambia it could be possible that those challenges mentioned below do not apply in the
manufacturing sector. The finding also agrees with the literature review of Bower (2010) who
noted that the challenges of green procurement depends on the type of purchases in which an
organization is involved.
Table 5.2.4
lack of appropriate technology 86 3.26 1.473
lack of top management support 86 3.13 1.263
lack of enough finances to support implementation 86 3.13 1.216
lack of internal competence and training on green procurement 86 2.84 1.309
lack of government incentives in implementing green procurement 86 2.80 1.362
high cost of green products 86 2.98 1.346
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unavailability of green materials in the market 86 3.00 1.311

lack of clear benefits from implementing green procurement 86 2.78 1.250
short term planning over long term planning 86 2.76 1.236
86 2.81
purchasing habits by our organization 1.297

What does your outfit consider as a primary environmental concern in connection with its
operations?
disposal of waste or by product 86 2.51 1.281

how to save power or electricity
86 3.07 1.166
how to save water and trees 86 2.85 1.270
how to recycle products such as paper and plastics 86 3.48 1.509
safety at the place of work 86 3.85 1.385

The findings above are on the scale of 1 to 5, where 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3=
undecided, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree. The scores of strongly disagree and disagree have been
taken to represent a variable which had a mean score of 0 to 2.5 on the continuous Likert scale.
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The scores of undecided have been taken to represent a variable with a mean score of 2.5 to 3.4 on
the continuous Likert scale and the score of both agree and strongly agree have been taken to
represent a variable with a mean score of 3.5 to 5.0 on the continuous Likert scale. A standard
deviation of >0.9 implies a significant difference on the factors affecting the implementation of
green procurement of the variable among the respondent.
Despite the results being insignificant, empirical research done by Muniru (2013) in GHANA the
findings shows that many considered saving power or electricity, safety at work place as the
primary environmental concern in connection with its operation, with an average of 78.6% of the
people agreeing to this. There is however lack disposal of waste and commitment in saving water
and trees in Zambia which is not supported by ZEMA.
5.3 GREEN PROCUREMENT AND COMPETITIVENESS OF A FIRM
Respondents were presented with a range of statements with characteristic of green procurement
mix to assess the competitiveness of the firm in terms of green procurement strategy adoption.
They indicated what their organizations were doing in a relation to mitigate or to take advantage
of the green issues.
Table 5.3.1
adoption of green supply chain management procedures 86 2.62 1.266
operational performance 86 2.80 1.336
competitiveness of a firm (profitability) 86 4.69 .724
cost reduction 86 3.78 .925

Increase in customer base
86 4.37 1.169
corporate image 86 4.08 1.313
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Increased market share 86 3.63 1.030

Increase in customer loyalty 86 3.95 1.463
86 3.59 1.529
increase in share/dividend payment
86 3.43 1.523
Implementation of Government regulations
86
Valid N (listwise)
The findings are on the scale of 1 to 5, where 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= undecided, 4=
agree, 5= strongly agree. The scores of strongly disagree and disagree have been taken to represent
a variable which had a mean score of 0 to 2.5 on the continuous Likert scale. The scores of
undecided have been taken to represent a variable with a mean score of 2.5 to 3.4 on the continuous
Likert scale and the score of both agree and strongly agree have been taken to represent a variable
with a mean score of 3.5 to 5.0 on the continuous Likert scale. A standard deviation of >0.9 implies
a significant difference on the factors affecting the implementation of green procurement of the
variable among the respondents. The results presented in Table 5.3.1 are that most manufacturing
companies are undecided about adopting green practice, stating that this also supports the notion
that green procurement practices contributes to the competitiveness (m = 4.69, std = 0.724) and it
can be construed that Zambian manufacturing firms have worked so hard to adopt green
procurement strategies to some extent even though others are lagging behind. The findings are in
line with the Studies carried out in the Chinese Electronics industry which emphasizes that the
implementation of green procurement practices does enhance competitiveness of a firm in terms
of profitability, market share and a corporate image (Zhu & Sarkis, 2007). A firm can be said to
be competitive when it adapts to changes in its environment and still generate profits. Firm
competitiveness thus requires a continual harmonisation of activities in accordance with changes
in its immediate environment (Chikán & Gelei, 2010). Going by the research done by (Baenasa,
Castro, Battistellea & Junior, 2010) who postulated that; Green procurement offers cost savings,
market share, profitability, customer loyalty and government regulations, buying 'green' usually
Page | 62
involves products that are easily recycled, last longer or produce less waste. Money is therefore
saved on waste disposal. In addition, green products generally require fewer resources to
manufacture and operate, so savings can be made on energy, water, fuel and other natural
resources. Green products involve fewer toxic or hazardous materials, reducing associated
expenses such as permit fees, toxic materials handling charges and staff training. Based on what
has been found by various authors as stated above it is clear that green procurement contributes to
competitiveness of a firm and therefore, manufacturing companies in Zambia can benefit from its
implementation even though others are still undecided about GP, the benefits are a lot compared
to those that have not implemented GP in their organizational policy.
Page | 63
Diagram 5.3.2 Green procurement and competitiveness green
procurement if applied leads to competitiveness of a firm
From the table above, the percentage of those that said yes were 77% as compared to those who
said no represented by 23%. The results are that 23% of the respondents were not sure and have
not taken any step to explore the importance of green procurement. However, there is no doubt,
since the majority agreed that green procurement leads to competitiveness of a firm as indicated
by 77% of the response obtained. Based on what has been found in literature review, we can
Page | 64
therefore concur with the empirical research done by (Baenasa eta l, 2010) that green procurement
practices contributes to the competitiveness of the firm. In as much as 23% of the manufacturing
companies in Zambia are lagging behind in incorporating GP, upon knowing the practices of green
procurement and competitiveness there is a need to be educated in the importance of green
procurement.
Figure 5.3.3 assessing pollution prevention measures in Lusaka
In the study above, respondents were asked on how their organization can help to make Lusaka
city clean and free from pollution. The findings indicates that 74.42% of the companies recognized
implementing green procurement as a way of preventing pollution. Those that did not know were
20.93%, while those who had no knowledge chose none of the above and were represented by
3.49% and others with different ideas were 1.16%. This shows that there is a need to educate many
Page | 65
companies on how to take care of the environment and help them to implement green procurement
as the majority of the respondents pointed out that they have recognized GP as a way of reducing
environmental degradation. This agrees with the research done by (Thai, Rahm, &Cogburn, 2007
cited in kimbwereza, 2016) “governments may prefer pursuing efforts to raise awareness of green
procurements programs, product and service and benefits of buying green which leads to
competitiveness of the firms and pollution prevention. In essence, green procurement aims to
incorporate effective control measures to prevent and avoid the purchase of products and services
that will cause and produce excessive and unnecessary waste at source. Green procurement can,
therefore, be seen as a waste minimisation strategy. Bosman (2000) argues that waste minimisation
strategies have their foundation in the precautionary principle and are inseparably linked to the
management of waste disposal, since the only way of preventing potentially hazardous waste from
entering the environment is through the implementation of strategies aimed at minimization of the
waste at source. Green procurement will, therefore, ultimately reduce the amount of waste going
to a landfill and reduce the environmental impacts of goods and services of organisations.
Therefore, following the empirical findings and the results obtained above in figure 5.3.3, we
concur with majority respondents that indeed green procurement contributes to pollution
prevention.
5.4 SPEARMAN CORRELATION ANALYSIS
Spearman’s coefficient of correlation is considered as a tool to determine the extent of the

relationship between two variables and is denoted by “r”. It creates a line of best fit that links two
variables which helps in determining the relationship between the two variables denoting the
distance of each variable from the line of best fit. The coefficient, r, is usually between +1 to -1.
In case of a 0 value, then it connotes the absence of a relationship between the two variables. Field
(2005) indicates that correlation coefficient ought to be below 0.8 in order to escape multi
colinearity. In figure 5.4.1 there is a weak negative relationship between the levels of awareness
and competitiveness of the firm (r = -0.220, p < 0.05). Regarding legal and regulatory framework
Page | 66
there is a significant effect on competitiveness of a firm, this means that most government
regulations does not determine the implementation of green procurement.
Figure 5.4.1
Correlations
competitivene Legal and levels of awareness
ss of a firm regulatory (Increased green
(profitability) framework awareness training and
(Government campaigns)
regulations)
Correla 1.000 .360* .220*
tion
Coeffic
ient
competitiveness of a
firm (profitability) Sig. (2tailed) . .745 .042
N 86 86 86
Correla .360* 1.000 .033

tion
Coeffic
Legal and regulatory
Spearman's rho framework ient
(Government Sig. .745 . .760
regulations) (2tailed)
N 86 86 86
Correla .220* .033 1.000

tion
levels of awarenessCoeffic
(Increased greenient
awareness training
Sig. .042 .760 .
and campaigns)
(2tailed)
Page | 67
N 86 86 86
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

These results also agrees with the empirical findings done by chibinda (2016) who conducted a
research in Zambia about how the Local Authority can be engaged to reduce garbage in Lusaka.
His findings were that “The agency ZEMA had no specific plan for meeting producers or players
involved in waste valorization but conducts routine audits on manufacturers to monitor compliance
with existing regulations and advise was given on how the players could minimize waste
generation (pers.com. Sichinga, 2015)”. The agency has no deliberate policy to procure green
products and is not in any mutual relationship with private sector player(s) involved in waste
minimization (Chibinda, 2016).
5.4.2 REGRATION ANALYSIS
Pallant (2011, p148) stated that multiple regressions is not just one technique but a family of
techniques that can be used to explore the relationship between one continuous dependent variable
and a number of independent variables or predictors (usually continuous). It can tell you how a
well set of variables is able to predict a particular outcome.
Table 5.4.2
Coefficientsa
Model Unstandardized Standardized T Sig.
Coefficients Coefficients
B Std. Error Beta
(Constant) 5.537 .422 13.111 .000
levels of awareness .062 .194 1.820 .072

(Increased green awareness .113
1 training and campaigns)
Page | 68
Legal and regulatory .091 .147 1.380 .171

framework (Government .125
regulations)
a. Dependent Variable: competitiveness of a firm (profitability)

Line of best fit model
Y = B0 + B1X1 +B2X2
Y = competitiveness of the firm
B0 = 5.537
B1 = 0.113
B2 = 0.125
X1 = levels of awareness
X2 = legal and regulatory framework β i = Coefficients of regression for the
independent variables Xi (for i = 1, 2) e. = error term
The equation of best fit is written as;
Competitiveness of a firm = 5.537 + 0.113 levels of awareness + 0.125 legal and regulatory
framework
The prediction model was obtained from the Coefficients table (Unstandardized coefficients), as
shown above. The Unstandardized coefficients show the degree of correlation between the
dependent variable and the independent variable, holding other factors constant. For instance, the
predictor model means that for every one unit change in the levels of awareness, competitiveness
Page | 69
of a firm in terms of profitability changes by 0.113 units. Based on the model, the levels of
awareness, legal and regulatory framework have the positive influence on the competitiveness of
a firm in implementing green procurement. Green procurement is important because first the
businesses need to comply with existing legislations on environmental matters but equally
important is the need to meet the customer requirements through awareness training programs
(Klassen, 2008). This factors explain why the levels of awareness affects competitiveness of a firm
in implementing green procurement.
The corresponding p-value indicates the negative relationship between the levels of awareness and
competitiveness of a firm in implementing green procurement has at 95% confidence level i.e.
pvalue<0.05.
Table 5.4.3
Regression Model Summaryb

Model R R Square Adjusted R Std. Error of
Square the Estimate
1 .247a .610 .380 .710
a. Predictors: (Constant), Legal and regulatory framework (Government

regulations), levels of awareness (Increased green awareness training and
campaigns)
b. Dependent Variable: competitiveness of a firm

(profitability)
Source: author (2018)
The model summary, presented in Table 5.4.3., was not very significant (p=0.000) although there
is an indication that the model was a good fit. It had an R square value of 0.610 with a percentage
variance of 61.0% for the competitiveness of the firm. The P- value of 0.000 is an indication of
5% significance for the competitiveness of the firm. R shows a strong positive relationship among
Page | 70
variables with a value of 0.247. The Std error of the estimate relates more to the regression line
than the mean. This means that 61.0% of the variation on the levels of awareness, legal and
regulatory framework is explained by the variation in competitiveness of the firm in implementing
green procurement in manufacturing companies. R squared is high implying that a model is a good
fit. This implies that there is still possibility of improving the model fit by adding another factor
influencing the dependent variable to the model. An additional independent variable would
increase the R squared to the value of the adjusted R squared.
5.4.4 ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is a model for testing the hypothesis that βί≠0 (there is a
significant relationship between the response and predictor variables), against the null hypothesis
that βί=0 (there is no significant relationship between the response and predictor variables). The
P-value < 0.05 is an indication of a relationship between feedback and the predictor variables.
Table 5.4.4, has P-Value = 0.074 > 0.05 which highlights a significant linear relationship between
the contribution of green procurement to competitiveness of the firm and the levels of awareness,
legal and regulatory framework. However, based on the various factors and outcome of the rest of
the data, this figure is negligible considering that the other variable have a P-value relatively greater
than 0.05 hence highly statistically significant to deduce significance of the relationship. Contrary
to the research finding done by (Pembere, 2016) in Nairobi whose findings indicated that adoption
of green procurement practices improves the supply chain performance. The 95% confidence infers
that the predictor variables have a strong relationship with competitiveness of the firm.
Page | 71
Table 5.4.4.
ANOVAa
Model Sum of Df Mean Square F Sig.
Squares
Regression 2.711 2 1.355 2.691 .074b
1 Residual 41.812 83 .504
Total 44.523 85
a. Dependent Variable: competitiveness of a firm (profitability)
b. Predictors: (Constant), Legal and regulatory framework (Government regulations),

levels of awareness (Increased green awareness training and campaigns)
Source: author (2018).
DISCUSSIONS
One of the key issues that seem to be preventing the Manufacturing companies from implementing
green procurement is lack of awareness. In their study on drawbacks and opportunities of green
public procurement, Testa et al. (2014) found that training initiatives and the availability of
information that increases the knowledge of green public procurement are strong drivers for
adopting green procurement practices. Thus awareness campaigns on green procurement initiatives
and tools would be highly significant in deciding to implement green procurement (Testa, Iraldo,
Frey & Daddi, 2012). There are many channels that could be used in raising awareness such as
forums and the media. In raising awareness, effective communication channels such as emails,
Page | 72
one-to-one and group meetings, also need to be used within the hospitals (Rehman & Marouf,
2008).
There are some manufacturing companies that have already implemented green procurement to the
extent where almost all their specifications include environmental criteria could showcase the
benefits of green procurement during forums. Perhaps other manufacturers may take more interest
when they know of a company that has actually implemented green procurement and are then able
to request information about the process and what the benefits (such as reduction in costs of
disposal) and possible challenges the manufacturing company went through during
implementation.
One other key issue discussed was the possibility of resistance to change. This is an issue that can
be combated through the development and maintenance of communication and trust between
management and users. Lack of awareness and information may be the cause of resistance to
change, therefore ensuring that there are open and effective channels of communication may
reduce the possibilities of resistance to change (Boohene & Williams, 2012).
Table 5.4.5
HYPOTHESIS STATUS
H10: The levels of awareness does not affect the extent of implementing green REJECTED
procurement in manufacturing industries
H11: The levels of awareness affects the extent of implementing green SUPPORTED
H20: Legal and regulatory framework does not affect the extent of implementing REJECTED
green procurement in manufacturing industries
H21: Legal and regulatory framework affects the extent of implementing green SUPPORTED
Source: author (2018).
Page | 73
H11: the research found that the levels of awareness affects the extent of implementing green
procurement in manufacturing industries. This means there is a need to educate more procurement
managers through television programmes and advertising in newspapers or social media so that
they get to know about green procurement practices and how it can be beneficial to contribute to
the competitiveness of the firm in terms of profitability. The results are also in support with the
findings of Ozake (2008).
H21: the research also found that the legal and regulatory framework affects the extent of
implementing green procurement in manufacturing industries. This has also been supported by the
research done by Travis (2000). This means that if one strongly believes in environmental
preservation and guiding principles and values, it translates into actions of green procurement.
Therefore, this shows that in as much as the Zambia Environmental Management Agency has been
carrying out the assessment of compliance pertaining the environmental degradation by
manufacturing companies, there is still need to strengthen laws and regulations so that a different
action is taken to curb this trend. The problem of environmental mismanagement is the issue that
everyone in the city of Lusaka and so, there is need to implement green procurement in order to
alleviate this problems of environmental degradation. The manufacturing firms can also lobby the
government for favourable fiscal policy and dissemination of green economy and data.
Page | 74
CHAPTER SIX
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter discusses the summary of the key findings along the study objectives and the research
questions. It then draws conclusions based on these findings and discussions are put forth for the
recommendations of the study based on implementing green procurement in manufacturing
companies. Finally, the chapter presents the study limitations and recommendations for further
areas of research.
6.2 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
The study was set out to assess the extent of implementing green procurement in manufacturing
companies based in Lusaka city. The main purpose for undertaking this research was to look at
how the manufacturing industries can be engaged to reduce the unsustainable consumption of
natural resources that end up as garbage. The outcomes was meant to benefit the local authorities
and residents of Lusaka in having a cleaner environment and reduce the costs associated with
managing garbage and diseases that result from it as they can formulate better policies that include
implementation of green procurement in reducing environmental pollution. Besides, if the findings
would be embraced, the manufacturing companies would benefit from enhanced returns from their
businesses as they will improve on resource efficiency and ensure a good corporate image. Finally,
the outcomes of this research was meant to benefit all those, general public and scholars alike,
interested in the management of municipal solid waste and further contribute to sustainable
development in Zambia. It tried to bring out potential challenges existing in procurement practices,
which work against sustainable procurement in Zambia. It is desirable for organizations to reach
consensus internally when introducing green procurement, and the procurement policy plays an
Page | 75
important role in doing so. Including criteria of green procurement in specifications and
determining unified specifications of eco-friendly goods are also efficient. The study was
undertaken purposely not only to fulfill the academic pursuit, but also to ascertain the extent to
which sustainability elements are being considered in procurement practices.
6.3 KEY FINDINGS
 The study revealed that, green procurement practices are not well known, since most of the
procurement managers knew not about the Public Procurement Act 12 of 2008. There is
however, limited knowledge, as far as application of sustainable procurement strategies in
the procurement process were concerned, with about 65.52% disagreeing to this. The
results clearly indicates that green procurement is not addressed in the PPA of 2008, those
who said yes it is as a result of misunderstanding about the procurement systems in the
public sector or they were ignorant about the public procurement Act pointing out the fact
that the Act is only accessible to those found in the public sector and not in the private
sectors
 The study noted that the employees in these manufacturing firms do not play a major role
in decisions relating to their internal environment as evidenced by these findings.
 The study also revealed that, sustainability issues are generally not considered in their
organizational policies. A greater percentage of people, considered energy wastage, water
pollution, air pollution deforestation and greenhouse effect as grave sustainability issues,
but do not take concrete steps in mitigating them, some of the reasons being lack of creating
consumer awareness about environmentally friendly products.
 The mindset of people about green procurement is so poor due to the fact that there is no
proper education about the benefits of what the implementation of green procurement can
bring in the manufacturing industries of Lusaka.
 Concerning the levels of awareness, the study revealed that there is lack of awareness about
green procurement as shown by 73% of respondents who had never heard about green
procurement.
Page | 76
 The study also noted that Green procurement contributes to the competitiveness of the firm
in terms of profitability.
 It was discovered that legal and regulatory framework in Zambia do not enable the
implementation of green procurement in manufacturing companies.
 The study also revealed that Green procurement can help once implemented to reduce
pollution in the city of Lusaka.
 There is a weak relationship concerning legal and regulatory framework in competitiveness

of the firm trying to implement green procurement contrary to what is in the empirical
literature done by various authors, this was as a result of different purchasing decisions by
different organisations, in Zambia it was discovered that most procurement managers are
not aware of the benefits of implementing green procurement and since those standards are
practiced by developed countries in developing nations like Zambia where there is poor
implementation of laws and regulations as observed by DANNIDA, the study discovered
that they do not apply.
6.4 CONCLUSION
The study aimed at assessing the extent of implementing green procurement in Zambia focusing
on the manufacturing companies based in the city of Lusaka. The results have shown that Zambian
manufacturing companies are still lagging behind as far as implementation of green procurement
is concerned. Most of these green practices are still being considered for adoption. This concludes
that implementation of green procurement in Zambia have been to low extent, adopted by the
manufacturing companies. The world of procurement had moved on and many changes had
occurred, including changes in specifying requirements of how goods, works and services are
procured. Our Procurement has to keep pace with such changes. It is important we make our
procurement processes environmentally friendly and climate neutral. If this is considered by
authorities concerned, and then more lives of people will be protected as pollution issues will be
tremendously reduced. All in all, there is an urgent need for people to be informed on the benefits
of preserving their environment and have a better society. We need to develop sustainable
Page | 77
procurement guidelines which will establish the criteria that may be used by any organization or
procurement entity for the procurement of local order categories of goods, works and services in
Zambia. There is need for government policies, institutions and systems must be calibrated to
stimulate development of a circular economy where waste valorisation is enhanced. With the ever
increasing population and land scarcity, the Lusaka City Council and concerned stakeholders can
no longer afford to relegate issues of waste management that relate to resource optimisation and
environmental wellbeing to the back burner. There is urgent need for systematic shift from the
current paradigm that focus on huge capital investments in landfills and auxiliary equipment for
the sole purpose of addressing public health aspects of garbage. Procrastination in this regard will
only lead to more land being turned into landfills and illegal dumpsites and in the long run
degradation of the environment. And as Marques, et al. (2014) put it, in places with limited land
resources (like Lusaka City) the cost of establishing landfills can be very high and thus gobble
resources meant for other important development needs.
6.5 RECOMMENDATIONS
The following recommendations were made to ensure the easy and effective attainment of green
procurement in Zambia. It is recommended that, there should be a re-designing of the country’s
procurement policies and procedures, to include sustainability ingredients in terms of lowest
environmental impact, but also in terms of producing the most positive social impacts. By doing
this, government can see many multiplier benefits internally and across society as a whole
including efficiency gains, energy usage reductions, financial savings, improved access to services
and better working conditions. Organizations should clarify the way to verify products’ conformity
to evaluation criteria and collect the product information of specific target items in advance for the
smooth implementation of green procurement. It is essential for an organization to keep all
employees motivated to improve their knowledge and skills in implementing green procurement
permanently. The agency Zambia environmental management agency (ZEMA) should deploy
more field workers so as to reach even remote areas when disseminating information on pollution.
Issuing a guidebook, and staff training are also necessary as a measure against delay of green
procurement implementation caused by transfer of personnel.
Page | 78
4.6 RECOMMENDATION FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
 This research was conducted in manufacturing companies based in Lusaka city, so it should
be extended to other regions like the Mines on the Copperbelt province to see how green
procurement is practiced.
 The contributing effect of corruption and bureaucracy on Sustainable Procurement.
 Assessing Green manufacturing impact on the economy of Zambia
Page | 79

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ASSESSINGTHEEXTENTOFIMPLEMENTINGGREENPROCUREMENTINZAMBIA -ACASEOF

According to Arisa (2001,p2); “The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in

In living its commitment to exemplary environmental stewardship, Copperbelt Energy Corporation

Industrialization is defined as a social or economic system in which manufacturing industries are

1.1 BACK GROUND

1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT

1.4. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

This study was guided by the following objectives:

1.5. RESEARCH QUESTIONS:

1.5.3 How do green procurement practices contribute to competitiveness of a firm?

1.8. OPERATION DEFINITION

2.1 GREEN PROCUREMENT

 Recycled content products

 Energy efficient products and energy efficient standby power devices

 Alternative fuel vehicles, alternative fuels, and fuel efficient vehicles

 Non-ozone depleting substances

 Alternative fuels and fuel efficient vehicles

 Environmental Protection Priority Chemicals

2.1.1 green procurement in pollution prevention and waste management

Source: (chibinda, 2016, p14).

2.1.3 GREEN PROCUREMENT PRACTICES

2.1.3.0 Supplier Selection

2.1.3.2 Supplier Development

Collaborative engagements between procurement function and suppliers have positively

2.2 IMPLEMENTING GREEN PROCUREMENT IN AN ORGANISATION

2.2.1 Guidelines to implement a green procurement program

environmental performance. Following are ten ways of implementing an effective

 Buy in larger quantities. Buyers’ cooperatives enable smaller buyers to aggregate

 Communicate the benefits. Resistance to change is common. Sharing the positive

2.3 CHALLENGES FACING IMPLEMENTATION OF GREEN PROCUREMENT IN

 Lack of commitment: For a municipality or any other organization to implement green

 Availability: In developing countries in particular, local distributors do not stock green

2.4 LEVELS OF AWARENESS ON GREEN PROCUREMENT PRACTICES

2.5 LEGAL AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

2.6 GREEN PROCUREMENT PRACTICES CONTRIBUTES TO COMPETITIVENESS OF

2.7 SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW

3.1 Conceptual Framework

To implement green procurement permanently, it is essential for an organization to go through the

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES DEPENDENT VARIABLE

Source: author (2018)

Figure 3.1 conceptual framework

4.1 RESEARCH DESIGN

4.2 DATA COLLECTION METHOD

4.1.0 PRIMARY DATA

4.1.1 SECONDARY DATA

4.3.1 RESPONSE RATE

4.4 DATA ANALYSIS

4.5 RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY ISSUES

4.6 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

4.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

4.8 SUMMARY OF CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

5.1 LEVELS OF AWARENESS

FIGURE 5.1.0 Levels of awareness

Source: Author (2018)

(1a) Do you have a procurement policy?

Yes 56 65.1 65.1 65.1

Valid No 30 34.9 34.9 100.0

Total 86 100.0 100.0

Source: author, 2018

Are any environmental issues considered in your procurement?

Yes 39 45.3 45.3 45.3