Executive summary

Main aim of this systematic review is to critically evaluate the leading accessible data on the relationship between green supply chain management practices and organization performance. With that aim author expect to establish most appropriate framework of green supply chain to achieve organization performance that encompasses multifarious perspectives. Therefore, the key objectives of this systematic review are to critically evaluate key elements of GSCM, best practices and their implications for manufacturing organizations, then to critically evaluate relationships of GSCM practices and organization performance in manufacturing organization and finally to critically investigate the suitable GSCM framework to achieve organization performance.
Methodology of this research is a systematic review. It is a review of recent academic research with purpose of synthesis current knowledge of the chosen field of study. It will follow the process of reviewing the literature using a pre-planned criteria to filter the most appropriate and current literature, evaluate the involvement, analyze based on deductive themes and synthesis the findings in line with the set objectives. Finally it will attempt to report the conclusion with evidence while minimizing the research gaps.
Findings were promising and there is a clear and strong positive relationship between green supply chain management practices and organization performance. By using 9 selected articles author was able to achieve his aim and objectives. Due to the inherent limitation of the systematic review based on secondary data will enforce future scholars to study newly established framework which was purely derived from available knowledge synthesized from those journals.

1. Introduction

1.1. Background

The global population has exponentially grown year on year for the last few centuries. According to Roser, Ritchie and Ortiz-Ospina (2019), “Two centuries ago the population of the world was just over one billion and since then there has been a seven hundred percent increase to around seven and a half bullion in 2019”. This has had a negative impact on resources. Short supplies and resources mean there is a need for innovative solutions and this will only exacerbate and the challenges increase as the years go by if continuing on the same trend. One area of innovation which can address a part of these challenges is the emerging strategy of green supply chain management or GSCM. There is limited research on specific strategic frameworks on GSCM, which need further evaluation to grasp its effective implementation in the current practises around the world aiming at the triple bottom line (TBL).
With increasing consciousness of environmental protection worldwide, the green mechanism of conserving the natural resources and shielding the environment is overwhelming, thereby exerting pressure on manufacturing organizations worldwide. The pressure and drivers go together with globalization has prompted organisation to improve their environmental performance (Zhu and Sarkis, 2006). Accordingly, corporations have shown growing concern for the environment over the last ten years. Therefore considering the environmental sustainability, emerging level of stringent government directions, increasing community knowledge and other stakeholder pressures organizations cannot neglect sustainability concerns in business (Gaziulusoy et al., 2015; Govindan et al., 2015).
Green supply chain management (GSCM) is described as "the assimilation of environmental thinking in managing the supply chain, which includes source and material selection, product design, manufacturing processes, final product delivery to customers and the management of the product at the end of its life cycle” (Srivastava, 2007). As per Young & Dhanda (2013), 35% of companies have already implemented green supply chain management as a strategic move.
When supply chain focus on minimizing cost, increasing operational efficiency, reducing wastage, reducing total time and improving speed, quality and flexibility will greening the supply chain compromise those performance objectives? This need to be investigated.
Interesting quote from Gordon Brown preciously demonstrated importance of environmental sustainability in his speech delivered to the United Nations Ambassadors on April 20, 2006 (Brown, 2006; cited in Holt & Ghobadian, 2009), “Environmental sustainability is not an option it is a necessity. For economies to flourish, for global poverty to be banished, forth well-being of the world’s people to be enhanced – not just in this generation but in succeeding generations – we have a compelling and ever more urgent duty of stewardship to take care of the natural environment and resources on which our economic activity and social fabric depends”. This is how regularity insists, and therefore organizations compel to set the ground for GSCM.
This paper focuses on a systematic review of research that has been published recently in this area and aims to bridge the knowledge gap between GSCM and organization performance.

1.2. Rationale

In current organizations there are established international supply networks to achieve the various aspects of competitive advantage but still achieving low cost of the supply chain has become a core requirement or order qualifying criteria (Hill and Hill, 2018) of the global supply chain. This has created a large challenge to the supply chain executives to strike the balance between “low costs and innovate to substantiate both environmental and economic sustainability”, (Lakshmimeera and Palanisamy, 2013). It is vital to establish green supply chain in the scope of sustainability but it is unclear whether organizations will have a realization of value by implementing these green concepts in the supply chain. Therefore, the outcome of this research will aid organizations to understand the tangible impact of GSCM in the business and if it is constructive and whether they could achieve the TBL of sustainability specifically people, planet and profit.

1.3. Scope

Systematic review has its own innate confines but will be mainly focused on the area of manufacturing driven supply chain. Therefore, scope will be limited to the manufacturing industry and excluding the service industry.

1.4. Aim and objectives

This systematic review aspires to critically evaluate the leading accessible data on the relationship between GSCM and organization performance therefore to establish most appropriate framework of green supply chain to achieve related organization performance. In order to realize the aim, the following research objectives have been set.

Therefore, the key objectives of this systematic review are to:
 Critically evaluate key elements of GSCM, best practices and their implications for manufacturing organizations,
 Critically evaluate relationships of GSCM practices and organization performance in manufacturing organizations.
 Critically investigate the suitable GSCM framework to achieve organization performance.

Therefore, the research subject to carry out this systematic review is;
“What is the impact of green Supply Chain Management practices on the organization performances?”

1.5. Method of analysis

This paper is a systematic review of a selection of a few significant respectable journal articles. The selection is purely based on the identified criteria which is tied around the scope of GSCM and organization performance. As per the PRISMA method, all retrieved articles were filtered and five journal articles were selected.
The aim of this systematic review is to concentrate on the most updated, applicable, suitable and best available research which is related to the objectives through thematic synthesis. Thematic synthesis is described as a qualitative analysis method under the qualitative methodological choice according to Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, (2012). Since GSCM is already an established theory, the approach will be logical and deductive where it will endeavor to set the theoretical framework and find data both to prove or disprove.