Companies in the emirate do not follow 'green' supply chain practices due to less awareness, according to a survey by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Centre for Responsible Business.
About 38 per cent of the 800 respondents were thinking of adopting green supply chain practices, mainly response to customer's needs, found the survey.
While 51 per cent said they wanted to do so, to follow existing laws, 42 per cent wanted to go along with their headquarter policies and 35 per cent said it was to beat competition.
Angela Mulgrew, regional environment manager at Hyde Consulting, felt that 38 per cent was an 'encouraging figure since the green supply chain is a relatively new concept globally.'
'The fact that a survey like this has been undertaken is enormously encouraging and indicates how far the UAE has come in the past couple of years.'
'Businesses are beginning to understand that wider corporate responsibilities relating to sustainable development will not necessarily increase their bottom line, but can improve brand and customer satisfaction while also reducing their exposure to regulatory risks,' she said.
Ignorance of the green supply chain was the major reason for companies adopting the practices, found the study.
A company needs to take into account, not only the costs, but most importantly, the environmental and social impact of their suppliers, products and services, in order to implement a green supply chain.
The survey showed that 62 per cent were already selling used materials, recycling and packaging as their green initiative, 42 per cent of the companies considered green supply chain concerns in their decision making.
The chamber stated, 'Many other practices are deemed important and cited by many companies such as the 'eco' design of products (43 per cent), purchasing less polluting materials and products (34 per cent), reprocessing of waste (28 per cent).'
About 86 per cent of the companies felt that the government needed to play a major role in practising green supply chain and offering them incentives for implementing green initiatives.