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Sustainability and the search for solutions that are both efficient and ecologically sound (eco-efficient) have become topics of great interest. However, companies seeking to develop supply chain solutions that are eco-efficient are often hampered by their ability to control the wider supply chain and they may need to draw on external support from logistics service providers (LSPs). This paper aims to explore the innovative strategies undertaken by LSPs in the eco-efficiency arena and the logistics and learning capabilities needed to achieve eco-efficiency in supply chains.

The insights derived from a systematic literature review approach to identify the most relevant articles to be included in the analysis represented the starting point for building the authors empirical investigation, based on case studies with in-depth interviews to investigate the phenomenon under consideration and to explore trends and evolving paradigms.

The systematic literature review enriches the existing literature by drawing on three bodies of knowledge, i.e. logistics service providers, eco-efficiency and logistics innovation, and putting them into a single framework. The findings from the interviews suggest that although LSPs are well placed to implement innovative initiatives for eco-efficiency there is a range of inhibitors that prevent major change programmes.

The research reported in this paper is exploratory and limited in its scope. It is based on in-depth interviews within six companies. However, it does provide a platform from which more detailed research may be conducted.

The managerial implications arising from the research offer a wide range of current practices in sustainability, from which strategic and operative directions to compete can be derived.

There is little existing literature that addresses the innovative strategies undertaken by LSPs in influencing and moving supply chains towards eco-efficiency and hence the present paper is meant to help fill this gap.

This paper aims to investigate the relation between technological innovation modes and their impact on eco-efficiency of industrial enterprises in China.

This paper first constructs a model to evaluate and measure the eco-efficiency of industrial enterprises in China from 2006 to 2010. Second, this paper compares the role of technological innovation modes – specifically, domestic independent innovation, foreign technology import and domestic technology transfer – in improving eco-efficiency of industrial enterprises in the Eastern, Central and Western regions of China by logarithmic regression.

The study finds that domestic independent innovation has a positive significant influence in improving eco-efficiency of industrial enterprises in the Eastern region; domestic technology transfer has a positive significant role in the Central region; and foreign technology import and domestic technology transfer positively affect the Western region.

This paper is the first to identify the role of technological innovation modes in improving eco-efficiency. The findings can help enterprises in the three regions adopt the most effective technological innovation mode. In addition, the results provide valuable insights into policy development to improve China’s overall eco-efficiency and to balance economic and industrial development among the three regions.

Any measure of eco‐efficiency requires financial information, for calculating the numerator, and physical information about the environment, for calculating the denominator. Accounting and finance staff provide key financial information about the numerator in eco‐efficiency calculations. Hence, for eco‐efficiency measures to be calculated and for the measures to add value it is essential for them to be integrated with accounting and financial management processes such as budgetary control. Calculating measures of eco‐efficiency is not enough on its own to ensure corporate value is added. Accounting and finance staff have to be involved in the planning of future long‐term eco‐efficiency improvement. If value added from continuous improvement in eco‐efficiency activities is to be anticipated it is necessary for eco‐efficiency and budgeting to be integrated. The paper provides some conceptual and practical guidance to help managers achieve this integration. Recently a number of companies have suggested that corporate budgeting no longer serves a purpose in their organizations (e.g. in network organizations). By demonstrating that, if information related to the neglect of potential environmental protection activities is ignored, the costs to business can be very high, this suggested change in practice is considered. It is concluded that a set of contingent guidelines need to be developed for budgeted eco‐efficiency situations to help management and regulators assess value‐added opportunities from using this new environmental management tool.

This paper aims to empirically investigate the motivations behind eco-efficiency sustainability measures of firms active in natural gas exploration and extraction from deep shale formations in the north-eastern USA.

The research design leverages a combination of semi-structured firm interviews with an online industry survey. Instead of pre-defining stakeholder categories, this study uses an emergent analytical framework to ascertain the stakeholder groups relevant to companies in this unconventional energy sector.

Results show that these practices tend to be primarily influenced by internal stakeholders, but that regulatory, community and industry stakeholders also play a role. Managers also assigned a relatively high importance to the role of regulatory and community stakeholders in informing these practices.

Though limited in generalizability beyond the energy sector and accounting for rival causal influences beyond stakeholders and managers, the results suggest a close engagement of firms with regulatory and community stakeholders with environmental practices and regulatory framework still in flux.

Prior research has not explored the full range of stakeholders relevant in influencing these eco-efficiency practices. Therefore, the authors have a limited understanding whether these practices are primarily internally promoted by firm managers or employees, or whether they are also influenced by industry, community and regulatory constituents. Furthermore, the shale gas industry with recent technological innovations aimed at the core of the business process, presents a rare opportunity to investigate drivers and implementations of eco-efficiency practices.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of profitability and leverage on the relationship between eco-efficiency and firm value.

The study extends the Ohlson’s model on value relevance using the hierarchical regression analysis to establish the moderating effects of the firm-specific variables. The sample includes 667 non-financial firms from the Bursa Malaysia, as of 2013. The data for eco-efficiency were extracted from content analysis of the annual report, whereas the financial data were retrieved from the data stream.

The study provides support for the stakeholder theory that purports that managers must develop a relationship with stakeholders by embarking on environmental friendly practices to maintain a positive firm value. The study shows a positive association between eco-efficiency and the value of the firm and provides support for a positive moderating relationship for profitability in the relationship between eco-efficiency and firm value, whereas there was no significant effect for leverage in the relationship.

It should be noted that, first, the data comprised exclusively Malaysian companies. Including firms from similar developing countries with varying institutional make-up and culture would enhance the understanding of the subject. Second, considering that the data for this study is cross-sectional, it may not be sufficient to draw strong causal influences. The study is the first to the best of the researcher’s knowledge to provide evidence that profitability positively moderates the relationship between eco-efficiency and firm value.

The result shows the management and potential investors that an investment in eco-efficiency will lead to a higher firm value, irrespective of the debt profile of the firm and that profitable firms are more likely to embark on an eco-efficient policy.

This study contributes to the literature by providing evidence from a developing country’s perspective, as well as extending prior studies that merely examined the direct relationship, to now explore the moderating relationship of profitability and leverage in the relationship between eco-efficiency and firm value using a large sample.

This paper aims to examine whether the amount of costs disclosed as relating to environmental controls is associated with environmental performance in terms of carbon-based eco-efficiency, and whether any relation supports voluntary disclosure theory or legitimacy theory arguments. Further, this paper attempts to determine whether the relations differ across the initial Kyoto Protocol period.

In this study, the focus was on Japanese firms over the period from 2002 to 2012. Disclosed environmental control costs (capital expenditures and operating costs) were identified and eco-efficiency measures based on carbon emissions were calculated. Relations were tested for using regression models controlling for other potential impact factors.

This study’s results indicate a negative relation between disclosed levels of environmental control costs and eco-efficiency performance measures, and, for two of our three eco-efficiency metrics, this is more pronounced over the Kyoto Protocol period.

These results support a legitimacy theory (as opposed to voluntary disclosure theory) explanation for the relation between the levels of disclosed environmental control costs and carbon-based eco-efficiency.

This study is the first to explore how flexibility in cost classification may be used by companies to foster a disclosure strategy.

This study aims to evaluate cargo and eco-efficiency of global container shipping companies (CSCs) and explore the determinants of the CSCs' efficiencies. While the former is derived from the CSCs' operational perspective, the latter highlights environmental issue related to carbon emission reduction.

In the first stage, a two-stage double bootstrap approach of data envelopment analysis (DEA) is applied to derive bias-corrected cargo and eco-efficiency of the top ten global CSCs under the variable returns to scale assumption. In the second stage, ordinary least squares and truncated regression are applied to examine determinants of the CSCs' efficiencies.

The DEA results reveal that the cargo efficiency of the CSCs is higher than their eco-efficiency by about 2.6% under variable returns to scale in DEA. However, the bias-corrected results show that the difference is 2.9%. The overall average efficiencies suggest that the CSCs can improve their cargo (eco) efficiency by 6.9% (10.8%). In the second stage, the regression results show that the numbers of ship, return on assets and asset turnover ratio are significantly related to both cargo and eco-efficiencies, whereas the total fleet capacity positively affects cargo efficiency.

The results of this study can help the inefficient CSCs make strategic decisions to improve their performance. For example, their business experience and capacity may be contributing to their efficiencies. However, this study only focuses on the container market among the three main markets, namely, dry bulk, wet bulk and container.

This study highlights an environmental issue in the shipping industry. While CSCs are operating their cargo efficiently in general, they should also put green initiatives into their business operations for the long-term sustainability.

Drawing on the ability–motivation–opportunity theory applied to the greening of service industries, this paper aims to analyze the extent to which green human resource management plays a role in the adoption of eco-efficiency principles in the financial sector. Environmental knowledge management represents one of the key green human resource management components.

This study conducted a survey with 178 employees working within one of the largest financial banks in Brazil, which has been investing in eco-efficiency for more than ten years.

On the basis of structural equation modelling, this study has provided the following findings: Among all factors taken into consideration in this study, only environmental training positively influences eco-efficiency; training may be suffering owing to barriers associated with empowerment and teamwork; the eco-efficiency program of the studied company would get benefits if it provided more autonomy to employees; and finally, the eco-efficiency program of the studied bank could be more effective if connected with green teams.

To date, this is the first work that relates – with empirical evidence from Brazil – GHRM and eco-efficiency in the financial service industry.

Aims to demonstrate how BASF's eco‐efficiency can be used for sustainable decision making at all levels, from industrial to consumer.

Three case studies are described as examples of the potential applications of eco‐efficiency both within industry and extensively in the consumer sector.

The first case study describes its use for dyeing facilities in Morocco, the second demonstrates how the most eco‐efficient product transport modes can be selected, and the third shows how eco‐efficiency can help the consumer decide whether to purchase a new household appliance.

Eco‐efficiency can support sustainable decision making not only within the company, but also industry‐wide and beyond.

The purpose of this study is to attempt to empirically examine the impact of disaggregate, eco-efficiency-based measures of corporate environmental performance (CEP) on corporate financial performance (CFP) of Indian companies. Further, recent theories contending a bidirectional causality between them is also explored.

Secondary data of 224 Indian S&P 500 companies from 2002 to 2011 are used to run panel data regression models for examining the impact of CEP measures on accounting-based CFP measures.

The empirical results are statistically significant and provide evidence for a positive association of eco-efficiency-based CEP metrics on CFP metrics, thereby supporting Porter's win–win hypothesis. Further, the results evidence a positive bi-directional causality between CEP and CFP for one period time lag signalling possibility of mutual reinforcement in CEP–CFP relationship.

The study has used data for the period 2002–2011 and eco-efficiency metrics – energy, water and material efficiencies due to availability.

The results have implications to both corporate managers as well as policymakers across all industries for emphasizing on eco-efficiency-based (proactive) environmental sustainability initiatives to enhance both financial and environmental bottom lines.

The study contributes to scarce empirical literature analysing the impact of CEP on financial performance. To the best of authors's knowledge, event studies, portfolio studies and perceptual data-based empirical studies exist in India. This study is unique in that it examines long run effect of eco-efficiency-based CEP metrics which is pertinent in a rapidly growing emerging market – India, where, eco-efficiency is considered quintessential for sustainable development.