Abstract
For many years, being ecologically and environmentally friendly was not a concern for companies; they mostly focused on costs no matter how harmful their practices and processes might be for the environment. However, today, environmental issues are growing and becoming a real threat. Consequently, environmental pressures on businesses are getting more and more important, especially since many different stakeholders have become aware and worried about the undesirable side effects of economic growth. This new "environmental era" is a real challenge for companies which now have to find a way to deal at the same time with economic development and environmental protection. Therefore, organizations having to be responsible for their products "from cradle to grave" are reconsidering their logistics strategies in order to meet these new constraints and the traditional Supply Chain (SC) is likely to be modified. Reverse logistics has been the main answer; but as its requirements focus mostly on the manufacturing phase and the disposal of products, other approaches should be considered. In particular, Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) goes further and proves that companies can improve their environmental practices at each stage of their SC by adopting a proactive attitude and implementing upstream a real strategy they follow along the SC.
