A d a p t a t i o n t o E n v i r o n m e n t a l P r e v e n t i v e R e g u l a t i o n
33
of technological and organisational measures enables compliance with preventive
command-and-control regulation. As a result, we can make the following proposition:
Proposition 6.
Only a combination of modifications in the design of products and
processes, together with new actions of an organisational nature (as well as the
development of tools to enable an exchange of information between the various stages
of the supply chain), allows effective compliance with preventive command-and-control
regulation in automotive sector.
From the experiences drawn from case studies, together with the analysis of the
literature, we can see the importance of communication between the various stages of
the supply chain to explain the difficulties in adapting to a preventive command-and-
control regulation, as already spoken of by Geffen and Rothenberg (2000). In fact, in
automotive sector, as CEDASA and Valeo point out, the environmental requirements do
not encourage closer ties with clients, because automobile manufacturers have great
bargaining power. They only use any new requirement to call for stricter compliance from
their suppliers. Sometimes said inadequate communication leads to any efficiency
problems. We can therefore make the following proposition:
Proposition 7.
Inadequate communication with the other members of the supply chain
hinders component manufacturing plants’ adaptation to preventive command-and-control
regulation.
Where environmental consequences are more evident is in infrastructural manufacturing
decisions. Preventive regulation affects relations with components suppliers. CEDASA
and Valeo have toughened the relationship with their suppliers as a result of the stricter
demands from their clients: ISO 14001, environmental criteria selection, and the use of
plastics. These results are in accordance with that suggested by the literature (Azzone
and Noci, 1998). Peugeot demonstrates that this type of regulation helps them in
strengthening their long-term relationship with them, as any legal non-compliance would
lead to disastrous consequences for its public image as an innovator in environmentally-
friendly products. Geffen and Rothenberg (2000) show in case studies that as a supplier
learns more about the manufacturer’s productive process, they discover the kind of
environmental actions that best adapt to the clients’ needs. We can, therefore, deduce
the following proposition from the aforementioned:
Proposition 8
. The relationships in the long term between automobile manufacturers
and component suppliers are characteristics defining those manufacturers with the most
developed environmental approaches. It may lead to a strong formalisation of the
purchasing process. Companies with said characteristics are the best adapted to the
new preventive command-and-control regulation.
The role of employees is a key element in compliance with preventive command-and-
control regulation. Peugeot has organised informal meetings for the implementation of
environmental actions, as well as suggestion boxes, encouraging their use with the aim
of engendering environmental improvements. All this has been made possible thanks to
the decision of upper management to support environmental preservation. CEDASA and
Valeo have underlined the importance of training their workforce in its compliance. It is at
Valeo, however, that training is planned in more detail. Confirming the results of this type
of work, Taylor and Welford (1993) showed the importance of informal meetings about
the natural environment at IBM. From the above, we can therefore deduce the following
proposition:
