Environmental management in product chains: Theoretical and regulatory perspectives based on 25 Danish case studies

This report presents the analyses of the shaping, implementation and embedding of eight types of environmental initiatives in product chains. The analyses focus on • the role of the type of product and branch, of the size of the companies and of governmental regulation • the focus of the environmental concerns and the reductions in environmental impact • organisational changes which have been part of the embedding of the initiatives The analyses are based on 25 cases from national and international product chains involving one or more Danish companies. Based on the analyses of the eight types of environmental initiatives, a number of recommendations for governmental regulation, which can support the further diffusion of environmental management in product chains, are developed. Furthermore, the report describes a number of theoretical perspectives from sociology of technology, organisation theory, network theory, innovation theory, competence development and political science, which are proposed as focus in future capacity development as part of governmental strategies, which aim at supporting emergence and stabilisation of environmental concerns as part of product chain dynamics.