Environmental management system certification and its influence on corporate practices

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the existence of differences in the implementation of environmental practices between companies that possess some form of certified environmental management system (ISO 14001 or EMS) and those that do not have any such system. This study also investigates whether companies with a certified EMS are also making additional environmental demands on their suppliers. Design/methodology/approach An empirical study utilizing survey data from automotive supplier organizations was completed. A total of 157 in‐person interviews were conducted with managers of Spanish companies which are automotive supplier organizations. Logistic regressions and non‐parametric tests are used to evaluate hypotheses. Findings A positive relation was found to exist between the possession of certified EMS, specifically ISO 14001 and eco‐management and audit scheme, and the environmental demands that these organizations impose on their suppliers. This finding implies that environmental concern spreads upstream in the supply chain. The environmental demands on suppliers increase with customer organization size, but the degree of internationalization, measured by the rates of imports and exports, does not show a significant relationship to these pressures. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to a single (important) industrial sector and cannot be directly extrapolated to other industries. Originality/value There is a paucity of research that relates the adoption of certified EMS by companies to the adoption and implementation of environmental practices in their own organizations and in supply chain partners. This is the first such study to be completed for the automotive industry.