Sharing best practice in partnerships: Creating new markets for green products

In this paper, the promotion of sustainable products through the sharing of best practices in product chains is examined. The general understanding is that the interactions in the supply chain are changing from a traditional focus on the supply of goods “just in time” towards a focus on value creation for the different stakeholders and closer collaboration and communication between manufacturers, suppliers, consumers, and retailers. Supply Chain Management can be divided into two main categories with rather different focus areas: ”risk minimization” related to environmental and social impacts upstream in the supply chain, and “business development” of sustainable products and product service systems. Sharing best practice in partnerships is an example of the latter, but Supply Chain Management goes beyond product chains and into partnerships where the focus is not on one main company but on the partnership between several stakeholders in the same or in interlinked value chains. The laundry chain is chosen as an example in which the partnerships may include several product chains; i.e., the supply chain of detergents and washing machines, and may involve, e.g., retailers to facilitate a development of and demand for sustainable products – in other words the creation of new markets.