The purpose and focus of environmental performance measurement systems in logistics

Purpose – Environmental performance measurement systems (EPMS) in supply chains are increasingly important. The aim of this paper is to investigate the purposes of having an EPMS in logistics and in what ways the purpose of an EPMS can influence its focus in the supply chain. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on a survey of shippers and logistics service providers in Sweden. Exploratory factor analysis grouped the EPMS purposes. Regression analysis investigated the relation between EPMS purpose and supply chain focus. Findings – Those companies that had an EPMS had several purposes. The most common EPMS purpose was target setting. The seven purposes could be grouped into one external demand and one internal management factor. The most common focus was company‐internal, and the least common was to have a downstream focus. Significant relationships were verified between EPMS purpose and supply chain focus; companies seem to design their EPMS mainly out of internal management purposes. Research limitations/implications – The study contributed to theory on performance measurement in logistics by expanding it to include environmental performance. The richest theoretical contribution is related to the descriptive first research question, which provided theoretical structures and empirical knowledge on EPMS, which to the best of our knowledge has not been published before. Logical, valid and reliable factors or scales for measuring the purpose of EPMS were provided. The conceptualized relation between EPMS purpose and focus is an additional theoretical contribution. Practical implications – Managers are provided with descriptions, structure and input to EPMS design. This paper has increased the understanding on EPMS design, related both to the own company's and other supply chain actors’ EPMS. It indicates the complex practices of having many purposes for the EPMS and offers explanation to why companies may be reluctant to expand EPMS beyond their company boundaries. Originality/value – Despite the increasing importance of environmental performance, few studies on EPMS are conducted. This study expands performance measurement knowledge by providing empirical evidence in a Swedish context.