Corporate Environmental Management for the Textile Industry: Toward an Empirical Typology

Abstract

The increasing attention of stakeholders regarding environmental issues is pushing companies to question their own environmental strategies and to consequently adopt coherent practices. The textile industry appears to be particularly affected because of its heavy impact on the environment. Despite many companies in this industry having developed integrated environmental management systems to make their environmental strategies more effective, the alignment of environmental practices with these strategies is not yet completely evident. This paper aims to fill this gap through a three-step research process. First of all, a reference model built upon an in-depth analysis of the literature provides a summary of the main strategies and practices for corporate environmental management. The model is then used to support an online survey aimed at understanding the level of adoption of environmental management practices in the textile industry. Subsequently, a cluster analysis identifies three different types of companies characterized by three strategic configurations: “committed”, “prone”, and “subjected” to environmental sustainability. Then, each type of company is characterized in terms of practices. Finally, the achieved results are used to derive some considerations (e.g., engaging with stakeholders, looking back to align practice with strategy, looking forward to become environmental leaders) that companies can consider to move forward in their environmental sustainability journey.