A stakeholder view on sustainable food and agribusiness chain development

For many companies in the Dutch food industry and the agribusiness, it is not only necessary to limit their pollution by means of end-of pipe innovation, but also to bring structural changes to enhance sustainable business development. Major changes in the environmental management system (EMS) ask for a reorientation in the relationships with key influential groups in the (task) environment (stakeholder-groups). Increasing demands of stakeholder groups on company’s environmental strategy and operations could be satisfied by adjusting the existing organisational and control structures to include environmental management. What stakeholder-influences are important for EMS-development? Can a turnaround in primary focus towards and externally oriented environmental management system be accomplished? What is the role of stakeholders in bringing about this turnaround? Do the relationships stay the same or will they have to modify? What are their characteristics? We performed survey research in the Dutch food industry and the agribusiness to answer these questions. We made a distinction between internally oriented and externally oriented EMS’s. Internally oriented EMS’s, that focus on the individual company, are stimulated by frequent contacts with governmental agents. It can be concluded that ‘non-commercial’ stakeholder groups are influential in determining the business policy. It seems that environmental management is mainly concentrating on the single company. Much of the benefits that are connected with joint efforts and cooperation in supply chains and networks are not harvested therefore. Externally oriented EMS’s, that focus on the redesign of the relationships with key groups in the task-environment, are stimulated by qualitative high relationships with governmental agencies and, in general, by influences of commercial groups in the business network (like suppliers, clients and competitors). To open up towards the environment, a major turnaround in managerial thinking is required. The benefit of this research for managers is vested in the creation of awareness of path-dependencies and organisational constraints in developing externally oriented EMS’s, that focus on cooperation rather than on isolated environmental development.