2026-09-19T20:51:22Zhttps://dspace.mit.edu/server/oai/requestoai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/774672026-06-06T01:03:53Zcom_1721.1_7582com_1721.1_7581com_1721.1_101402col_1721.1_131023col_1721.1_101610
Başak Kalkancı and Eva Ponce.
Ransom, Jeffrey Wallace
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division
2013-03-01T15:08:15Z
2013-03-01T15:08:15Z
2011
2012
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77467
827221027
Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, June 2012.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 60-62).
Environmental sustainability initiatives have risen in popularity over recent decades. Companies are actively seeking to promote innovative practices to reduce environmental impact and attract the "green" shopper. The business-to-business (B2B) segment is no different, and many companies utilize proactive sustainability strategies. This thesis examines the important role that environmental sustainability plays within the B2B segment and makes recommendations on how to prioritize sustainability investments. RetailCo, a national provider of various material goods and services, provided data and support for analysis. Information was collected and analyzed from customer inquiries such as Requests for Proposals and Requests for Information. An online survey, constructed to determine customer sustainability priorities, was distributed to business customers. The results from both data sources were used to analyze customer preferences and priorities. Results were analyzed by industry type, company size, geographic region, and annual spend with RetailCo. Finally, interviews were conducted with select companies to compare survey results. Detailed analysis of all data sources shows that sustainable business customers are larger government or education organizations, and they appear to strongly favor electronics and paper product recycling initiatives. Although many companies show strong support for sustainability initiatives, price and quality continue to dominate purchasing decisions.
by Jeffrey Wallace Ransom.
M.Eng. in Logistics
69 p.
eng
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
M.I.T. theses are protected by
copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but
reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written
permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.
http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
Engineering Systems Division.
Assessing the value of sustainability initiatives in business-to-business relationships
Thesis
application/pdf
Publication
unknown
unknown
<Publication xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/1.1/" id="bea49d7b-f1e3-4d5f-971c-06133bdeab4d">
<Type xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/vocab/COAR_Publication_Types">http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_1843</Type>
<Language>eng</Language>
<Title>Assessing the value of sustainability initiatives in business-to-business relationships</Title>
<PublishedIn>
<Publication>
</Publication>
</PublishedIn>
<PublicationDate>2012</PublicationDate>
<Authors>
<Author>
<DisplayName>Ransom, Jeffrey Wallace</DisplayName>
<Affiliation>
<OrgUnit>
</OrgUnit>
</Affiliation>
</Author>
</Authors>
<Editors>
</Editors>
<Publishers>
<Publisher>
<DisplayName>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</DisplayName>
<OrgUnit />
</Publisher>
</Publishers>
<License>http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582</License>
<Keyword>Engineering Systems Division.</Keyword>
<Abstract>Environmental sustainability initiatives have risen in popularity over recent decades. Companies are actively seeking to promote innovative practices to reduce environmental impact and attract the "green" shopper. The business-to-business (B2B) segment is no different, and many companies utilize proactive sustainability strategies. This thesis examines the important role that environmental sustainability plays within the B2B segment and makes recommendations on how to prioritize sustainability investments. RetailCo, a national provider of various material goods and services, provided data and support for analysis. Information was collected and analyzed from customer inquiries such as Requests for Proposals and Requests for Information. An online survey, constructed to determine customer sustainability priorities, was distributed to business customers. The results from both data sources were used to analyze customer preferences and priorities. Results were analyzed by industry type, company size, geographic region, and annual spend with RetailCo. Finally, interviews were conducted with select companies to compare survey results. Detailed analysis of all data sources shows that sustainable business customers are larger government or education organizations, and they appear to strongly favor electronics and paper product recycling initiatives. Although many companies show strong support for sustainability initiatives, price and quality continue to dominate purchasing decisions.</Abstract>
<Access xmlns="http://purl.org/coar/access_right"
>
</Access>
</Publication>