SSCM is defined as reformist SCM “which manages the material, information and capital flows as well as cooperation among companies along the supply chain while taking goals from all three dimensions of sustainable development, i.e. economic, environmental and social,into account which are derived from customer and stakeholder requirements”.The holistic view on sustainable supply chain management coversenvironmental, economic and social aspects. SSCM as strategic,nft system transparent integrationand achievement of an organization’s social, environmental, and economicgoals in the systemic coordination of key interorganizational businessprocesses for improving the long-term economic performance of the individualcompany and its supply chains.
SSCM relates to the long-term improvement of organizations and has implications for companies’ economic bottom lines . The concept of SSCM is considered across the entire supply chain; the upstream, the focal organization and the downstream supply chain. In the upstream,the suppliers are considered while in the downstream the consumers and ultimately its disposal are taken in consideration. Environmental and social issues do not only affect the focal organization, but also other stakeholders across the entire supply chain. The organizations need sustainability not just for the sake of practicing but because it is a primary management principle that needsto be observed . At the intersection of the three dimensions of the TBL is thecore of sustainability and there are a number of activities that not only positively affect the environment and immediate society but also have positive economic implications on the organization.
There is a direct relationship between sustainability and TBL performanceoutcomes of the organizations . The application of Elkington’s TBL in SC ismeant to ensure that organizations operate sustainable supply chains . The aim of TBL is not to suggest that firms should identify and engage in social and environmental activities not likely to harm economic performance but instead it guides managers to identify activities which improve economic performance anddictates the avoidance of social and environmental activities that lie outside ofthe intersection . The application of TBL in supply chain is meant to ensurethat organizations operate sustainable supply chains. Horticulture sector being avery important sector in any economy in the world, it is therefore of essence thatthe sector to be self sustaining by adopting all the three dimensions of the TBLconcept.From the above literature review and studies,hydroponic gutter it was evident that there existedlittle on the TBL and most importantly none of existing study on Sustainabilityand TBL Performance in Food sector with specific interest of Horticulture. Figure1 presents the proposed conceptual framework.The study adopted a descriptive design to all the 25 registered horticulturalfirms in Nairobi. The data was collected by use of questionnaires that were administeredby drop and pick method. The questionnaires contained four sections. Section 1 sought data on firm profile, Section 2 had questionson environmental, social and economic variables, Section 3 sought data on thetriggers/drivers of Sustainability in Horticulture Sector; and Section 4 containedquestions on the relationship between SSCM Practices and TBL Performance.Two respondents were considered from each firm to participate in the study.The author was interested in the supply chain managers or its equivalent as therespondents from the twenty-five horticultural firms.
The data was sorted and coded accordingly to allow more appropriate analysisto be carried out. Frequencies were used to show both the firm profile and theextent to which horticultural firms have adopted TBL concept and sustainability of supply chain; factor analysis was used for triggers/drivers of sustainability and regression analysis was applied to explain the relationship between TBL and performance outcomes. Tables and histograms were also used to enhance outputpresentation. The authors successfully collected back 37 out of 50 questionnaires from therespondents thus representing a response rate of 74%. The authors sought information of the ownership of the horticultural firms inNairobi area and its environments and the responses showed that 75.7% are locallyowned while only 24.3% of the firms are foreign owned. It was also notedthat most of the firms were not too old as it is depicted by the number of years the firm has been in operation which, majority registered 54.1% being below 10years in operation and only 45.9% having operated in Nairobi Kenya for yearsspanning between 10 20 years. 86.5% of firms have employees of above 50 thus this confirms the need for sustainability and triple bottom-line.