role of technology in the environmental performance of the brazilian chemical industry

Purpose: The objective of this study is to examine the mediating effects of technology on the relationship between green supply chain management and performance of the Brazilian chemical industry. Originality/Value: The pressure for sustainable environment has emerged in companies, the incorporation of technologies as part of the manufacture of products. However, incorporating technologies into manufacturing does not always represent a reduction of the environmental burden. They can cause environmental externalities. The article makes it easier to understand the role of these technologies in the management of the green supply chain. Design/methodology/approach: It was considered of descriptive nature of the quantitative type. The data were collected through a semistructured questionnaire with a sample consisting of 160 Brazilian chemical companies. Processed by structural equation modeling, it generated an empirical theoretical model composed of three main constructs: technology, green supply chain management and environmental performance. Findings: The application of the theoretical empirical model revealed that the technology partially mediates the relationship between green supply chain management and the environmental performance of Brazilian chemical companies. There was evidence that technologies provided tangible competitive advantages, although several of them could only be achieved in the long term. The study suggested implications of theoretical nature, such as having an integrated managerial vision between company and environment; and of practical nature in which new ways of designing products can reduce environmental externalities, often without any technology being used to so.