There is much positive 'buzz' around GSCM practices in New
Zealand, yet some remain unconvinced of the commitment
by the country's SMEs to real environmental improvement.
For example, in 2007 New Zealand had just 182 adopters of
ISO 14001 which compared with the United Arab Emirates
(172) and Estonia (182), but lagged far behind countries such
as Egypt (379), South Africa (406), and Iran (780). Moreover,
if New Zealand supply chain managers resemble their
American counterparts, reducing their company's carbon
footprint is well down the priority list behind such things
as cost reduction, customer service and speed to market. A
comprehensive project is required to research the drivers
and barriers to environmental performance improvement
by SMEs in New Zealand, and to quantitatively compare its
performance internationally.