Environmental and reverse logistics policies in European bottling and packaging firms

Concern for the environment has led many firms to define policies that protect the environment within which they operate. This concern is reflected in all the activities of the product life cycle, both in those of direct logistics as well as reverse logistics. In order to set up environmentally friendly practices, bottling/packaging firms must maintain collaborative relations both upstream and downstream in the glass container value chain. This paper analyses the differences existing in the relations between bottling/packaging firms belonging to the food and drinks sector and their suppliers (fundamentally bottle/jar manufacturers) and their customers (end consumers of the packaged or bottled products) in two European countries with different characteristics: Spain and Belgium. The joint implantation of environmental practices was also studied, and more specifically those corresponding to the activities of reverse logistics.