Evaluating Sustainable Supply Chain Practices in Office Furniture SMEs and Assessing Strategies to Develop Sustainable Operations in Line with UAE Regulations

Abstract

Sustainability is one of the most critically appraised topics recently. Official entities are taking approaches towards implementing sustainability in different countries through different processes. United Nations Agenda is to move the whole world to be sustainable by 2030. According to this initiative, many governments started to be proactive and respond to the global approach towards sustainability. UAE government took the approach of sustainability adoption in all practices and regulations. The UAE has a vision of being the most clean sustainable country in the world, to be achieved by 2021. Launching projects like Istedama in Abu Dhabi and sustainable city in Dubai are samples of serious practices towards sustainability. Recycling, using renewable energy, green building, waste management, importing regulations are newly published by the government and to be regulated through municipalities to ensure that all practices comply with the governmental strategies of the UAE. This research was prepared to investigate the new sustainability regulations in the UAE and to critically evaluate supply chain challenges that SMEs in office furniture industry face to comply with UAE sustainable operations standards. Bene GMBH is the chosen company to be the case study of this research. It was chosen for two reasons, first; it is an existing company playing in the UAE market since year 2000, and this will help to evaluate the changes that occurred recently to apply sustainability standards. Second, Bene is considered as a successful model of sustainable SME in office furniture industries. The collaboration between businesses and governments will be the ultimate approach to reach a real sustainable world. As for furniture industries, integrated practices of design, material selection, practices, waste disposal and governmental follow up and inspection is the optimization for sustainable products that preserves environmental rights. This conclusion is the main step to move forward in the direction of achieving the research aim.