Our model was tested in a two-phase survey of green supply in the UK conducted during 1998. The first phase involved interviews with senior managers in 24 business units within UK public limited companies. The aim of this phase was to assess the strategic threats and opportunities posed by the environmental agenda on purchasing and supply activity. The interviews were conducted in a broad cross-section of industries, in order to capture managerial interpretations of green supply and potential management strategies and tactics across a wide variety of business activity. Table 1 provides a size and industry breakdown of the business units in this study. They varied in their position in the supply chain from extraction, through preproduction, manufacture, distribution, and retail. Various support activities, such as civil engineering and transport, were also included. The sample of business units included industries considered both “clean” and “dirty.” The industry group definitions were derived from other similar studies (see Bowen 2001 for details). “High impact” includes chemicals, oil, metal, pulp and paper, energy production/utilities, and mining. “Other manufacturing” includes all manufacturing activities that are not “high impact.” “Other nonmanufacturing” includes transport and communications, construction, and wholesale and retail activities, but excludes finance, insurance, business services, and other services. Within each industry companies varied from those with exemplary environmental records to those with very poor ones. This cross-sectional approach helped avoid the biased insights of previous research focused on environmentally engaged industries (e.g., Carter and Carter 1998; Carter, Ellram, and Ready 1998). All the business units in the sample were part of large corporations (annual turnover greater than £300 m). Semistructured interviews, each lasting around an hour, were conducted with at least one senior manager in each business unit. Access to the interviews was gained by approaching the Managing Director or CEO by letter. Most respondents were senior general managers in the business units; others included specialists in HSE (Health, Safety and Environment), Purchasing, or Production/Operations. All the interviews were undertaken at the respondent’s