Sustainability analysis and assessment in the supply chain

The purpose of this research is to investigate how sustainability is integrated into supply chain management (SCM). Emphasis is particularly devoted to determining how the sustainability of supply chains may be assessed. Four key objectives were developed to support this purpose: (1) define sustainable supply chain management (SSCM), (2) identify and analyze the published metrics for SSCM, (3) develop a comprehensive approach for assessing sustainability performance at the company level, and (4) develop an integrative sustainability performance framework for the broader context of supply chain. The first two objectives were accomplished through two different sets of in-depth literature reviews. The reviews focused on analyzing the convergences and divergences in the literature on green supply chain management (GSCM), SSCM, and the metrics used in these areas. The reviews helped provide the basis for accomplishing the remaining research objectives. Accordingly, stochastic models for measuring sustainability performance at the company and supply chain levels were developed. This research addresses several important gaps in the literature. As research on the integration of sustainability into SCM continues to expand, it becomes increasingly important to highlight the inconsistencies in the various definitions and metrics used to measure GSCM and SSCM. The lack of reasonably consistent definitions and metrics may lead to confusion regarding the appropriate scope in theory and practice of SSCM initiatives. Exploring the implications of and potential resolutions to the many differences in the published definitions and metrics provide much needed reference points, and further provide the foundation necessary to support the development of scientifically-sound sustainability models. By providing relatively simple and informative measurement, the model developed in Objective 3 presents a unique method of adopting the strong sustainability concept to assessing sustainability at the company level. Furthermore, by providing an original and straightforward analytical approach, the SSCM models developed in Objective 4 are one of the first to explicitly adopt probabilistic approaches for sustainability assessment in the supply chain context. Given their unique ability to accommodate any number of SSCM characteristics, the models can be employed as integrative, multi-dimensional tools for evaluating changes in the sustainability status of a supply chain over time.

Evaluation of green and sustainable supply chain management using structural equation modelling: A systematic review of the state of the art literature and recommendations for future research

In recent years, the interdisciplinary research of supply chains and sustainability has received extensive, yet gradual, attention; when compared to the rapid economic growth of the service industry, however, sustainable supply chain management has not been systematically explored yet. It has not only great theoretical significance, but also positive practical significance to provide a framework for the operation of a sustainable service supply chain from a sustainable development point of view. Based on the triple bottom line (TBL), we have analyzed related sustainable supply chain management research between 2006 and 2015, reviewed papers involving two or three bottom lines as well, and then introduced some classical frameworks for manufacturing supply chain management and service supply chain management. Afterward, by analyzing the differences between the manufacturing and service industries, we propose a framework of sustainable service supply chain management (SSSCM). Based on the impacts of sustainable development TBL on service supply chain participants, we have finally made a framework for sustainable operation facing triads service supply chain and proposed a future research agenda.

Although significant research has been undertaken on sustainable and green supply chain management, the investigation of the roles of two important sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices - codes of conduct and human resource management practices - in improving a buyer's and a supplier's sustainability performance is almost absent in the sustainability literature. Using multiple theories and drawing from the literature on sustainability, corporate social responsibility, supply chain management, operations management, and human resource management, this study offers a research model and relevant propositions that show how the implementation of these practices can result in sustainability performance for both suppliers and buyers. The paper concludes with further research implications of the study.

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to identify key categories of Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) and related practices that are required to fulfill the demands of sustainability and, therefore, contributing to sustainability performance. As part of this, the authors will identify different approaches in practice implementation in SSCM and supply chain management (SCM). SSCM has become a topic of great interest and is linked to the assumption that a more sustainable performance for businesses would be achieved on its implementation. Such performance has to be achieved with respect to all three dimensions of sustainability. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is conceptual in nature. The authors draw from literature on SSCM and examine frameworks and critical accounts on the topic. This allows identifying key aspects of SSCM and pointing out differences and overlaps with SCM. Findings – The authors identify five key categories which are of high importance for the sustainable management of supply chains: orientation toward SCM and sustainability, continuity, collaboration, risk management and proactivity. In a second step, the authors describe distinctive practices which allow organizations to follow the goals formulated in the five key categories. Finally, they highlight issues preventing companies that follow a rather “conventional” approach to SCM to reach the level where it can be called SSCM, i.e. how to reach sustainability performance in SCM. Research limitations/implications – The work presented is conceptual in nature. It would be required to operationalize respective categories and, therefore, test them in empirical research. Practical implications – The categories and practices identified within the framework can be used for guiding managers toward the implementation of SSCM. This is the case when management takes performance implication into account without solely considering rather simplistic indicators. At the same time, differentiating a company based on the implementation of sustainability practices has become more difficult, due to the proliferation of sustainability in a wider field. Social implications – Social aspects are integrated into the framework on the same level as environmental and economic aspects, emphasizing the triple bottom line orientation. Originality/value – While all practices applied in SSCM have originally been identified and described by researchers for the case of “conventional” SCM, their particular interrelation and joint implementation makes up SSCM and ensures a contribution to sustainability performance.

The sustainable supply chain is an integration of mainly environmental and social aspects to the traditional supply chain for an organization’s economic performance over a long period and creating a competitive advantage. Supply chain collaboration or strategic partnership is important in the supply chain network, which can result in effective sustainable supply chain in all three dimensions of environmental, social, and economic aspects of an organization. In the present study, an attempt has been made to develop a conceptual framework in understanding the role of supplier strategic partnership and collaboration in creating a sustainable supply chain in Indian aerospace industries. This framework has been developed by considering the concepts and research gaps identified by several researchers in the relevant research articles on sustainability, sustainable supply chain management, green supply chain management, supplier collaboration, or strategic partnership. This framework is developed focusing on goal 9 of the 17 sustainable development goals namely Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.

In supply chain management, economical objectives have traditionally guided decisions of the supply chains. However, with increased global environmental and social concerns, in recent years, green aspects have been incorporated in supply chain decisions. These expansions lead to new research areas about green or sustainable supply chain management that includes applying various green practices in order to reduce negative impact on the environment or providing sustainable development. The purpose of this study is to develop a multi-objective optimization model for determining network design of the green supply chains. In multi-objective frame of the proposed model, total profit maximization and environmental impact minimization objectives are considered in order to obtain best network configuration for economic and environmental performance of the green chain. The proposed model is validated with numerical experiments. Obtained results showed that the model can be used as a strategic decision tool in problems with multi and conflicting objectives. Keywords: Green supply chain management, multi-objective modelling, network optimization;

Literature on sustainability governance of supply chains typically maintains that supplying organizations can be treated as a homogenous group, and that sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) entails a unanimous set of practices. In this paper, we expose the diversity of SSCM practices and explore how organizational sustainability identities (OSI) act as their drivers. Through a comparative qualitative inquiry comprising organizations from food and metal products supply chains, we find that OSI of SSCM-practicing organizations affect i) which types of suppliers are perceived as relevant to engage in SSCM, ii) what sustainability criteria are applied to suppliers, and iii) how they are managed in diverse ways to contribute to sustainability transitions. We present a model of OSI co-construction which shows how the diversity of SSCM practices unfolds through three process dimensions, namely OSI balancing, OSI translation, and OSI structuration. This model and the empirical insights obtained document and clarify the previously unexplored link between organizational identity and impacts through SSCM practices.

In today's supply chains, green and sustainable business practices have become an integral part of long-term strategy as well as the day-to-day operations, and sourcing and logistics play fundamental roles in ensuring the success of sustainable supply chains. In this chapter, we review recent research on three classes of decision models that are used in the logistics and sourcing functions of sustainable supply chains. Specifically, we examine and summarize recent developments in sustainable decision models for supplier selection, inventory lot-sizing, and last-mile delivery. Our review of the green and sustainable features found in these three models results in a single-source consolidation of models used in sustainable sourcing and logistics. This review may prove useful to researchers who focus on sustainable supply chain management and to practitioners who seek to expand their toolkit of models for the management and control of their supply chain.

Wicked problems compel supply chain researchers to consider social, economic, and ecological systems; to consider sustainability. Hence, we review current operationalizations of sustainability with an emphasis on showing why these concepts search for short-term synergies while not addressing tensions between economic performance and social or environmental performance. Next we demonstrate that, for this reason, current research will not lead to creating truly sustainable supply chains. To understand how truly sustainable supply chains can be created, we provide an overview of unsolved salient environmental and social issues. Finally, the chapter argues that supply chain management scholars and managers will have truly embraced sustainability when they accept a long-term perspective. A long-term perspective will still allow synergies to be leveraged, but tensions will also be addressed with an end result of moving closer to truly sustainable supply chains.

In 2009, Greenpeace launched an aggressive campaign against Nestle, accusing the organization of driving rainforest deforestation through its palm oil suppliers. The objective was to damage the brand image of Nestle and, thereby, force the organization to make its supply chain more sustainable. Prominent cases such as these have led to the prevailing view that sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) is primarily reactive and propelled by external pressures. This research, in contrast, assumes that SSCM can contribute positively to the reputation of an organization as a “good citizen” and, thereby, counter the impression that external stakeholder pressure is the only driver of SSCM. The study draws on Resource Dependence Theory in analyzing the three competing models of the potential stakeholder, SSCM and the corporate sustainability performance relationship. A dataset of 1,621 organizations allows the statistical comparison of these three models. Findings suggest that stakeholder pressure and SSCM both contribute to an organization’s sustainability performance. Thus, supply chain managers will perceive benefits from SSCM other than merely the reduction of risk from reputational damage through stakeholder activism.

Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) has become one of the critical strategies in an organization whereby environmental, social, and operational responsibility have been incorporated in the supply chain processes. Although the importance of SSCM to enhance the efficiency and sustainability performance of an organization is not new, the role it has on the welfare of workers especially work-life balance continues to present an area of concern in research. This paper focuses on sustainable supply chain management and work-life balance in relation to bank employees in Pakistan. The quantitative research design was taken and data was gathered on 300 employees working in different commercial banks using a structured questionnaire. The relationship between the variables was studied using statistical methods such as descriptive analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis. The results indicated that sustainable supply chain management positively influenced greatly the work-life balance of employees. The findings showed that good sustainable supply chain practices enhance the efficiency of operations, ease unnecessary workloads strains, as well as provide organized and supportive working conditions. The correlation analysis revealed the presence of a strong positive correlation between sustainable supply chain management and work-life balance whereas the regression analysis indicated that sustainable supply chain management is an important predictor of employee work-life balance. These results indicate that sustainability conscious organizational behaviors do not only emerge in the operational performance but also in the wellbeing of the employees. The paper finds that sustainable supply chain management is a critical component of enhancing employee work-life balance through enhancing the work processes in an organization and minimizing the work stress. The results are useful to the bank management and policymakers to incorporate sustainability in the organization strategies to improve the welfare of the employees and organizational performance. The strategic approach of developing efficient, responsible and people-oriented organizations, sustainable supply chain management may be used.

Sustainability is a timely topic. A sustainable supply chain is one which aims to maximize the system's performance in three dimensions, namely environment, economics, and society. In the fashion industry, with the advance of big data related information technologies, achieving a sustainable supply chain is no longer a dream. In this paper, we first establish that a fashion supply chain is in fact a typical system of systems. Then, we examine several critical big data related technologies and applications which are related to sustainable fashion supply chain management. After that, we develop and present the design principles, from a system of systems perspective, for developing a sustainable fashion supply chain. Based on these principles, we further propose a novel five steps framework for achieving sustainable fashion supply chain management in the big data era. A sustainable fashion supply chain system of systems matrix is also constructed.

Green supply chain management (GSCM) integrates environmental considerations into traditional supply chain management (SCM) to enhance sustainability and reduce environmental impact. By adopting this, firms can improve efficiency, minimise waste, and achieve competitive advantages while addressing economic, social, and environmental goals. At the heart of this transformation lies the digitalisation of supply chains, which involves the consolidation of processes and data onto unified platforms, the automation of key operations, and the utilisation of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and the Internet of Things (IoT). These technologies empower organisations to analyse vast data, enabling them to identify, predict, and prevent issues that may compromise sustainability objectives. This chapter briefly introduces sustainability in the supply chain, and the digital revolution impacting the supply chain, and further elaborates on the impact of these trends on supply chain performance. The chapter also includes a bibliometric review of the use of digital technology on supply chain performance. The review analyses the publication trends, identifies key research areas, and assesses influential authors, institutions, and core journals about the identified topic. It also examines geographical distribution, citation networks, and collaborative networks while highlighting common methodologies and research gaps. The review reveals a growing number of publications annually, particularly in recent years, indicating increased research activity at the intersection of supply chain sustainability and digital technology. It offers evidence-based insights for policymakers and industry leaders to implement effective sustainability and technology strategies in supply chains and highlights under-researched areas, guiding future research efforts to advance the field.

PurposeCompanies are increasingly challenged by sustainability-related supply chain risks. Research has developed linking supply chain sustainability priorities, practices and triple bottom line performance; however, risk is rarely included in these models. The purpose of this paper is to understand the link between sustainable supply chain strategies, practices and performance, and to test the importance of risk management practices in this relationship focusing on the product category level.Design/methodology/approachThe paper includes a survey of supply managers in four countries with 305 responses, with a focus on upstream supply chain strategies at the product category level.FindingsThe environmental and social sustainability strategies lead to sustainable supply sustainable performance, through focused practices in either area, but the effect on operational and cost performance is not significant. Social supply chain strategies positively impact environmental and cost performance when mediated by risk assessment practices.Originality/valueThis paper shows a more nuanced view of the impact of supply chain practices on the strategy–performance link. It is one of the first papers to empirically test the role of risk practices in sustainable supply chain management and emphasize the importance of alignment across the main dimensions of sustainability to achieve positive sustainable performance outcomes, but not necessarily cost and operational performance. Unlike other studies, social sustainability priorities may positively impact environmental and social performance and is linked to cost advantage when implemented with risk assessment practices.