A Novel Integrated Approach for Green Supplier Selection with Interval-Valued Intuitionistic Uncertain Linguistic Information: A Case Study in the Agri-Food Industry

Hua Shi,Mei-Yun Quan,Hu-Chen Liu,Chun-Yan Duan

doi:10.3390/su10030733

Hua Shi, Mei-Yun Quan + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030733

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Abstract

With strengthening global consciousness of environmental protection, green supply chain management plays an increasingly important role in modern enterprise production operation management. A critical means to implement green supply chain management is incorporating environmental requirements into the supplier selection practices. In this paper, we put forward a novel integrated approach by using interval-valued intuitionistic uncertain linguistic sets (IVIULSs) and grey relational analysis (GRA)-technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method for the evaluation and selection of green suppliers. First, various qualitative assessments of alternatives provided by decision makers are described by the IVIULSs. Then, the GRA-TOPSIS method is extended and employed to prioritize the alternative suppliers. The proposed model can handle the uncertainty and fuzziness of decision makers’ subjective evaluations more easily and get a more realistic and accurate ranking of green suppliers. Finally, an illustrative example in the agri-food industry is presented to verify the proposed green supplier selection model and demonstrate its practicality and effectiveness.

Highlights

In recent years, public concerns on environmental issues and sustainable development have increased greatly throughout the world [1]
This paper aims to propose a novel integrated approach by using interval-valued intuitionistic uncertain linguistic sets (IVIULSs) and the grey relational analysis (GRA)-TOPSIS method for the evaluation and selection of green suppliers
We presented a novel integrated approach by integrating IVIULSs and the GRA-TOPSIS method to assess and select the best green supplier under uncertain information context

Summary

Introduction

Public concerns on environmental issues and sustainable development have increased greatly throughout the world [1]. Many business organizations have modified their supply chain activities to reduce negative environmental impacts and enhance sustainability levels [2,3,4]. Green supply chain management (GSCM) has become more prominent than ever before, because the competitiveness of a company is strongly dependent on the performance of its supply chain [5,6]. The GSCM literature has focused on aiding existing organizations enhance their environmental performance through acquiring certifications or introducing green practices [9,10]. Green supplier selection is the essential core, which directly impacts the compatibility of a supply chain and the environmental performance of a manufacturer [11]. Selection of the optimal green supplier is a key strategic decision in the management of green supply chain, which needs to be explored methodically to implement green initiatives in supply chains [12,13,14]

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