An Integrated Carbon Policy-Based Interactive Strategy for Carbon Reduction and Economic Development in a Construction Material Supply Chain

Liming Zhang,Wei Yang,Yuan Yuan,Rui Zhou

doi:10.3390/su9112107

Abstract

Carbon emissions from the construction material industry have become of increasing concern due to increasingly urbanization and extensive infrastructure. Faced with serious atmospheric deterioration, governments have been seeking to reduce carbon emissions, with carbon trading and carbon taxes being considered the most effective regulatory policies. Over time, there has been a global consensus that integrated carbon trading/carbon tax policies are more effective in reducing carbon emissions. However, in an integrated carbon reduction policy framework, balancing the relationship between emission reductions and low-carbon benefits has been found to be a critical issue for governments and enterprises in both theoretical research and carbon emission reduction practices. As few papers have sought to address these issues, this paper seeks to reach a trade-off between economic development and environmental protection involving various stakeholders: regional governments which aim to maximize social benefits, and producers who seek economic profit maximization. An iterative interactive algorithmic method with fuzzy random variables (FRVs) is proposed to determine the satisfactory equilibrium between these decision-makers. This methodology is then applied to a real-world case to demonstrate its practicality and efficiency.

Highlights

The “low carbon” concept was introduced at the World Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, 2009, after which low carbon economies became the major focus in many countries, leading to the development of the green supply chain (GSC) [1]
The total carbon emission allowance for the construction material industry for the government was 29.5 × 105 t CO2, of which 9 × 105 t CO2, 9.5 × 105 t CO2, and 11 × 105 t CO2 were allocated to Producers A, B, and C, respectively
Carbon emission reduction is important to the sustainable development of the construction material industry

Summary

Introduction

The “low carbon” concept was introduced at the World Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, 2009, after which low carbon economies became the major focus in many countries, leading to the development of the green supply chain (GSC) [1]. As one of the six largest energy-consuming industries in China, the construction material industry represents 9% of the total energy consumption and 6% of total electricity consumption in China [8] It is a pillar industry in China since its added value makes up about 1% of the gross domestic product (GDP) each year [9]. The construction material industry has great potential with respect to energy conservation and carbon dioxide emission reduction, which could be of great significance to the achievement of total energy consumption control and transformation of low-carbon development. When carbon emission regulations are imposed in a marketplace, scientifically designed environmental plans can enhance innovation, reduce total production costs, and highlight enterprise value [11]. GSCM is a means for reducing potential losses from poor carbon emission performance that can intensify regulatory pressures [13], damage an enterprise’s image, attract government fines, and lead to customer boycotts or order cancellations [14,15]

Methods

Results

Conclusion