From responsible sourcing of wastes to sustainable energy consumption in the blue hydrogen supply chain: Case of nearshoring in Nuevo Leon

Abstract

Despite global uncertainties, Mexico has become the largest supplier to the United States, emphasizing its growing role in cultivating resilient supply chains. Nearshoring practices from Mexico and Canada to the U.S. present new production opportunities. Increasingly, U.S. consumers place a premium on sustainable consumption, so blue hydrogen plants must be sourced responsibly. This paper firstly goes beyond economic motivations, aiming to formulate a multi-stage methodology for assessing suppliers of municipal solid waste for blue hydrogen plants, marking a pioneering effort in catering to the environmentally conscious preferences of U.S. consumers. The purpose of this work is to examine a case study of Blue Hydrogen production in Nuevo Leon, emphasizing the importance of developing responsible sourcing criteria for waste suppliers to limited blue hydrogen plants. The developed hybrid approach integrates various methodologies, including Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH), fuzzy rough sets, hierarchical fuzzy rough analysis, Fuzzy rough WASPAS, TOPSIS, and Best-Worst Method (BWM), providing a comprehensive framework for decision-making under uncertainty. Key findings include the identification of water conservation (E2) and job creation (S2) as the top environmental and social criteria, respectively. Supplier WC2 was identified as the top-performing waste collector, achieving a final score of 4.77. This structured methodology prioritizes product categories for hydrogen consumption, considering sustainability criteria and U.S. consumer preferences, thereby offering valuable insights for businesses navigating this evolving landscape.