Integration of cleaner production (CP) and sustainable supply chain management (SSCM):CP + SSCM → CPSSCM –Inspired from impacts of Cleaner production on China's macrophyte-dominated eutrophic lakes

Abstract

By considering the impacts of cleaner production (CP) on China's pulp industry, the synergistic effects of the capacity replacement policy on the focal sector and supply chain (SC) in China have been evaluated by taking into account its economic, eco-environmental, and social dimensions. The obtained results demonstrated that, when only focal enterprises were analysed on the nationwide scale, the capacity replacement policy was practical from economic and environmental perspectives, but sustainable problems manifest when we considered the five sustainable characteristics of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM). Furthermore, CP become not ‘clean’ when the SC of the reed pulp production was considered. The closure of small reed pulp mills (the focal sector) had destructive effects on reed harvesting (the supplier sectors), which intensifies the internal pollutant cycle (especially eutrophic pollutants) and accelerated the dying process of the lake and wetland. Hence, CP optimisation must necessarily include the SC and sustainability. From the obtained data, a win-win solution was proposed to apply the principles of SSCM to the optimisation of CP performance, which could be expressed as CP + SSCM→CPSSCM. CPSSCM not only provided a theoretical basis for CP implementation that current issues pertaining to SSCM. In addition, a conceptual model of CPSSCM was suggested and specific recommendations were provided for the underdeveloped countries by taking into account the main challenges posed by small-medium enterprises during CPSSCM implementation. It was also shown that implementing the proposed strategy might have wider implications in terms of controlling both the external discharge of pollutants and internal pollution of lakes.