Sustainability of supply chains: Is there alignment?

Abstract

AbstractA sustainable supply chain, beyond green, must operate within a suitable financial structure, as well as contribute value to the society (Cuthbertson, 2011), being the three main sustainable dimensions for any organization. The aim of this work is to verify to what extent organizations configured in supply chains (SC) are aligned with sustainability and with each other, in the triple bottom line context. We analyzed the sustainability of supply chain of four organizations positioned in the condition of governance of their supply chain belonging to the commerce, industry, service, and public service sectors, all of which are recognized in the region and in the state, they are located by their social, financial, or environmental performances. We used mathematical alignment calculations based on the theoretical profile and profile deviation techniques to obtain indices of alignment with sustainability. The main finding was the medium‐ to high‐level alignment among SC members, whose practices are moderately sustainable. In addition, the work has an educative role while proposing a sustainability matrix in which it is possible to position the supply chain governance and its members and infer about the convergence of the sustainable practices between them.