Sustainable supply chain management in energy production: A literature review

Abstract

Achieving high sustainability levels in the energy sector is at the heart of the United Nations and European Union goals. One of the main paths to achieve this is to adopt sustainable practices in energy supply chains (SCs). In this study, a systematic literature review has been carried out to analyze the triple-bottom-line of sustainability in the SCs of energy production. The main results show that the literature on the topic is scarce and unbalanced. For instance, the analysis of different energy sources is biased towards biomass. Moreover, key SC management aspects like inter-organizational coordination and certain stakeholder involvement i.e., customers, universities and/or research centers, are underrepresented in the analyzed literature. The study's main contribution is to identify and critically review the current key topics and gaps in the literature on sustainability in energy SCs. Based on the findings, a two-level research agenda is proposed that outlines six critical avenues that bring research, private actors, and decision-makers altogether to enhance the sustainability of energy SCs. The suggestions for future research included in the agenda are based on the gaps presented in the results of the literature review, as well as on the research directions highlighted in the analyzed literature. This study offers guidance to managers regarding best practices and fields of improvement, as well as to scholars by suggesting paths to fill gaps in the current body of literature and elaborate more sustainable energy SCs.