Using AHP to evaluate barriers in adopting sustainable consumption and production initiatives in a supply chain

Abstract

Sustainable consumption and production (SCP) is becoming a key focus for companies and organizations aiming to ensure sustainability in business. However, the adoption and implementation of SCP initiatives in a supply chain can be a major challenge due to existence of several barriers. Therefore, this work aims to identify and evaluate barriers related to the adoption of SCP initiatives in the supply chain. A total of 15 barriers in adopting SCP initiatives are listed through literature and expert inputs. The listed barriers are then evaluated to determine their relative importance using an Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique. The usefulness of the proposed work is shown by taking the case example of a plastic manufacturing organization in India. According to the findings, the category of barriers related to ‘Government support and policies’ was attributed the highest importance among other barriers in adopting SCP initiatives in the supply chain. Overall, the purpose of this work is to aid managers and practitioners through important insights as well as support their decision-making in terms of managing SCP implementation issues in the supply chain, in an effective and efficient manner.