Sustainable Supply Chain Initiatives Research Articles

Customs intelligence and risk management in sustainable supply chain for general customs department logistics

In this descriptive analytical study conducted within the Jordanian Customs Department, the influence of Customs Intelligence and Risk Management on Sustainable Supply Chain practices and their subsequent effects on Customs Department Logistics were investigated. Data collected through a structured questionnaire distributed to department employees were analyzed using Smart PLS-4. The findings revealed that Customs Intelligence significantly shapes Sustainable Supply Chain practices, emphasizing the importance of data driven decision-making in achieving sustainability goals. Effective Risk Management strategies were found to positively contribute to Sustainable Supply Chain initiatives, highlighting the symbiotic relationship between risk mitigation and sustainability. Sustainable Supply Chain practices, in turn, were demonstrated to enhance the efficiency of Customs Department Logistics. Furthermore, the study unveiled that Sustainable Supply Chain acts as a mediator, enhancing the impact of both Risk Management and Customs Intelligence on Logistics outcomes. These findings collectively underscore the intricate dynamics of these factors in the context of the Jordanian Customs Department, providing valuable insights for optimizing logistics operations, ensuring compliance, and fostering sustainability. This paper contributes valuable insights and empirical evidence to the fields of customs-related logistics, risk management, sustainable supply chain management, and logistics operations within the Jordanian Customs Department. The paper provides recommendations that have the potential to inform and improve logistics practices, benefiting stakeholders in both the public and private sectors and advancing the understanding of these critical dynamics in the broader logistics and supply chain management discipline.

How reverse logistics and sustainable supply chain initiatives influence sustainability performance: the moderating role of organisational learning capability

PurposeThis research attempts to explore how reverse logistics (RL) and sustainable supply chain initiatives (SSCI) affect sustainability performance (SP) in the manufacturing industry under the moderating effects of organisational learning capability (OLC). At the same time, this study is expected to allow manufacturers to advance towards a high level of model generation in the green economy.Design/methodology/approachThe data for this study was obtained from 451 manufacturing companies in the Hebei Province, China. This study develops a model and tests all hypothesised relationships using partial least square–structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with two-step analytical procedures.FindingsThe results indicate that SSCI and RL have a positive relationship with SP, and SSCI is positively related to RL. Moreover, the OLC moderates the relationship between RL and SP as well as the relationship between SSCI and SP.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of the study yield valuable managerial insights on how the effective implementation of green practices, coupled with the utilisation of learning capabilities, can contribute to improving the sustainability of manufacturing firms. The study has certain limitations that suggest potential avenues for future research, the most significant of which is our reliance on data from a single country, which may impede the generalisability of the findings.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing literature on SP by considering RL and SSCI and offers a unique theoretical argument that describes the relationships by considering the moderating effect of OLC, which has not been empirically explored.

Sustainable supply chain and circular economy ingenuities in small manufacturing firms- a stimulus for sustainable development

The corporate world is facing the mounting challenges of environment, governance and sustainability for growth and survival in an unpredictable business and environment climate. As the supply chains responsible for four fifths of gas emissions, has made a shift from linear to circular, created a lot of attention of academia, governments, and practitioners. This study provides evaluating the impact of the supply chain and circular economy initiatives of small business units on their sustainable value based corporate performance by practicing sustainable circular supply chain activities. In addition, it provides a clear sway of sustainable supply chain activities have any influence on the circular economic, social and environmental factors. Based on this uniqueness, the researchers proposed a framework to identify the linkage and the impact of the strategic approach, the sustainable circular supply chain initiatives with its corporate value-based performance for small manufacturing units. Data was collected using a pre-tested questionnaire from 486 respondents which includes the Chief Operations Officers in small paper bag manufacturing units located in the business clusters of region of Tamil Nadu. The findings have clinched that the initiatives of SCM, structuring the circular economy practices leads to sustainable circular supply chain management practices in supplier management, warehousing, inventory, distribution and logistics, which led to provide the value based corporate performance as resulted in analysis.

An assessment of sustainable supply chain initiatives in Indian automobile industry using PPS method

An assessment of sustainable supply chain initiatives in Indian automobile industry using PPS method

Does Stakeholder Pressure Matters in Adopting Sustainable Supply Chain Initiatives? Insights from Agro-Based Processing Industry

Over the past few years, sustainable supply chain initiatives (SSCIs) have grabbed attention in the domestic, as well as global, marketplace of the food sector. Nowadays, the success of the entire food supply chain depends on the prosperity of farms, local communities, trader processors, and agro-based industries. Despite its importance, food processing industries (FPIs) are encountering various hurdles in achieving sustainable business goals due to the sheer number of potential barriers. Due to this reason, stakeholders are continuously pressuring the management of FPIs to embrace sustainable food processing activities. In light of this, the present study aims to apply a hybrid fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (F-AHP) framework, based on fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to the ideal solution (F-TOPSIS), for analyzing the barriers and prioritizing the possible pathways in adopting the SSCIs for the development of FPIs. Based on the extensive review of literature and panel consultation with experienced experts, a total of seven main barriers, forty-two sub barriers, and five possible pathways as strategic tools were finalized and ranked. An empirical case investigation of a Pakistani-based food processing company has been taken to check the practical application of the proposed framework along with sensitivity analysis. The findings of this study reveal that the lack of sustainable outsourcing factors were found as the top-ranked barrier in implementing SSCIs, and the possible pathway to overcome this barrier is the appropriate management of the procurement cycle. The major contribution of this study is to establish a barriers prioritization framework and suggest possible pathways to overcome these barriers for the successful implementation of SSCIs. Finally, the theoretical, managerial, and policy implications are provided as a way forward for the concerned stakeholders and policymakers.

Industry 4.0 adoption for sustainability in multi-tier manufacturing supply chain in emerging economies

Achieving sustainable supply chain performance in a multi-tier manufacturing supply chain to curtail the non-environmental-friendly practices is one of the most significant challenges. Industry 4.0 advancements in technology not only fosters sustainable supply chain initiatives that can maximize economic gains but also reduce environmental impacts and contribute to social development. The present study perused a systematic way to deal with this problem by evaluation of drivers and barriers for implementation of Industry 4.0 in multi-tier manufacturing supply chains. Based on practitioner’s opinion, a total of 37 drivers and 21 barriers were identified under five dimensions viz., technological, organizational, economic, environmental, and social, and their inter-relationships were also established in a multi-tier supply chain. The results show that the sustainable aspects, that includes the environmental and social factors, were the highest-ranked drivers and identified as the causal variables. At the same time, organizational and environmental dimensions were identified as the highly ranked barriers and causal factors. The study highlights drivers and barriers to industry 4.0 adoption with the sustainability context in multi-tier manufacturing supply chain. The implications identify the need for developing ethical code and standards between the stakeholders in multi-tier manufacturing supply chain. Theoretical and practical implications are provided for the managers and policymakers

Scaling up zero-deforestation initiatives through public-private partnerships: A look inside post-conflict Colombia

The rise of public and private zero-deforestation commitments is opening a new collaborative space in global forest governance. Governments seeking to reduce national greenhouse gas emissions by protecting and restoring forests are partnering with companies motivated to eliminate deforestation from supply chains. The proliferation of zero-deforestation initiatives is creating opportunities for policy synergies and scaling up impacts, but has led to a more complex regulatory landscape. Drawing on policy analysis and expert interviews, we explore public-private policy interactions in Colombia as a case study for tropical forested nations with interest in aligning climate, forest, and development goals. We consider how zero-deforestation priorities are set on the national agenda and scaled up through public-private partnerships. We identify zero-deforestation initiatives in three overlapping governance domains—domestic public policy, REDD+, sustainable supply chain initiatives—and highlight ten multi-stakeholder pledges that have catalyzed supporting initiatives at multiple scales. Emerging from decades of armed conflict, Colombia is pursuing a peace building model based on low-emissions rural development. The peace deal provided a focusing event for zero-deforestation that converged with political momentum and institutional capacity to open a policy window. A government pledge to eliminate deforestation in the Colombian Amazon by 2020 set the national agenda and stimulated international REDD+ cooperation. Lessons from Colombia show that governments provide important directionality among the proliferation of zero-deforestation initiatives. Public pledges and the orchestration of actors through public-private partnerships allow governments to scale up efforts by aligning transnational activities with national priorities. The case of Colombia serves as a potential zero-deforestation model for other nations, but challenges around equitable land tenure, illegality, and enforcement must be overcome for multi-stakeholder initiatives to produce long-term change.

Antecedents of sustainable supply chain initiatives: Empirical evidence from the S&P 500

AbstractPrior research on sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) has almost exclusively focused on environmental aspects (GSCM—green supply chain management) and the study of its external drivers and consequences. Framing our study within the “strategy‐conduct‐performance” paradigm, we consider the focal firm's role in the implementation of sustainable supply chain initiatives, social as well as environmental. We use data on the S&P 500 Index retrieved from Bloomberg, including variables for two relevant focal firm strategies: (a) reducing the environmental footprint of the supply chain and (b) reducing social risks in the supply chain (SRSS). Hierarchical logit modeling is carried out to examine the sequential impact of governance board characteristics and the focal firm's adoption of related internal policies and practices on the likelihood of implementing these initiatives along the supply chain. Controlling for industry, firm size, and resources, we find that board structure and diversity influence the implementation of sustainable supply chain initiatives by increasing organizational commitment to environmentally friendly and socially responsible policies and practices. Consequently, empirical evidence exists for the importance of strategic factors, namely a proactive corporate stance on sustainability associated with governance board characteristics, as antecedents of sustainable (environmental and social) supply chain initiatives.

Categorizing the barriers in adopting sustainable supply chain initiatives: A way-forward towards business excellence

Sustainable supply chain initiatives (SSCI) increasingly attract the interest of industrialists, policy makers and academia in achieving business excellence. There is a tremendous pressure from sta...

A Review of Sustainable Supply Chain Initiatives

There are three dimensions of sustainability: Financial, Social and Economic. The companies who are working in area of sustainability must include these facets. The performance of any company can’t be measured just on the basis of financial performance but also we need to focus on the social and environmental performance. The organisations now need to take initiatives in the era of sustainability which include all three components of 3BL.This article is the review article and provides the literature review of sustainable supply chain management and also drivers of sustainability are also introduced. This study elaborate the literature on sustainable strategies in relation to environmental and social concerns. This study introduces a process view of Sustainable Supply Chain Management and identifies 10 sustainable supply chain processes (SSCPs) from literature. Further, a tabular view is proposed considering significance of various SSCPs and their sustainability objectives with the issues faced by them. This study introduces an approach to enhance sustainability of supply chain basis on theoretical lenses of stakeholder theory and resourced based view.

Sustainable supply chain initiatives in reducing greenhouse gas emission within the road freight industry

Background: Global supply chains have evolved from a traditional simple supply chain to one that is filled with complexities and uncertainties. The increase in road freight transportation has resulted in an escalation in the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere, impacting climate change.Objectives: The purpose of this article was to investigate the implementation of sustainable supply chain initiatives in reducing GHG emissions within the South African road freight transport industry.Method: This research utilised a case study approach and used primary data, obtained through self-administered questionnaires, to explore the adopting sustainable transport management practices.Results: The main drivers for implementing sustainable initiatives are pressure from consumer and brand protection, pressure from top management, and cost saving and revenue. Eco-driving, eco-routing and increasing vehicle carrying capacity are the most adopted sustainable supply chain initiatives implemented. The key benefits resulting from implementing sustainable initiatives were operational cost savings, improved competitive advantage and enhanced supplier relationships. Also, the lack of government support, lack of understanding of the cost and insufficient manpower were identified as the foremost challenges associated with the implementation of these sustainable initiatives.Conclusion: The results reveal that organisations are placed under enormous pressure to implement sustainable practices. This study identifies various sustainable initiatives to reduce GHG emissions and addresses the associated benefits and challenges when implementing these initiatives.

Modernisation of dairy farms: the case of Nestlé’s Dairy Farming Institute in China

Subject area Operations and Logistics. Study level/applicability Senior undergraduate students and postgraduate students specialising in agricultural economics/agribusiness/supply chain management and can also be used for executive training for supply chain managers and corporate social responsibility (CSR) managers of food companies. Case overview This case presents an industry leading company – Nestlé’s sustainable initiative in its dairy supply chain in China. The case begins with the background of China’s dairy industry, followed by an introduction of the case company. The case then moves on to the comparison of Nestlé’s fresh milk supply chain operation before and after 2008 and different approaches to help the dairy suppliers’ transformation. The focus is on Nestlé’s innovative industry collaboration platform, the Dairy Farming Institute. Expected learning outcomes This case allows students to explore the following theoretical frameworks: sustainable supply chain management; supply chain leadership, supply chain learning and supply chain structure. By analysing this case, students should be able to gain an understanding of how multinational corporations (MNCs) play a supply chain leadership role in supply chain learning of sustainable supply chain initiatives. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 9: Operations and Logistics.

Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative and Reverse Logistic

Global outsourcing shifts manufacturing jobs to emerging countries, which provides new opportunities for improving their economic development. The authors develop and test a theoretical model to predict first, how sustainable supply chain initiatives might influence reverse logistics outcomes and second, the impact of eco-reputation and eco-innovation orientation strategies on the deployment of sustainable supply chain initiatives. The paper aims to discuss these issues. The proposed new model of antecedents and outcomes of sustainable supply chain initiatives underwent a rigorous empirical test through structural equation modeling with samples from an emerging market. Design/methodology/approach: The proposed new model of antecedents and outcomes of sustainable supply chain initiatives underwent a rigorous empirical test through structural equation modeling with samples from an emerging market. Findings: The results show that firms that implement sustainable supply chain initiatives can realize positive reverse logistics outcomes; the study also provides new insights into eco-innovation and eco-reputation strategic orientations as theoretically important antecedents of sustainable supply chain initiatives. Research limitations/implications: Though the authors identify three components of sustainable supply chain initiatives, other components could exist, and ongoing research should investigate them. Practical implications: The findings have important implications for managers in emerging markets seeking to initiate ecologically friendly business practices. The authors offer strong evidence of the benefits obtained from reverse logistics in sustainable supply chain initiatives. Policy makers and firms attempting to nurture sustainable supply chain initiatives should not overlook the important role of eco-reputation and eco-innovation strategic orientations, which the results identify as important enablers. Originality/value: This study offers evidence of the critical role of eco-reputation and eco-innovation strategic orientations in deploying sustainable supply chain initiative programs, as well as of their mutual effects. This study also offers empirical evidence that implementing sustainable supply chain initiatives leads to reverse logistics, creating value, and a new source of competitive advantages.

Strategic orientations, sustainable supply chain initiatives, and reverse logistics

Purpose– Global outsourcing shifts manufacturing jobs to emerging countries, which provides new opportunities for improving their economic development. The authors develop and test a theoretical model to predict first, how sustainable supply chain initiatives might influence reverse logistics outcomes and second, the impact of eco-reputation and eco-innovation orientation strategies on the deployment of sustainable supply chain initiatives. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach– The proposed new model of antecedents and outcomes of sustainable supply chain initiatives underwent a rigorous empirical test through structural equation modeling with samples from an emerging market.Findings– The results show that firms that implement sustainable supply chain initiatives can realize positive reverse logistics outcomes; the study also provides new insights into eco-innovation and eco-reputation strategic orientations as theoretically important antecedents of sustainable supply chain initiatives.Research limitations/implications– Though the authors identify three components of sustainable supply chain initiatives, other components could exist, and ongoing research should investigate them.Practical implications– The findings have important implications for managers in emerging markets seeking to initiate ecologically friendly business practices. The authors offer strong evidence of the benefits obtained from reverse logistics in sustainable supply chain initiatives. Policy makers and firms attempting to nurture sustainable supply chain initiatives should not overlook the important role of eco-reputation and eco-innovation strategic orientations, which the results identify as important enablers.Originality/value– This study offers evidence of the critical role of eco-reputation and eco-innovation strategic orientations in deploying sustainable supply chain initiative programs, as well as of their mutual effects. This study also offers empirical evidence that implementing sustainable supply chain initiatives leads to reverse logistics, creating value, and a new source of competitive advantages.

More food, more forests, fewer emissions, better livelihoods: linking REDD+, sustainable supply chains and domestic policy in Brazil, Indonesia and Colombia

The triple, intertwined challenges of climate change, the conversion of tropical forests to crop lands and grazing pastures, and the shortage of new arable land demand urgent solutions. The main approaches for increasing food production while sparing forests and lowering carbon emissions include sustainable supply chain initiatives, domestic policies and finance, and REDD+. These approaches are advancing largely in isolation, separated by different scales of intervention, performance metrics and levers for shaping land user behavior. As a result of this disconnect, farmers are receiving few, if any, positive incentives to forgo legal forest clearing and to invest in more sustainable production systems. These three approaches could become mutually reinforcing through integrated, performance-based incentive systems operating across regions and scales, linked through a shared metric of jurisdiction-wide performance introduced here as the Jurisdictional Performance System.

Energy‐water efficiency and U.S. industrial steam

S team systems are a ubiquitous element in nearly every type of manufacturing plant. In the United States, steam systems are the single largest consumer of energy in the industrial sector, where they account for 37% of annual onsite energy use. Steam use is particularly prominent in the chemicals, paper, petroleum refining, and food and beverage industries, where it is used in a wide range of processes, including reforming, distillation, concentration, cooking, and drying. Together, these four industries comprise nearly 90% of U.S. industrial steam demand, with chemicals manufacturing (30%) and paper manufacturing (30%) holding the largest shares. At the national level, industrial steam systems account for around 6% of U.S. total primary energy use, or 5,900 trillion British thermal units (TBtu). As such, much attention has been paid to steam system energy efficiency improvements as part of corporate, utility, and government energy and air pollution initiatives. Key incentives include local utility rebates, tax incentives, and lowor no-cost steam system energy efficiency audits. Steam system energy efficiency not only makes sense from an environmental perspective, but also from an economic perspective. As of 2006, U.S. manufacturers spent $21 billion on externally purchased boiler fuels. The actual price tag of industrial steam is likely much higher; nearly one-half of U.S. boiler fuels are self-generated within plants in the form of waste gas, black liquor, wood wastes, and other byproducts. These byproduct fuels are not free, as they are generated from purchased materials and typically require further processing for efficient combustion. Reducing demand for boiler fuels can, therefore, help reduce operating costs and improve profit margins. While clearly justified, the historical focus on reducing energy use has overlooked an increasingly compelling benefit of steam system efficiency: namely, reduced water use. Compared to the many public and private incentives for industrial energy efficiency, there are surprisingly few external incentives for industrial water efficiency. One key barrier to such incentives is the lack of credible data on industrial water use, which, unlike data on energy use, are not compiled at the manufacturing industry or process level in regular national surveys. This dearth of data contributes to a general lack of awareness of the sources and scale of industrial water use within the engineering and policy communities, which limits broader attention to water efficiency beyond the plant floor. Another barrier to steam system water efficiency is that the cost of boiler water—and the associated chemicals required for its treatment—typically only represents a small fraction of boiler operating costs, which are dominated by the costs of fuel. However, as we discuss in this Perspective, U.S. industrial steam systems consume copious amount of water. It follows that steam systems are worth a closer look as a manufacturing water efficiency target. Several current trends suggest that water efficiency will play an increasingly prominent role in the financial and sustainability plans of U.S. manufacturers. Recent water stress due to droughts and rising water infrastructure costs have led to increased public water rates around the country. These conditions may worsen with a changing climate. An increasing number of manufacturers are reporting water use as an important environmental indicator in annual corporate sustainability reports, which raises both public awareness of and accountability for water efficiency. Many manufacturers are also being asked by their corporate customers for environmental “footprint” data as part of large-scale sustainable Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to E. Masanet at eric.masanet@northwestern.edu; M.E. Walker at mwalker9@hawk.iit.edu.

A fuzzy multi criteria approach for measuring sustainability performance of a supplier based on triple bottom line approach

Sustainable supply chain management has received much attention from practitioners and scholars over the past decade owing to the significant attention given by consumers, profit and not-for-profit organizations, local communities, legislation and regulation to environmental, social and corporate responsibility. Sustainable supply chain initiatives like supplier environmental and social collaboration can play a significant role in achieving the “triple bottom line” of social, environmental, and economic benefits. Supplier selection plays an important role in the management of a supply chain. Traditionally, organizations consider criteria such as price, quality, flexibility, etc. when evaluating supplier performance. While the articles on the selection and evaluation of suppliers are abundant, those that consider sustainability issues are rather limited. This paper explores sustainable supply chain initiatives and examines the problem of identifying an effective model based on the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) approach (economic, environmental, and social aspects) for supplier selection operations in supply chains by presenting a fuzzy multi criteria approach. We use triangular fuzzy numbers to express linguistic values of experts' subjective preferences. Qualitative performance evaluation is performed by using fuzzy numbers for finding criteria weights and then fuzzy TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) is proposed for finding the ranking of suppliers. The proposed approach is illustrated by an example.