Sustainable Supply Chains: A Framework for Implementation

Abstract: Sustainable supply chain management requires an integrated approach that focuses on the total product life-cycle from pre-manufacturing, manufacturing and use through post-use stages from a triple bottom line perspective; economic benefits, environmental protection and societal well-being. Achieving sustainability in the supply chain therefore requires adopting a closed-loop approach to material flow. The 6R methodology that extends the previous 3R's (reduce, reuse, recycle) to include the additional steps of recover, redesign and remanufacture provides an ideal platform for approaching sustainable supply chain design and management. However, none of the existing supply chain management frameworks embrace sustainability from a holistic perspective nor do they provide the metrics needed for the evaluation of supply chain sustainability. This paper will present an integrated approach to sustainable supply chain management based on the 6R methodology, provide a comparison of existing supply chain frameworks and their suitability from a sustainability point of view and elaborate on the road map that must be followed to design and manage sustainable supply chains.