Total Life-Cycle Approach to Sustainable Supply Chains

Abstract: Recent trends in globalization and outsourcing activities have created an increasing need for more efficient, effective and responsible business practices that focus on the triple bottom line (TBL). Conventional supply chains (SC) models are oriented towards increasing financial gains and return of investment (ROI). However, to promote sustainable supply chains (SSC) there is a need to focus on the TBL of economic prosperity, environmental protection and societal well-being. This requires an integrated and systematic approach that focuses on all life-cycle stages (pre-manufacturing, manufacturing, use and post-use) of the product. Such supply chain models require the application of innovative approaches like the 6R's (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover, Redesign and Remanufacture) to achieve closed-loop flow. Sustainability in the SC also depends on the agility and resilience of SC partners to proactively respond to unforeseen circumstances within the organization, in the industry or external sources. Thus, in the context of SSC's, risk management, too, plays a critical role. In this poster, we will present the concepts of SSC's (from the total life-cycle approach and the 6R's for sustainable manufacturing), compare and contrast existing SC frameworks, address their limitations, provide a framework for SC risk management followed by directions for future research.