Methodology for a Holistic Synthesis of Sustainable Supply-Chain Networks

Integrated sustainable development of global supply-network is of paramount importance. Both burdening and unburdening effects on the environment, which together form total effects, have to be considered when selecting between alternatives. Based on the consideration of total effects, recently defined sustainability measurements eco-profit and total profit are upgraded in order to guide the search towards obtaining solutions where trade-offs between economic profit, investment to avoid the burdening, and incurred environmental losses could be appropriately established. The synthesis is studied from i) a macroeconomic view looking at the whole value-chain, and from ii) a microeconomic company’s angle, and a methodology for a holistic synthesis of sustainable supply-chain networks is presented. It is illustrated by: i) company’s supply-chain representing biogas production from different raw-materials under different anaerobic conditions, and ii) large-scale biorefinery’s supply-chain network for the production of three generations of biofuels accounting for different biomass sources and different conversion technologies.