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Green and Sustainable Supply Chains

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 21639

Special Issue Editors

College of Economics and Trade, Hunan University, Changsha 410079, China
Interests: supply chain sustainability
School of Management and Economics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
Interests: supply chain sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
School of Management Science and Engineering, Shangdong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan 250014, China
Interests: circular supply chains
College of Economics and Trade, Hunan University, Changsha 410079, China
Interests: closed-loop supply chains

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the problems caused by global climate change have become increasingly obvious, with new issues emerging constantly. Reducing carbon emissions and promoting the recycling of resources have as a result become one of the hot topics of concern around the world. Most countries have taken various measures to limit the emission of greenhouse gases. The production activities of manufacturing enterprises are an important source of carbon emissions, and increasing pressure from a variety of external stakeholders to conduct business operations in a sustainable fashion has encouraged companies to mitigate their environmental impact and enter the “green” scene. In response to the restrictive policies of various countries, manufacturers have begun to consider investing in low-carbon technologies in their products to improve the green level of their supply chain. However, the slow pace of improvements in environmental and social goals calls for more fundamental research that could delve deeper into low-carbon, sustainable, and recycling issues in the supply chain and investigate how companies, their supply chain partners, and customers can be involved to achieve a lasting impact and drive improvements in sustainability performance.

This Special Issue will pay close attention to the current global green supply chain and sustainable development trends and related hot spots, as well as the development and use of new technologies, the development opportunities and challenges faced by green supply chain and sustainable development, and the current stage of the business model and innovation and other research topics. The topics of papers submitted to this Special Issue can encompass any relevant research that focuses on low-carbon, sustainable, and recycling issues in the supply chain. Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

  • Closed-loop systems in supply chains (e.g., remanufacturing, and recyclability design);
  • Carbon emission in supply chains;
  • Collaborative and coordinated approaches to sustainability (e.g., profit allocation, resource sharing, and cost saving allocation);
  • Green product design and logistics;
  • Sustainable behavioral aspects in the supply chain;
  • Applications of emerging technologies in sustainable/low-carbon and green supply chain management (e.g., autonomous vehicles, blockchain, physical internet);
  • Policy instruments design for sustainable/low-carbon and green logistics;
  • Environmental management and the green supply chain;
  • Challenges and responses to green supply chain management in the food industry and agricultural products;
  • Research on collaborative innovation management of enterprises’ green supply chain;
  • The impact of residents’ green consumption behavior on supply chain decision making;
  • Big-data-driven green supply chain management;
  • Green supply chain finance;
  • Other research on sustainable and low-carbon economic management.

We invite scholars, marketers, managers, and regulators to submit high-quality research papers on the subject of sustainable/low-carbon and green supply chain development and management. Research related to the keywords below is welcomed.

References:

  1. Bag, S., Wood, L. C., Xu, L., Dhamija, P., & Kayikci, Y. (2020). Big data analytics as an operational excellence approach to enhance sustainable supply chain performance. Resources Conservation and Recycling, 153. doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.104559
  2. Khan, S. A. R., Zhang, Y., Kumar, A., Zavadskas, E., & Streimikiene, D. (2020). Measuring the impact of renewable energy, public health expenditure, logistics, and environmental performance on sustainable economic growth. Sustainable Development, 28(4), 833-843. doi:10.1002/sd.2034
  3. Mardani, A., Kannan, D., Hooker, R. E., Ozkul, S., Alrasheedi, M., & Tirkolaee, E. B. (2020). Evaluation of green and sustainable supply chain management using structural equation modelling: A systematic review of the state of the art literature and recommendations for future research. Journal of Cleaner Production, 249. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119383
  4. Nosratabadi, S., Mosavi, A., Shamshirband, S., Zavadskas, E. K., Rakotonirainy, A., & Chau, K. W. (2019). Sustainable Business Models: A Review. Sustainability, 11(6). doi:10.3390/su11061663
  5. Pulighe, G., & Lupia, F. (2020). Food First: COVID-19 Outbreak and Cities Lockdown a Booster for a Wider Vision on Urban Agriculture. Sustainability, 12(12). doi:10.3390/su12125012
  6. Ren, R., Hu, W., Dong, J., Sun, B., Chen, Y., & Chen, Z. (2020). A Systematic Literature Review of Green and Sustainable Logistics: Bibliometric Analysis, Research Trend and Knowledge Taxonomy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(1). doi:10.3390/ijerph17010261
  7. Schroeder, P., Anggraeni, K., & Weber, U. (2019). The Relevance of Circular Economy Practices to the Sustainable Development Goals. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 23(1), 77-95. doi:10.1111/jiec.12732

Prof. Dr. Erbao Cao
Prof. Dr. Chunguang Bai
Prof. Dr. Yuyan Wang
Dr. Wei Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • green supply chains
  • green logistics
  • circular economy
  • sustainable supply chain
  • green innovation
  • environmental regulation
  • supply chain finance

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 1661 KiB  
Article
Green Logistics, Green Human Capital, and Circular Economy: The Mediating Role of Sustainable Production
by Ya Cheng, Mohammad Masukujjaman, Farid Ahammad Sobhani, Muhammad Hamayun and Syed Shah Alam
Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1045; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15021045 - 06 Jan 2023
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4082
Abstract
Many countries worldwide have adopted a sustainable development model to strike a balance between economic progress, environmental preservation, and social protection, and one of the most effective solutions for promoting sustainable development has been the circular economy (CE). Given each country’s resource restrictions, [...] Read more.
Many countries worldwide have adopted a sustainable development model to strike a balance between economic progress, environmental preservation, and social protection, and one of the most effective solutions for promoting sustainable development has been the circular economy (CE). Given each country’s resource restrictions, businesses must implement green manufacturing practices to establish a circular economy. Therefore, this study intends to assess the role of green logistics (GL) and green human capital (GHC) in promoting a circular economy. Additionally, the mediating role of sustainable production (SP) in the interplays between the constructs was examined. Data for this research was collected from 211 garment manufacturing firms in Bangladesh, using a standardized questionnaire. The partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique was employed for inferential statistical analysis. The findings revealed that GL and GHC are significant drivers of CE. Additionally, GL and GHC were observed to have a positive linkage with the SP of firms. The findings uncovered that SP positively impacts circular economy implementation. Furthermore, SP was found to significantly mediate the linkages between GL and CE, as well as between GHC and CE. Ours is one of a limited number of research projects that address the role of GL and GHC in implementing CE through SP. Hence, this study added critical insights to the extant theory and practice while reporting several theoretical and managerial implications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green and Sustainable Supply Chains)
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17 pages, 1066 KiB  
Article
Optimal Contract Design in Contract Farming under Asymmetric Effort Information
by Chunhua Tang, Huiyuan Zhang and Jiamuyan Xie
Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 15000; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su142215000 - 13 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1197
Abstract
This paper studies the contract design, optimal financing, and pricing decision of the leading agricultural enterprise when the level of effort of the farmer is private information. We use buyer direct finance and add agricultural income insurance to transfer risks to overcome the [...] Read more.
This paper studies the contract design, optimal financing, and pricing decision of the leading agricultural enterprise when the level of effort of the farmer is private information. We use buyer direct finance and add agricultural income insurance to transfer risks to overcome the farmer’s loan difficulty and contract default caused by information asymmetry. We design four kinds of contracts, including the uninsured and symmetric information contract (SN contract), the uninsured and asymmetric information contract (AN contract), the insured and symmetric information contract (SY contract), and the insured and asymmetric information contract (AY contract). Through comparative analysis of the different types of contracts, several results are obtained. First, when there is no insurance, supervision of the leading enterprise can improve the farmer’s level of effort; but supervision costs are incurred, and incentive contracts can avoid the farmer’s moral hazard. Second, agricultural income insurance improves the farmer’s level of effort when information is asymmetric, which transfers risks and saves costs for all the game participants. Third, the leading enterprise prefers an asymmetric information contract and the farmer prefers AN contract when the probability of loan repayment is high. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green and Sustainable Supply Chains)
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21 pages, 915 KiB  
Article
Information Sharing in a Supply Chain with Asymmetric Competing Retailers
by Jiamuyan Xie
Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12848; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su141912848 - 09 Oct 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1159
Abstract
We study the information sharing in a supply chain of a manufacturer selling to two asymmetric retailers engaged in inventory competition. The dominant retailer has strong bargaining power and market power, which means that it enjoys a lower wholesale price and can obtain [...] Read more.
We study the information sharing in a supply chain of a manufacturer selling to two asymmetric retailers engaged in inventory competition. The dominant retailer has strong bargaining power and market power, which means that it enjoys a lower wholesale price and can obtain part of the unmet demand transferred from the weak retailer. The manufacturer offers a wholesale price to the weak retailer. As the weak retailer’s private demand information is unknown to the other participants, whether to share the information to other players become an important issue. We develop a game-theoretic model to examine four information-sharing formats: no information sharing, only sharing with the dominant retailer, only sharing with the manufacturer, and full information sharing. We obtain the equilibrium profits and decisions under the four sharing formats and investigate the firms’ preferences regarding these formats. We find that the weaker retailer prefers not sharing information and only sharing information with the dominant retailer formats, since these two formats lower the wholesale price and increase the weak retailer’s order quantity. The dominant retailer prefers full information sharing to only sharing with the dominant retailer because the former format increases the manufacturer’s wholesale price to the weaker retailer, thereby improving the dominant retailer’s total demand. This study also provides a theoretical basis for the application of advanced information technology in the supply chain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green and Sustainable Supply Chains)
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19 pages, 2972 KiB  
Article
The Tripartite Evolutionary Game of Green Agro-Product Supply in an Agricultural Industrialization Consortium
by Haolong Liu
Sustainability 2022, 14(18), 11582; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su141811582 - 15 Sep 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1663
Abstract
In recent years, China has actively promoted the green transformation and low-carbon development of agriculture. New-type agricultural business entities such as family farms, specialized cooperatives and agro-processing enterprises have become important vehicles of agricultural green transformation due to their comparative advantages in multiple [...] Read more.
In recent years, China has actively promoted the green transformation and low-carbon development of agriculture. New-type agricultural business entities such as family farms, specialized cooperatives and agro-processing enterprises have become important vehicles of agricultural green transformation due to their comparative advantages in multiple aspects. Within the agricultural industrialization consortium, the motivation of new-type agricultural business entities to synergistically implement the agricultural green transformation strategy is affected by bounded rationality as well as multiple economic and social factors. Clarifying the mechanism of the above factors would be of benefit to promoting agricultural green transformation in developing countries. In this article, a tripartite evolutionary game model about the production and sale of green agro-products is constructed, and the influences of various factors on the evolutionary game process are analyzed, based on new institutional economics and new economic sociology. According to the simulation results, it is found that the proportional quality contributions of the agents, the intensification of consumers’ preference for green agro-products and the increase of social embedding cost are conducive to the system converging to the favorable evolutionary equilibrium at a faster rate. However, the increases of marginal costs, market risks and spillover effects would prevent the system from converging to the favorable evolutionary equilibrium. Accordingly, corresponding suggestions are put forward to support the effective supply of green agricultural products in the agricultural industrialization consortium. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green and Sustainable Supply Chains)
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22 pages, 4539 KiB  
Article
Selection Strategy and Coordination of Green Product R&D in Sustainable Competitive Supply Chain
by Qinghua Feng and Tong Liu
Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8884; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14148884 - 20 Jul 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1523
Abstract
Green product R&D is a necessary measure for enterprises to achieve sustainable development. This paper studies the optimal selection strategy of green product R&D and the impact of price competition and green R&D cost on prices, green levels, and enterprise profits in the [...] Read more.
Green product R&D is a necessary measure for enterprises to achieve sustainable development. This paper studies the optimal selection strategy of green product R&D and the impact of price competition and green R&D cost on prices, green levels, and enterprise profits in the sustainable competitive supply chain. We establish manufacturer-led game models and compare the equilibrium results of green R&D strategies. The study found that three types of green product R&D strategies exist in competitive supply chains: neither conduct green product R&D (NN), only one supply chain conducts green product R&D (YN), and both conduct green product R&D (YY). Price competition intensity and green R&D cost have a negative impact on prices, green levels, and enterprise profits. Wholesale prices, retail prices, green levels, and enterprise profits are highest in YY strategy, but they are lowest in NN strategy. When one supply chain does not conduct green product R&D, the other supply chain will choose green product R&D only if the green R&D cost meets certain condition. When one supply chain conducts green product R&D, the optimal choice for the other supply chain is always to conduct green product R&D. For the optimal selection strategies, applying two-part pricing contracts achieve supply chain coordination. Our research results provide a reference for the strategic choice of green product R&D in competitive supply chains. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green and Sustainable Supply Chains)
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21 pages, 1944 KiB  
Article
Customized Investment Decisions for New and Remanufactured Products Supply Chain Based on 3D Printing Technology
by Haoyu Sun, Huiqi Zheng, Xiaoyang Sun and Wei Li
Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2502; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14052502 - 22 Feb 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1966
Abstract
Three-dimensional printing and customized products are gradually emerging, and many manufacturers use 3D printing technology to customize products according to the individual needs of consumers. We focus on the differential pricing of new products and remanufactured products after being customized by 3D printing [...] Read more.
Three-dimensional printing and customized products are gradually emerging, and many manufacturers use 3D printing technology to customize products according to the individual needs of consumers. We focus on the differential pricing of new products and remanufactured products after being customized by 3D printing and the profit distribution of supply chain members. Through building the Stackelberg game model led by the manufacturer, we discuss how supply chain members should make investment decisions about customized new and customized remanufactured products with the goal of maximizing the manufacturer’s profit when there are two models of remanufacturing by the OEM and remanufacturing by the retailer. Finally, through the simulation analysis of MATLAB, we explain how the manufacturer and the retailer make decisions under the influence of customization sensitivity coefficient and customization cost. We also analyze the impact of relevant factors on the level of customization effort and whether supply chain members are suitable for custom production. We found that when the level of customization effort is relatively low, both the manufacturer and the retailer should choose the manufacturer to complete the customization process. However, when the level of customization effort is relatively high the manufacturer can transfer the customization process to the retailer, but the retailer should still let the manufacturer lead the customization process for his own profit maximization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green and Sustainable Supply Chains)
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21 pages, 2727 KiB  
Article
Optimal Loan Pricing for Agricultural Supply Chains from a Green Credit Perspective
by Liurui Deng, Wentang Xu and Juan Luo
Sustainability 2021, 13(22), 12365; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su132212365 - 10 Nov 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2778
Abstract
In recent years, many countries have proposed various sustainable development strategies around environmental issues. The implementation of green supply chain management is an effective sustainable development approach that combines “environmental awareness” and “economic development.” Therefore, introducing the concept of “green” effectively is the [...] Read more.
In recent years, many countries have proposed various sustainable development strategies around environmental issues. The implementation of green supply chain management is an effective sustainable development approach that combines “environmental awareness” and “economic development.” Therefore, introducing the concept of “green” effectively is the main direction for the sustainable development of agriculture in the future. The impacts of green credit policies on agricultural supply chains have rarely been discussed before. Therefore, we focus on the incentive mechanism of green credit policies in the agricultural supply chain. We use the Stackelberg Leadership Model to construct a pricing model which adds the interest subsidy and required reserve ratio (RRR) cuts, and determines the pricing rules of bank loans and production decisions of the farmer in the agricultural supply chain under the incentive policy of green credit by quantifying the optimization problems of the bank and the farmer. The result shows that optimal decisions exist for both farmer and bank in the supply chain game framework. The implementation of the green credit policies contributes to both of their profits. Additionally, the green credit policies give the bank room to reduce interest rates so that the overall utility level of the supply chain could be improved. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green and Sustainable Supply Chains)
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19 pages, 1253 KiB  
Article
The Applications and Complexity Analysis Based on Supply Chain Enterprises’ Green Behaviors under Evolutionary Game Framework
by Hui Zhang and Xin Su
Sustainability 2021, 13(19), 10987; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su131910987 - 03 Oct 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1888
Abstract
Green behaviors adopted by supply chain companies are conducive to resource conservation and environmental protection and enhancing their core competitive advantages. By constructing a game model of green behavior of supply chain companies, this research deeply analyzes the main influencing factors of green [...] Read more.
Green behaviors adopted by supply chain companies are conducive to resource conservation and environmental protection and enhancing their core competitive advantages. By constructing a game model of green behavior of supply chain companies, this research deeply analyzes the main influencing factors of green behaviors adopted by supply chain companies. It uses dynamic evolution game analysis and simulation experiment methods to explore the path evolution direction and dynamic convergence process of green behavior strategy choices of these companies, so as to provide reference value for green behavior decision-making of supply chain enterprises. The research results show that the probability of supply chain enterprises choosing green behavior strategies is related to factors such as enterprise green investment income and costs, co-benefits, spillover benefits, greenness and output of raw materials or products, government green subsidy coefficients, and fines. Supply chain enterprises should reduce the cost of green investment, maximize the profit of green investment, and increase the greenness of raw materials or products; the government should increase the coefficient of green subsidies and encourage supply chain enterprises to actively participate in the collaborative management of the green supply chain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green and Sustainable Supply Chains)
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28 pages, 5269 KiB  
Article
Cooperative Green Technology Innovation of an E-Commerce Sales Channel in a Two-Stage Supply Chain
by Zongyu Mu, Yuangang Zheng and Hao Sun
Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7499; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13137499 - 05 Jul 2021
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3565
Abstract
The potential broad market of green consumption has encouraged an increasing number of enterprises to carry out green technology innovation activities. This paper examines a two-stage supply chain of e-commerce sales channels under different cooperative models. We find that consumers’ green preferences are [...] Read more.
The potential broad market of green consumption has encouraged an increasing number of enterprises to carry out green technology innovation activities. This paper examines a two-stage supply chain of e-commerce sales channels under different cooperative models. We find that consumers’ green preferences are the main factor that affects green product market demand. The manufacturer and the retailer can raise the levels of green technology innovation and extend green promotional services to expand product market demand in online and offline channels. However, consumers’ e-commerce preferences and online free-riding behaviors affect the manufacturer’s sales channel choice. The retailer can improve the level of green promotional services to hold offline channel market demand, while promotional behaviors have a positive/negative spillover effect on online market demand if the level of free riding falls above/below consumers’ e-commerce preferences. The higher the cooperative level is, the later the manufacturer will open the online channel and close the offline channel to ensure a high level of green promotional service from the cooperative retailer. The results show that the stronger the level of cooperation among all members is, the better the economic, ecological, and social benefits will be. Therefore, we design a revenue-cost sharing contract that can effectively motivate green technology innovation and green promotional services and afford all members win-win profits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green and Sustainable Supply Chains)
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