Kursinformation

1. Summary

Sustainable supply chains play a critical role in modern business operations, addressing environmental, social, and economic concerns while meeting the needs of current and future generations. These supply chains aim to minimize negative impacts on the environment, promote fair labor practices, and ensure economic viability throughout the supply chain. Assessing the sustainability of supply chains involves evaluating various factors such as carbon emissions, resource usage, labor conditions, and ethical sourcing practices. Methods for assessing sustainability may include life cycle assessments (LCA), carbon footprint analyses, social audits, and certifications such as Fair Trade or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). By implementing robust assessment methods, organizations can identify areas for improvement, mitigate risks, and enhance the overall sustainability performance of their supply chains.

These areas of improvement should also be evaluated using the available sustainability assessment tools such LCA, social life cycle assessment (S-LCA), or life cycle costing (LCC) to provide support for the decision-making process as illustrated in Figure 1. Combining all of them would result in a holistic sustainability assessment house (Figure 1) that could be used to redesign the supply chain network for sustainability or redesign the product to be more sustainable.

 Figure 1: Framework for life cycle sustainability assessment.

2. Objective