Social sustainability is a major concern in global supply chains for protecting workers from exploitation and for providing a safe working environment. Although there are stipulated standards to govern supply chain social sustainability, it is not uncommon to hear of businesses being reported for noncompliance issues. Even reputable firms such as Unilever have been criticized for production labor exploitation. Consumers now increasingly expect sellers to disclose information on social sustainability, but sellers are confronted with the challenge of traceability in their multi-tier global supply chains. Blockchain offers a promising future to achieve instant traceability in supply chain social sustainability. This study develops a system architecture that integrates the use of blockchain, internet-of-things (IoT) and big data analytics to allow sellers to monitor their supply chain social sustainability efficiently and effectively.System implementation cost and potential challenges are analyzed before the research is concluded.

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Life cycle assessment (LCA) is widely used for assessing the environmental impacts of a product or service. Collecting reliable data is a major challenge in LCA due to the complexities involved in the tracking and quantifying inputs and outputs at multiple supply chain stages.Blockchain technology offers an ideal solution to overcome the challenge in sustainable supply chain management. Its use in combination with internet-of-things (IoT) and big data analytics and visualization can help organizations achieve operational excellence in conducting LCA for improving supply chain sustainability. This research develops a framework to guide the implementation of Blockchain-based LCA. It proposes a system architecture that integrates the use of Blockchain, IoT, and big data analytics and visualization. The proposed implementation framework and system architecture were validated by practitioners who are experienced with Blockchain applications. The research also analyzes system implementation costs and discusses potential issues and solutions, as well as managerial and policy implications.

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