How to Achieve Supply Chain Sustainability Efficiently? Taming the Triple Bottom Line Split Business Cycle

Abstract

For sustainable supply chains, specific concepts regarding how to efficiently improve sustainability are needed in a global comprehensive triple bottom line (TBL) approach, especially for forwarders as central actors in supply chain design. Such specific advice is provided by reporting empirical DEA Malmquist index findings from seven large European forwarders regarding a TBL sustainability analysis from 2006 to 2016. A major obstacle in improving sustainability consists in the newly discovered fact that with the business cycle, the three TBL areas of economic, ecologic and social objectives for logistics are undergoing different up-and down-ward trends, making it very hard to improve all three simultaneously. Additional factors are identified in the characteristics of size and government influence regarding the sustainability efficiency of forwarders. This has important impacts on supply chain design like e.g., with selection criteria.

Challenges Addressed by Swedish Third-Party Logistics Providers Conducting Sustainable Logistics Business Cases

“…This has also been demonstrated in some empirical studies focusing on, e.g., retailers [5] and manufacturers [1]. Even though more recent definitions of sustainability commonly include consideration of all three dimensions [6,7] and the call for such research is high [8], the sustainability dimensions are commonly addressed in isolation [9][10][11]. Conducting sustainable business cases, underlying arguments can be found to convince decision makers to approve environmental and/or social sustainability initiatives; see, e.g., [12].…”

“…Klumpp [7] called for more empirical evidence in research on sustainability in logistics, as a lot of such research is non-empirical. As third-party logistics providers (3PL) are big contributors to emissions and often are responsible for designing logistics setups on behalf of manufacturers and retailers [7], they were addressed in the empirical study. The 3PLs studied were selected on the basis that they emphasized the importance of conducting SLBCs.…”

“…A wide range of performance indicators can be included in a SLBC. Klumpp [7] stated many environmental indicators in third-party logistics providers (3PLs). An organization seldom has resources to target all potential indicators and the selection of for the company relevant indicators can be a challenge.…”

“…Even if literature suggests many sustainability indicators that can be included [5,7,17,19], the companies studied have a more inward-looking perspective when selecting indicators. They take those that are available in the production system (all 3PLs), the ones customers demand (3PL1) or the ones decided upon on a headquarters level in the standardized SLBC template (3PL2 and 3PL3).…”

Do Urban Subway Openings Reduce PM2.5 Concentrations? Evidence from China

“…The achievement of green goals is not always easy, and more specific analyses are necessary. Klumpp [36][37][38] analyzed the reasons behind the failure of green logistics by drawing on political, economic, and business as well as social motivations and examples, and investigated how to improve sustainability performance and efficiency. Two ways were proposed including public control and restriction, as well as public investment in low-emission transport infrastructure.…”