Proposal of a Maturity Model for Supply Chain Sustainability

Abstract

Nowadays, frameworks and models are critical to enabling organizations to identify their current sustainability integration into business and to follow up on these initiatives over time. In this context, the maturity models offer a structured way of analyzing how a supply chain meets specific sustainability requirements and which areas demand attention to reach maturity levels. This study proposes a five-level maturity model to help supply chains identify their level of engagement with sustainability practices combining three perspectives: intra and inter-organizational sustainability practices, triple-bottom-line approach and critical areas for sustainability. All the steps followed in constructing the maturity model were based on a literature review, and case studies supported its improvement, application, and testing. The proposed model presents many advantages, such as being used as a self-assessment tool, a roadmap for sustainability behaviour improvement, and a benchmarking tool to evaluate and compare standards and best practices among organizations and supply chains.

Sustainability supply chain practices: proposal for a framework

“…These areas are also considered essential components to assess the evolution in terms of sustainability, addressing an intracompany perspective and the SC perspective (Correia et al, 2018). Based on a systematic literature review of supply chain maturity models with sustainability concerns, Correia et al (2017) identified several critical success factors for implementing a sustainable SC that coincide with some of these areas.…”