How green is a lean supply chain?

Abstract

This article presents a supply chain planning model that can be used to investigate tradeoffs between cost and environmental degradation including carbon emissions, energy consumption and waste generation. The model also incorporates other aspects of real world supply chains such as multiple transport lot sizing and flexible holding capacity of warehouses. The application of the model and solution method is investigated in an actual case problem. Our analysis of the numerical results focuses on investigating relationship between lean practices and green outcomes. We find that (1) not all lean interventions at the tactical supply chain planning level result in green benefits, and (2) an agile supply chain is the greenest and most efficient alternative when compared to strictly lean and centralized situations.