From closed-loop to sustainable supply chains: The WEEE case

J. Quariguasi Frota Neto (1) , Grit Walther (2) , Jacqueline Bloemhof (3) , J.A.E.E. van Nunen (3, 4) , T Spengler (2)

1 decision and information science
2 Institute for economics and business administration
3 Decision and Information Science
4 decision and information science

The primary objective of closed-loop supply chains (CLSC) is to improve the maximum economic benefit from end-of-use products. Nevertheless, literature within this stream of research advocates that closing the loop also helps to mitigate the undesirable footprint of supply chains. Therefore, closed-loop supply chains are assumed to be sustainable supply chains almost by definition. In this paper we analyze if and when this assumption holds. We illustrate our findings based on the supply chain of Electric and Electronic Equipments (EEE). For all phases of the supply chain, i.e. manufacturing, usage, transportation and end-of-life activities, we assess the magnitude of environmental impacts, based on a single environmental metric called Cumulative Energy Demand (CED). Given the environmental hot-spots in the Electric and Electronic Equipments supply chain, we propose useful extensions for existing CLSC optimization models to ensure that closed loop supply chains are at the same time sustainable ones.

Mots clés: Physical Sciences

J. Quariguasi Frota Neto, Grit Walther, Jacqueline Bloemhof, J.A.E.E. van Nunen, T Spengler. From closed-loop to sustainable supply chains: The WEEE case. International Journal of Production Research, 2010, 48 (15), pp.4463-4481. ⟨10.1080/00207540902906151⟩. ⟨hal-00599499⟩