Sustainable Development and Optimization of Supply Chains

Abstract

Supply chains and supply chain management are an inseparable part of all business areas, and they are a part of a local, regional, or global economy. Nowadays, many companies are challenged and pressured by their governments, stakeholders, and NGOs to operate their businesses sustainably. While there is no alternative path to sustainability and taking the green and sustainable approach to business ideas is the way of the future. However, there are still challenges and open questions that need to be addressed to meet all the sustainable development criteria. There are still open questions, issues studied in this dissertation, and those issues through economic, environmental, and social aspects of sustainability.

This dissertation's main objective and aim were to show and investigate possible ways of making supply chains more sustainable from economic, environmental, and social aspects. In this dissertation, we use optimization techniques to achieve sustainability of SCs based on operational, tactical, and strategic decisions. We applied graphical and analytical optimization techniques to show how supplier selection, consumer purchasing behavior, and recycling can impact sustainability.

Furthermore, the study aims to identify problems and give some solutions to the identified issues. These issues are related to a circular economy, supplier selection, and consumer impact on the sustainability of SCs. Finally, this dissertation's results suggest that there are still several challenges in SCs management and sustainability. One of the main challenges is the lack of understanding and inclusion of social aspects of sustainability.