Assessing sustainability in the supply chain: A triple bottom line approach

The application of sustainability principles into supply chains is an evolving research area currently suffering from a scarcity of established theories, models, and frameworks. There are at least two key reasons why it is difficult to build sustainability into the supply chain. First, there are numerous context dependent factors that either enable or hinder progress towards sustainability in a supply chain. There is a need to better understand how these factors affect the sustainability performance of supply chains. Second, implementing sustainability requires a triple bottom line approach, where improvements are pursued in the environmental, economic, and social dimensions of performance. These two challenges mean that implementing sustainability in a supply chain is a complex process that involves a large number of interacting factors. This paper contributes to efforts to overcome these challenges by proposing a mathematical model for assessing sustainability in the supply chain. The model is based on the notion that a probabilistic representation of sustainability can realistically account for its challenges. The development of the proposed model was guided by the need for ease of use, simplicity, and the ability to quickly provide feedback on the sustainability status of supply chains over time. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.