This study by a research team including Dr Adolf Acquaye of Kent Business School aim to develop a benchmarking framework to address issues such as supply chain complexity and visibility, geographical differences and non-standardized data, ensuring that the entire supply chain environmental impact (in terms of carbon) and resource use for all tiers,
including domestic and import flows, are evaluated. Benchmarking has become an important issue in supply chain management practice. However, challenges such as supply chain complexity and visibility, geographical differences and non-standardized data have limited the development of approaches for evaluating performances of product supply chains. This industry-level benchmarking approach ensures that individual firms can
compare their carbon emissions against other similarly structured firms.
This industry-level benchmarking approach ensures that individual firms can compare their carbon emissions against other similarly structured firms. Findings show that supply chain carbon maps are developed as a means of producing industry-level benchmarks to set a measure for the environmental sustainability of product supply chains. The industry-level benchmark provides the first step for firms to manage the environmental performance, identify and target high carbon emission hot-spots and for cross-sectorial benchmarking.
The paper links the theoretical development of supply chain environmental system based on the Multi-Regional Input–Output model to the innovative development of supply chain carbon maps, such that an industry-level benchmarking framework is produced as a means of setting product supply chain carbon emissions benchmarks.
This research was published in the July issue of Supply Chain Management: an International Journal.