A methodology for assessing eco-efficiency in logistics networks

J. Quariguasi Frota Neto, G. Walther, Jacqueline Bloemhof-Ruwaard, J.A.E.E. van Nunen and T. Spengler

European Journal of Operational Research, 2009, vol. 193, issue 3, 670-682

Abstract: Recent literature on sustainable logistics networks points to two important questions: (i) How to spot the preferred solution(s) balancing environmental and business concerns? (ii) How to improve the understanding of the trade-offs between these two dimensions? We posit that a visual exploration of the efficient frontier and trade-offs between profitability and environmental impacts are particularly suitable to answer these two questions. The visual representation of the efficient frontier, however, presents two challenges. The first is to obtain a good approximation for such frontier without enumerating all extreme efficient solutions. The second is to obtain a good visual representation of the efficient frontier. We propose a two-phased heuristic to handle these two problems. The algorithm is designed for the multi-objective linear problem with three objectives: minimize costs, cumulative energy demand and waste in a reverse logistics network. We illustrate our approach by designing a complex recycling logistics network in Germany.

Keywords: Eco-efficiency; Sustainable; supply; chains; Closed-loop; supply; chains; Multi-objective; programming; Optimization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (63)

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Related works:
Working Paper: A Methodology for Assessing Eco-Efficiency in Logistics Networks (2007)
Working Paper: A Methodology for Assessing Eco-efficiency in Logistics Networks (2006)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ejores:v:193:y:2009:i:3:p:670-682

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