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Business strategy for sustainable development: Impact of life cycle inventory and life cycle impact assessment steps in supply chain design and planning

Author

Listed:
  • Bruna Alexandra Elias Mota
  • Ana Isabel Cerqueira de Sousa Gouveia Carvalho
  • Maria Isabel Azevedo Rodrigues Gomes
  • Ana Paula Ferreira Dias Barbosa‐Povoa

Abstract

Sustainability reporting has become a central instrument in displaying a company's strategy and engagement with a more sustainable society. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an important tool in this context as it is aimed to analyze the entire life cycle of the product/service, instead of focusing on one focal firm. However, the lack of standardized guidelines in its application raises questions regarding the usefulness and validity of results. This study contributes to the improvement of sustainability reporting through the identification of the uncertainty sources in life cycle methodologies that have the biggest impact in the definition of business and environmental strategies, exploring a supply chain‐oriented analysis. The focus is on life cycle inventory (LCI) and life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). A multiobjective optimization‐based methodology is applied to a supply chain case study in the pulp and paper industry. Environmental and economic objectives are considered. Results show that different LCIA methods and different normalization data sets result in significantly different business and environmental strategies. However, different system models and cultural perspectives at the LCI step and variations in the characterization factors tend to lead to the same decisions. Important insights are gained regarding the impact of nonstandardized analysis of the application of LCA in supply chain design and planning decisions and consequently on business strategy definition and sustainability reporting. Furthermore, the importance of operations research methods to improve LCA‐based studies and of bridging the gap between LCA and supply chain management bodies of knowledge is highlighted in this work.

Suggested Citation

  • Bruna Alexandra Elias Mota & Ana Isabel Cerqueira de Sousa Gouveia Carvalho & Maria Isabel Azevedo Rodrigues Gomes & Ana Paula Ferreira Dias Barbosa‐Povoa, 2020. "Business strategy for sustainable development: Impact of life cycle inventory and life cycle impact assessment steps in supply chain design and planning," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 87-117, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:29:y:2020:i:1:p:87-117
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.2352
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nelly Oelze & Stefan Ulstrup Hoejmose & Andre Habisch & Andrew Millington, 2016. "Sustainable Development in Supply Chain Management: The Role of Organizational Learning for Policy Implementation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(4), pages 241-260, May.
    2. Joana M. Comas Martí & Ralf W. Seifert, 2013. "Assessing the Comprehensiveness of Supply Chain Environmental Strategies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(5), pages 339-356, July.
    3. Tereza Assis Bicalho Bicalho & Ildo Sauer & Alexandre Rambaud & Yulia Altukhova-Nys, 2017. "LCA data quality: A management science perspective," Post-Print hal-02958533, HAL.
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    6. Johann Meckenstock & Ana Paula Barbosa‐Póvoa & Ana Carvalho, 2016. "The Wicked Character of Sustainable Supply Chain Management: Evidence from Sustainability Reports," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(7), pages 449-477, November.
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    3. Chao Hung Wang, 2020. "An environmental perspective extends market orientation: Green innovation sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3123-3134, December.

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