IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v10y2018i9p3148-d167564.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainability Performance in Food Supply Networks: Insights from the UK Industry

Author

Listed:
  • Naoum Tsolakis

    (Centre for International Manufacturing, Department of Engineering, Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), School of Technology, University of Cambridge, 17 Charles Babbage Road, Cambridge CB3 0FS, UK)

  • Foivos Anastasiadis

    (Centre for International Manufacturing, Department of Engineering, Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), School of Technology, University of Cambridge, 17 Charles Babbage Road, Cambridge CB3 0FS, UK)

  • Jagjit Singh Srai

    (Centre for International Manufacturing, Department of Engineering, Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), School of Technology, University of Cambridge, 17 Charles Babbage Road, Cambridge CB3 0FS, UK)

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to introduce a qualitative sustainability performance assessment framework for food supply networks, based on the perception of their key stakeholders’ upper management. Moreover, the paper provides industry insights by exemplifying the value of the proposed framework for the UK food industry. A critical review on the most acknowledged sustainability assessment methodologies and tools resulted in the synthesis of the proposed framework. An illustrative application follows, based on data from semi-structured interviews with C-level executives from key players of the UK poultry sector. The results demonstrate an easy-to-use approach, with a comprehensive and sharp outcome on supply chain sustainability performance assessment. Industry insights demonstrate an adequate sustainability performance with respect to the entire supply chain. A detailed view on different echelons reveals specific areas that could be improved, such as the environmental performance at both farming (production) and processing levels. This work extends the scope of current sustainability performance assessment tools by providing a tangible triple bottom-line overview, as well as echelon-specific and indicator-specific details, in a user-friendly, yet straightforward, way. UK food industry insights are valuable for practitioners and academics. The illustration is based exclusively on C-level executives’ viewpoint; thus, any generalization of the results should be considered to this effect. Supply chain stakeholders, policy-makers, and researchers could perform a quick and reliable supply network sustainability performance assessment.

Suggested Citation

  • Naoum Tsolakis & Foivos Anastasiadis & Jagjit Singh Srai, 2018. "Sustainability Performance in Food Supply Networks: Insights from the UK Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-13, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:9:p:3148-:d:167564
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/9/3148/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/9/3148/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. de Olde, Evelien M. & Bokkers, Eddie A.M. & de Boer, Imke J.M., 2017. "The Choice of the Sustainability Assessment Tool Matters: Differences in Thematic Scope and Assessment Results," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 77-85.
    2. Beske, Philip & Land, Anna & Seuring, Stefan, 2014. "Sustainable supply chain management practices and dynamic capabilities in the food industry: A critical analysis of the literature," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 131-143.
    3. Govindan, Kannan, 2018. "Sustainable consumption and production in the food supply chain: A conceptual framework," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 419-431.
    4. Hannu Schadewitz & Mikael Niskala, 2010. "Communication via responsibility reporting and its effect on firm value in Finland," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(2), pages 96-106, March.
    5. Hassini, Elkafi & Surti, Chirag & Searcy, Cory, 2012. "A literature review and a case study of sustainable supply chains with a focus on metrics," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(1), pages 69-82.
    6. Bourlakis, Michael & Maglaras, George & Aktas, Emel & Gallear, David & Fotopoulos, Christos, 2014. "Firm size and sustainable performance in food supply chains: Insights from Greek SMEs," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 112-130.
    7. Naoum Tsolakis & Jagjit Singh Srai & Eirini Aivazidou, 2018. "Blue Water Footprint Management in a UK Poultry Supply Chain under Environmental Regulatory Constraints," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-13, February.
    8. Gerbens-Leenes, P. W. & Moll, H. C. & Schoot Uiterkamp, A. J. M., 2003. "Design and development of a measuring method for environmental sustainability in food production systems," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 231-248, September.
    9. Brandenburg, Marcus & Govindan, Kannan & Sarkis, Joseph & Seuring, Stefan, 2014. "Quantitative models for sustainable supply chain management: Developments and directions," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 233(2), pages 299-312.
    10. Trott, Paul & Simms, Chris, 2017. "An examination of product innovation in low- and medium-technology industries: Cases from the UK packaged food sector," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 605-623.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Aygun E. Guliyeva & Marcin Lis, 2020. "Sustainability Management of Organic Food Organizations: A Case Study of Azerbaijan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-20, June.
    2. Bojana Kalenjuk Pivarski & Stefan Šmugović & Dragana Tekić & Velibor Ivanović & Aleksandra Novaković & Dragan Tešanović & Maja Banjac & Bojan Đerčan & Tatjana Peulić & Beba Mutavdžić & Jasmina Lazarev, 2022. "Characteristics of Traditional Food Products as a Segment of Sustainable Consumption in Vojvodina’s Hospitality Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-19, October.
    3. Julius Brinken & Sebastian Trojahn & Fabian Behrendt, 2022. "Sufficiency, Consistency, and Efficiency as a Base for Systemizing Sustainability Measures in Food Supply Chains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-18, May.
    4. Katarzyna Liczmańska-Kopcewicz & Paula Pypłacz & Agnieszka Wiśniewska, 2020. "Resonance of Investments in Renewable Energy Sources in Industrial Enterprises in the Food Industry," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-20, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rohmer, S.U.K. & Gerdessen, J.C. & Claassen, G.D.H., 2019. "Sustainable supply chain design in the food system with dietary considerations: A multi-objective analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 273(3), pages 1149-1164.
    2. Andrzej Lis & Agata Sudolska & Mateusz Tomanek, 2020. "Mapping Research on Sustainable Supply-Chain Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-26, May.
    3. Martins, C.L. & Melo, M.T. & Pato, M.V., 2019. "Redesigning a food bank supply chain network in a triple bottom line context," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 234-247.
    4. Martins, C. L. & Melo, Teresa & Pato, Margarida Vaz, 2016. "Redesigning a food bank supply chain network, Part I: Background and mathematical formulation," Technical Reports on Logistics of the Saarland Business School 10, Saarland University of Applied Sciences (htw saar), Saarland Business School.
    5. Tuni, Andrea & Rentizelas, Athanasios, 2019. "An innovative eco-intensity based method for assessing extended supply chain environmental sustainability," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 126-142.
    6. Sgarbossa, Fabio & Russo, Ivan, 2017. "A proactive model in sustainable food supply chain: Insight from a case study," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 183(PB), pages 596-606.
    7. Moreno-Miranda, Carlos & Dries, Liesbeth, 2022. "Integrating coordination mechanisms in the sustainability assessment of agri-food chains: From a structured literature review to a comprehensive framework," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    8. Mariana Toussaint & Pablo Cabanelas & Alicia Blanco‐González, 2021. "Social sustainability in the food value chain: An integrative approach beyond corporate social responsibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 103-115, January.
    9. Weihua Liu & Enze Bai & Liwei Liu & Wanying Wei, 2017. "A Framework of Sustainable Service Supply Chain Management: A Literature Review and Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-25, March.
    10. Siems, Erik & Land, Anna & Seuring, Stefan, 2021. "Dynamic capabilities in sustainable supply chain management: An inter-temporal comparison of the food and automotive industries," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    11. Oriana Gava & Francesca Galli & Fabio Bartolini & Gianluca Brunori, 2018. "Linking Sustainability with Geographical Proximity in Food Supply Chains. An Indicator Selection Framework," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-22, August.
    12. Kamble, Sachin S. & Gunasekaran, Angappa & Gawankar, Shradha A., 2020. "Achieving sustainable performance in a data-driven agriculture supply chain: A review for research and applications," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 219(C), pages 179-194.
    13. Yongmei Xu & Jiho Yoon & Myung Kyo Kim & Chwen Sheu, 2018. "Toward Supply Chain Sustainability: Governance and Implementation of Joint Sustainability Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-26, May.
    14. Maiyar, Lohithaksha M. & Thakkar, Jitesh J., 2019. "Modelling and analysis of intermodal food grain transportation under hub disruption towards sustainability," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 281-297.
    15. Anup Kumar & Santosh Kumar Shrivastav & Avinash K. Shrivastava & Rashmi Ranjan Panigrahi & Abbas Mardani & Fausto Cavallaro, 2023. "Sustainable Supply Chain Management, Performance Measurement, and Management: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-25, March.
    16. Najafi, Mehdi & Zolfagharinia, Hossein, 2024. "A Multi-objective integrated approach to address sustainability in a meat supply chain," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    17. Shashi & Rajwinder Singh & Piera Centobelli & Roberto Cerchione, 2018. "Evaluating Partnerships in Sustainability-Oriented Food Supply Chain: A Five-Stage Performance Measurement Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-18, December.
    18. Wensi Zhang & Jing Xiao & Lingfei Cai, 2020. "Joint Emission Reduction Strategy in Green Supply Chain under Environmental Regulation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-24, April.
    19. Jyoti Dhingra Darbari & Devika Kannan & Vernika Agarwal & P. C. Jha, 2019. "Fuzzy criteria programming approach for optimising the TBL performance of closed loop supply chain network design problem," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 273(1), pages 693-738, February.
    20. Mastrocinque, Ernesto & Ramírez, F. Javier & Honrubia-Escribano, Andrés & Pham, Duc T., 2022. "Industry 4.0 enabling sustainable supply chain development in the renewable energy sector: A multi-criteria intelligent approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:9:p:3148-:d:167564. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.