Green supply chain: How does it affect current supply chain practice?

Abstract

With the growing awareness of human activity on global climate change, the pricing of carbon emissions would inevitably become reality in Asia as it is in Europe. This paper critically analyzes the possible environmental challenges on supply chain management at the strategic level and the possible paradigm shift. We investigate how environmental factors such as carbon emission affect the supply chain architecture and change its landscape. We predict that green supply chain would bring a paradigm shift in supply chain management. Higher level of horizontal integration is expected to see among suppliers, manufacturers and logistics service providers, and geographically the supply chain would start to contract after the ruthless expansion in past two decades. These predictions would help manufacturers, suppliers, and logistics service providers adjust their supply chain strategies in this shift. © 2008 IEEE.