From closed-loop to sustainable supply chains: the WEEE case

Abstract

Abstract\n The primary objective of closed-loop supply chains (CLSC) is to improve the maximum economic benefit from end-of-use products. Nevertheless, literature within this stream of research advocates that closing the loop also helps to mitigate the undesirable footprint of supply chains. Therefore, closed-loop supply chains are assumed to be sustainable supply chains almost by definition. In this paper we analyze if and when this assumption holds. We illustrate our findings based on the supply chain of Electric and Electronic Equipments (EEE). For all phases of the supply chain, i.e. manufacturing, usage, transportation and
\nend-of-life activities, we assess the magnitude of environmental impacts, based on a single environmental metric called Cumulative Energy Demand (CED). Given the environmental hot-spots in the Electric and Electronic Equipments supply chain, we propose useful extensions for existing CLSC optimization models to ensure that closed loop supply chains are at the same time sustainable ones.