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Potential Solutions for Environmentally Friendly Supply Chain Transformation

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2026) | Viewed by 1978

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Mingwei Wang

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Guest Editor

School of Economics and Management, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, China
Interests: sustainable evaluation and management; decision analysis based on big data; collective intelligence and collective behavior
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Zhifeng Qian

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Guest Editor

School of Management, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Interests: green supply chain management; closed-loop supply chain operation management

Dr. Yuanyuan Fu

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Guest Editor

College of Management Science, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China
Interests: sustainable evaluation and management; group decision analysis; social network

Dr. Hengyu Li

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Guest Editor

Department of Marketing, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China
Interests: sustainable retail; channel management; live streaming; brand management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Against the background of the profound restructuring of the global economic landscape, intensifying climate change, and increasingly urgent resource constraints, the transformation of supply chains to become more environmentally friendly is imperative. However, addressing the complexities of this transformation requires a thorough exploration of potential solutions. In practice, firms are attempting to become environmentally friendly through various means, including supply chain collaboration, green technology innovation, and the advancement of the circular economy. Particularly, Industry 4.0 technologies, including artificial intelligence, blockchain, and IoT, present significant opportunities to facilitate environmentally friendly supply chain transformation. This Special Issue seeks the submission of contributions that delve into technological applications and innovative practices used to promote environmentally friendly supply chains. To meet this aim, this Special Issue invites the submission of original and meaningful works which include real-world practices of environmentally friendly supply chain transformation management and decision support. Research from an interdisciplinary perspective is also welcome.

Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Artificial intelligence-driven resource allocation optimization;
Strategic assessment of data-driven carbon footprint in supply chains;
Impact of digital technologies on the social and environmental dimension in supply chains;
Data-driven carbon emission control strategy decisions in supply chain;
Supply chain transformation policy making with group opinions on social media;
Collaborative decision-making models for reducing environmental footprints;
Data-driven closed-loop supply chain management and model design;
Artificial intelligence-driven product remanufacturing operation management;
Data-driven product life cycle management;
Green logistics optimization in the environmentally friendly transformation of supply chains;
Design of cooperation model among supply chain members in operations management;
The operational decision-making issues of applying blockchain technology in supply chains.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Mingwei Wang
Dr. Zhifeng Qian
Dr. Yuanyuan Fu
Dr. Hengyu Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

environmentally friendly transformation
green supply chain
low carbon emissions
sustainability decision-making
artificial intelligence
data-driven decision-making

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

32 pages, 1929 KB

Open AccessArticle

Green Recycling Decisions for End-of-Life Photovoltaic Modules Under Government Reward and Penalty Policies

by Ruifang La, Xinxin Lin, Zhifeng Qian and Linjie Zhang

Sustainability 2026, 18(10), 4882; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18104882 - 13 May 2026

Viewed by 122

Abstract

Recycling end-of-life (EoL) photovoltaic (PV) modules is essential for resource recovery and pollution mitigation, yet weak incentives and non-standardized treatment continue to hinder the development of formal recycling systems. This paper develops a tripartite evolutionary game model involving the government, PV power generators, and third-party recyclers under a reward–penalty policy mechanism. Replicator dynamic equations, Jacobian stability analysis, and MATLAB R2023b (MathWorks, Natick, MA, USA) simulations are used to examine strategic interactions and evolutionary paths. The results show that: (1) under the baseline parameter setting, the system converges to a unique evolutionary stable strategy, (0, 1, 1), namely no government regulation, generator recycling, and recycler green technology innovation; (2) variations in initial strategy probabilities affect convergence speed but do not change the final equilibrium; (3) under the same total reward expenditure, increasing rewards to generators drives the system toward the desirable equilibrium faster than allocating the same amount mainly to recyclers; and (4) penalty policies also promote compliance, but their marginal effect is weaker than that of reward-based incentives. These findings suggest that appropriately designed incentives can accelerate generator recycling and recycler green innovation, while the government’s role may gradually shift from direct intervention to supervision and coordination. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Potential Solutions for Environmentally Friendly Supply Chain Transformation)

27 pages, 8424 KB

Open AccessArticle

Implementation of Regulatory Strategies for Coal-Based Solid Waste Material Utilization in Road Engineering: An Evolutionary Game Theoretical Approach

by Yang Zhang, Wei Li, Songbo Guo, Hangyang Li and Yuhong Zhao

Sustainability 2026, 18(10), 4830; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18104830 - 12 May 2026

Viewed by 345

Abstract

The utilization of coal-based solid waste materials (CSW) in road engineering is an important pathway for reducing stockpiling pressure, mitigating environmental risks, and promoting resource recycling. However, their large-scale diffusion is still constrained by residual engineering risk, misaligned cost and risk allocation between upstream and downstream actors, and imperfect regulatory and incentive mechanisms. To address these issues, this study develops a tripartite evolutionary game model involving the regulator, the waste producer, and the waste utilizer. The model incorporates pretreatment investment, residual engineering risk, government rewards and penalties, and green collaborative benefits to examine the evolutionary dynamics of the three parties and the stability of the system under different conditions. The results show that deep pretreatment by waste producers is a key prerequisite for the diffusion of CSW materials, as it reduces material instability and downstream engineering risk and increases the utilizer’s willingness to adopt such materials. The effects of rewards and penalties are differentiated across actors: effective penalties play a stronger role in constraining low-cost disposal by waste producers, whereas rewards are more effective in encouraging adoption by waste utilizers. The interaction analysis further shows that residual engineering risk significantly constrains the positive effect of green collaborative benefits, indicating that benefit enhancement cannot substitute for risk governance. In addition, the total amount of green collaborative benefits and their release and distribution structure jointly affect behavioral convergence and system stability. The system is more likely to evolve toward a stable state characterized by deep pretreatment, active adoption, and routine regulation when benefit sharing is consistent with the costs and risks borne by each party. Based on these findings, this study suggests that differentiated policy design is needed, including stronger source pretreatment and quality control, a coordinated reward–penalty mechanism for different actors, more targeted incentives and acceptance requirements for waste utilizers, and an improved governance framework featuring quality standards, full-process traceability, and risk warning mechanisms. These measures are essential for promoting the stable and large-scale utilization of CSW materials in road engineering. By translating model results into staged regulatory, quality-control, and supply-chain actions, the findings also support broader sustainable development goals, including responsible consumption and production, resilient infrastructure, climate action, and ecosystem protection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Potential Solutions for Environmentally Friendly Supply Chain Transformation)

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20 pages, 1127 KB

Open AccessArticle

A Biform Analysis of Coopetition in Green Co-Creation

by Yan Zhang, Yixiang Tian, Bo Liu and Yi Jin

Sustainability 2025, 17(23), 10770; https://doi.org/10.3390/su172310770 - 1 Dec 2025

Viewed by 555

Abstract

Green co-creation plays a vital role in promoting sustainability by engaging both firms and consumers in value creation, yet most studies examine competition and cooperation separately without considering their interplay. This study investigates the dynamics of coopetition in green co-creation by developing a two-stage biform game that integrates competitive interaction and cooperative bargaining within a unified framework. The results show that (1) greater green co-creation efforts, representing deeper firm–customer interactions, improve both parties’ equilibrium outcomes; (2) cooperation leads to greater green effort investment than pure competition; and (3) when Nash bargaining conditions are satisfied, coopetition improves both individual profits and total welfare compared with sole competition. These findings highlight that coopetition not only strengthens mutual economic benefits, but also enhances sustainability performance by balancing competitive and cooperative forces. This study provides an analytical foundation for understanding firm–customer coopetition and offers actionable insights for advancing sustainable value creation in green supply chain management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Potential Solutions for Environmentally Friendly Supply Chain Transformation)

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