Search Results (359)

The Circular Economy (CE) offers an alternative to the traditional “take–make–dispose” model and is increasingly important in hospitality due to the sector’s high resource consumption. This systematic review analyzes 159 studies published between 1995 and 2024, sourced from ABI, BSP, and WoS, and consolidates scattered knowledge on CE practices in hotels. It outlines five strategies for transitioning to CE: energy efficiency, renewable energy, water management, waste reduction, and carbon footprint reduction. These are supported by green procurement, local supply chains, eco-certifications, and regenerative branding, all of which help hotels fulfill stakeholder expectations and support local economies. Guest engagement—through nudges, incentives, co-creation, and digital tools for monitoring and feedback—is becoming increasingly important. The review shows that CE adoption is driven by internal factors such as leadership, staff training, culture, and resources, as well as external factors such as regulation, institutional pressure, and consumer demand for authenticity. Effective collaboration among managers, staff, suppliers, policymakers, and certifiers is essential for achieving systemic adoption. CE is moving from operational efficiency to broad innovation benefiting the environment, economy, and society, despite financial, regulatory, and behavioral challenges. Future research should prioritize establishing measurement standards, addressing scalability issues, and evaluating the global effectiveness of implementation. Full article

This research investigates how CE initiatives, interpreted as manifestations of corporate social responsibility, shape green value co-creation, green collaborative culture, and green supply chain integration across both supplier and customer contexts. The proposed conceptual framework also explores the possibility that digital maturity can moderate these interrelations, based on signaling theory. Empirical results, obtained through PLS SEM and NCA on a data sample of 493 suppliers and customers, confirm that CE practices have a significant positive impact on green value co-creation, which, in turn, influences the green collaborative behavior of the actors and the integration of the supply chain. The moderating role of digital maturity is reinforced in the linkages between green value co-creation, collaboration, and integration. Thereby, their effectiveness is strengthened. This study adds to the literature by proposing an integrative relationship between CE practices and outcomes within the supply chain dyad, offering a rare empirical study of relationships between suppliers and organizations in an emerging economy, and shedding light on the boundary condition of digital maturity within these relationships. The results have significant implications for managers seeking to maximize their sustainability performance through circular practices and digital capabilities. Full article

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings have become central to sustainable finance, yet substantial disagreement among rating agencies creates information uncertainty that may extend beyond the rated firm itself. While the growing literature examines how ESG rating disagreement affects corporate behavior at the firm level, the question of whether such disagreement propagates along supply chains remains unexplored. Using matched customer–supplier panel data from Chinese A-share listed companies over the period 2015 to 2023, this paper investigates whether and how ESG rating disagreement of customer firms is related to the environmental performance of their suppliers. The baseline results indicate that greater ESG rating disagreement of customer firms is associated with a significant deterioration in supplier environmental performance in the subsequent year, and a one-standard-deviation increase in disagreement is associated with a 0.23% increase in supplier pollution emission intensity. Mechanism analysis points to three channels: greater ESG rating disagreement is associated with weaker green supply chain management practices, with tighter customer financing constraints that limit the resources available for supply chain governance, and with the lower quality of the ESG information transmitted to suppliers. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the negative spillover is more pronounced when suppliers are more dependent on the customer, when the supply chain relationship is more stable, when customer firms are privately owned, and when customers operate in pollution-intensive industries. A decomposition by rating pillar indicates that disagreement over the environmental pillar is the primary driver. These findings extend the ESG rating disagreement literature from the firm level to the supply chain network level, demonstrating that the costs of rating inconsistency are not confined to the rated entity but spill over to upstream partners. Full article

With the growing energy demand and concerns about environmental impacts, green hydrogen has become one of the main alternatives for a clean and reliable energy future. Brazil presents itself as one of the main potential suppliers of this renewable fuel, considering its resource abundance, such as solar irradiation. Therefore, the present study aims to evaluate in detail the hydrogen production potential of one of Brazil’s main states when it comes to solar power potential, Minas Gerais. The potential for each of the 853 municipalities of the region was assessed individually using three different methodologies, indicating that the state could produce 2365.2 TWh of electricity or 47.3 Mt_H2/year (with a maximum variation of 3.4% between the methodologies), nearly five times the EU’s projected 2030 hydrogen import demand. This estimation, however, was significantly reduced when only areas with a slope lower than 8% were considered, decreasing land availability by 40% and cutting hydrogen potential by 18.8 Mt/year. On the other hand, increasing power density from 4 to 15 MWh/km² almost tripled hydrogen production potential, while electrolyzer efficiency also presented a positive effect on hydrogen output. Finally, the comparison of hydrogen potential with Human Development Index (HDI) data indicates that the most productive mesoregions often coincide with lower human development levels, particularly in the “Norte de Minas” and “Jequitinhonha” mesoregions, highlighting the opportunity to align energy transition with regional development goals. Therefore, targeted investments in these regions could generate jobs, boost income, and reduce inequalities, reinforcing green hydrogen as both an environmental and social driver. Full article

Supplier selection in healthcare is a complex multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) challenge requiring a balance of sustainability, resilience, and operational efficiency. Traditional methods struggle with scalability and subjectivity when applied to large administrative datasets. This study introduces a transparent hybrid Machine Learning–MCDM (ML–MCDM) framework, validated using a U.S. Medicare dataset of 661 suppliers. The framework integrates eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) and SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) for criterion prioritization, the Full Consistency Method (FUCOM) for mathematically consistent weighting, and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) for final ranking. As the dataset lacks direct sustainability metrics, seven indicators were synthetically generated; thus, the results serve as proof-of-concept demonstration of the framework’s architecture. Specifically, XGBoost–SHAP is trained to predict a synthetically constructed Overall Performance Score (OPS), meaning that the resulting feature importance output constitutes an algorithmic consistency check—confirming that the pipeline correctly recovers importance signals deliberately embedded in the training target. For interpretability, suppliers were segmented into five performance profiles via K-Means: Strategic Partners (17.7%), Green Leaders (18.6%), Reliable Emergency Suppliers (18.2%), Balanced Performers (20.4%), and Developing Suppliers (25.1%). Carbon Footprint Score (0.408) and Emergency Response Capability (0.316) achieved the highest feature importance. FUCOM-derived weights prioritized On-Time Delivery Rate (0.272), Carbon Footprint Score (0.222), and Emergency Response Capability (0.220). The top supplier attained a TOPSIS closeness coefficient of 0.800, showing strong discrimination. Sensitivity analysis across four scenarios confirmed ranking robustness, maintaining Spearman correlations ρ ≥ 0.977. This ML–FUCOM–TOPSIS approach provides an auditable, scalable, and policy-relevant decision-support tool, enabling procurement managers to navigate high-dimensional data while ensuring operational continuity and environmental responsibility in healthcare supply chains. Full article

In light of the growing prominence of environmental issues, the frequent occurrence of unexpected incidents, and the dynamic challenges of a changing market environment, suppliers must possess comprehensive capabilities that encompass both green and sustainable development as well as resilience to risks. Consequently, green supplier selection has emerged as a critical research topic. By integrating virtual and physical systems, digital twin technology enhances supply chain transparency and efficiency—a capability that plays a significant role in advancing sustainable supply chain development. In view of this, this study incorporates risk factors into the green supplier evaluation system, introduces indicators related to digital twin technology, and proposes a stochastic slack-based measure data envelopment analysis method, namely SSBM, for evaluating green suppliers. This approach expands and refines the existing evaluation criteria and the decision-making model. Finally, a numerical case study is conducted to validate the feasibility of the proposed method. This research provides more systematic and scientific decision support for green supplier selection, enriching the theoretical and practical applications in the fields of green supply chain and multi-criteria decision-making. Full article

Background: Circular logistics translates circular economy principles into practical supply chain processes, but its adoption varies across firms because organizations differ in sustainability commitment, circular supply chain motivation, shared circular identity, and digital traceability capability. This study examines how supplier sustainability commitment and circular supply chain motivation influence circular logistics adoption through circular supply chain identity, while also testing the moderating role of digital traceability capability. Methods: Data were collected from 350 supply chain professionals in Saudi Arabia and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Results: Supplier sustainability commitment and circular supply chain motivation positively influenced both circular logistics adoption and circular supply chain identity. Circular supply chain identity also positively affected circular logistics adoption and partially mediated the effects of both antecedents. Digital traceability capability acted as a selective moderator: it weakened the circular supply chain motivation–identity relationship, did not significantly moderate the supplier sustainability commitment–adoption relationship, but strengthened the circular supply chain identity–adoption relationship. It also moderated the indirect effect of circular supply chain motivation on circular logistics adoption through circular supply chain identity. Conclusions: Circular logistics adoption is driven not only by commitment and motivation, but also by shared circular identity and digitally enabled traceability. Full article

Environmental supply-chain governance increasingly requires firms to trace climate accountability across buyer–supplier relationships. This study examines whether downstream customer climate pressure is associated with suppliers’ green supply-chain management and value-chain carbon accountability among Chinese listed firms. We construct an exposure-weighted customer pressure measure by combining disclosed top-customer relationships with customer climate-accountability signals, and we decompose this measure into disclosure-based and non-disclosure-based components so that symbolic and substantive accountability can be separated. We then link this measure to supplier green supply-chain indicators, value-chain carbon-disclosure components, Scope 3 disclosure, environmental investment, and reported environmental performance indicators, including air emissions, water pollutant discharge, resource consumption, and environmental tax. Using firm-year panel regressions with fixed effects, alternative pressure measures, selection corrections, and extended outcome tests, we find an association between customer climate pressure and supplier value-chain disclosure. The depth of the association is concentrated where customer carbon-disclosure visibility is observed and is not separately identified in the smaller climate-only subsample, while the value-chain interaction association is positive but imprecisely estimated there. The value-chain disclosure associations are robust to a year-stratified randomization-inference placebo test. We do not find evidence that customer pressure is associated with supplier emissions, resource use, environmental investment, or environmental tax in the available matched samples. The pattern is consistent with symbolic compliance in supply-chain carbon accountability: customer disclosure visibility maps into supplier disclosure visibility, while we do not observe parallel movement in substantive environmental outcomes. The central finding is therefore that downstream customer climate pressure is associated with what suppliers disclose rather than with what they emit, shaping supplier disclosure behavior rather than substantive emission reduction. The estimates apply to supplier-year observations with disclosed and mappable listed-customer links, which we treat as the scope condition of the study rather than as an incidental data limitation. Full article

Resource dependence pressure helps explain why some manufacturing firms remain tied to resource-based business paths even when green transformation is needed. Existing resource curse studies have mainly examined countries, regions, and resource-based cities, while less is known about how resource dependence works inside firms. We examine whether resource dependence pressure is associated with green innovation performance among Chinese manufacturing firms. Resource dependence pressure is defined as firm-level pressure arising from resource-linked customers and markets, resource-oriented suppliers and production chains, local policy/project opportunities, and inherited operating routines. Drawing on resource dependence theory, organizational inertia theory, and the digital dynamic capability perspective, we propose that organizational inertia mediates the relationship between resource dependence pressure and green innovation performance, while digital capability weakens the association between resource dependence pressure and organizational inertia. Survey data from 504 Chinese manufacturing firms are analyzed using PLS-SEM, with multi-group analysis comparing firms in resource-based cities and non-resource-based cities. The results show that resource dependence pressure is negatively associated with green innovation performance and positively associated with organizational inertia. Organizational inertia mediates this relationship. Digital capability weakens the resource dependence pressure-organizational inertia relationship, and this moderating pattern is stronger among firms in resource-based cities. The study extends resource curse research to the firm level and shows how digital capability is linked to weaker resource-induced organizational lock-in. Full article

Green labels on online travel platforms have become an important mechanism for disclosing environmental information and guiding sustainable tourism consumption. However, when a platform simultaneously provides green certification and competes with suppliers through its self-operated business, green label adoption may reshape both market competition and environmental outcomes. This study develops a game-theoretic model of a co-opetitive tourism platform supply chain consisting of a tourism service supplier (TSS) and an online travel platform (OTP). Two label adoption strategies are compared: the TSS’s self-labeling strategy and its adoption of the OTP-certified green label. The results show that, under self-labeling, the OTP can gain a competitive advantage by setting a higher price and greenness level, although this advantage weakens as consumer recognition of the TSS’s self-label increases. Under platform-certified labeling, the OTP raises the common green standard, which intensifies price competition between the two parties. In most cases, adopting the OTP’s green label improves supply chain profits; however, under certain combinations of competition intensity and platform label credibility, it may reduce the profits of both members and increase environmental damage. These findings suggest that platform-led green certification does not necessarily improve environmental performance and should be designed as a governance mechanism rather than a purely marketing instrument. Full article

Power grid technical renovation projects are implemented through project-based supply chains involving equipment procurement, logistics coordination and on-site construction under market, delivery and carbon constraints. Their final cost is jointly affected by engineering quantities, supplier behavior, lead-time uncertainty, material price volatility and sustainability requirements. Existing studies usually emphasize technical parameters and direct expenditure, whereas supplier reliability, green procurement, carbon intensity and procurement contingency effects are only indirectly incorporated. This study develops a dynamic Bayesian model for carbon-adjusted cost forecasting and investment priority support in power grid technical renovation projects. Based on 800 anonymized project-level records, a random forest is first used to identify informative engineering, supply chain and sustainability variables. These variables are then organized in a Bayesian network that links observed evidence, intermediate cost nodes and the carbon-adjusted cost target. A dynamic evidence-weighting mechanism updates posterior cost beliefs as supplier, logistics, market and carbon information become available during implementation. Compared with static Bayesian inference, XGBoost, an improved BPNN and GRA-based benchmarks, the proposed model yields lower MAE and RMSE. Ablation and scenario analyses further show that supply chain and sustainability variables improve both predictive performance and decision interpretability. The results provide a quantitative basis for budget control, green procurement adjustment, contingency allocation and sustainable asset renewal prioritization in energy enterprises. Full article

The conducted study examines the environmental impacts of logistics sector operations and possible solutions to reduce them. The main aim is to balance the stability of sustainability principles across economic, social, and environmental indicators by applying green methods. Logistics warehouse operations are also important, because they can also have negative impacts, but this study focuses on environmental pressures. Logistics firms choose to implement green sustainable methods because their major sustainability aim is the protection of the environment. Moreover, by achieving this vision, logistics companies can create better brand image and attract more customers and suppliers. This study included a survey conducted among various professionals to obtain a deep understanding of the topic, with the findings being visualised in charts to improve understanding and generate an interest for this area of study; a table illustration is also provided to clearly present the factors contributing to the environmental footprint of logistics firms and solutions to mitigate them. According to the results given in this article, it can be stated that the modern world shows great interest in the topic of sustainability and takes into strict consideration green methods in order to achieve sustainable operations efficiently. Full article

As a core decarbonization technology, the scaling up of Near-Zero Energy Building (NZEB) technologies under the “dual carbon” goal necessitates collaboration among governments, technology suppliers, and construction enterprises. However, high research and development (R&D) costs coupled with low market acceptance impede widespread adoption. This study develops a tripartite evolutionary game model to analyze strategic interactions among stakeholders. Using MATLAB 2022B simulations, we simulate the strategy sets for the government (subsidize/no subsidy), suppliers (R&D/no R&D), and enterprises (procure/no purchase). The results identify two Evolutionary Stable Strategies (ESS): a market-driven ESS (0, 1, 1) emerges when the green premium (Pm) exceeds the incremental cost (Cb); while a policy-driven ESS (1, 1, 1) requires government subsidies (S) to offset R&D gaps, specifically when $S>Cr/\alpha -Pmz$. These findings provide a theoretical basis for understanding the synergistic mechanisms underlying NZEB adoption and highlight the dynamic interplay between policy incentives and market forces. Full article

Corporate carbon reduction is essential for sustainable development, yet little is known about whether equity linkages within supply chains facilitate firms’ low-carbon transition. Using data on Chinese A-share listed firms from 2008 to 2022, this study examines the effect of supply chain shareholding, defined as equity ownership by suppliers and customers in a focal firm, on corporate carbon emission intensity. We find that supply chain shareholding significantly reduces corporate carbon emission intensity, and this result remains robust after a series of robustness and endogeneity tests. Mechanism analyses show that supply chain shareholding lowers carbon emission intensity by strengthening corporate green governance, promoting green innovation, and facilitating cleaner production. Further analyses indicate that this effect is more pronounced under stricter air quality requirements, in regions with stronger environmental regulation, and among heavily polluting industries. These findings highlight the role of supply chain governance in corporate carbon reduction and suggest that equity linkages within supply chains can support firms’ low-carbon transition. Full article

The aim of this study is to identify logistics supply chain criteria by considering the sustainability factor and to conduct a performance evaluation based on these criteria. The application analyzes 15 sub-criteria under the five main criteria of sustainable logistics: procurement logistics, production logistics, reverse logistics, distribution logistics, and disposal logistics. Accordingly, the importance weights of the logistics criteria were determined using the Fuzzy AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) method. Based on the determined criterion weights, an integrated model for performance evaluation was proposed using the Spherical Fuzzy MULTIMOORA (Multi-Objective Optimization by Ratio Analysis plus the Full Multiplicative Form) and Heuristic Fuzzy COPRAS (Complex Proportional Assessment) methods. The application ranked the sustainable logistics performance of three major logistics firms, and the results obtained from both methods were consistent. The findings highlight that the three criteria with the highest importance levels are, in order, as follows: green purchasing strategies (0.356), green design (0.151), and integration of supplier into environmental management processes (0.125). This demonstrates that firms aim to foster environmental responsibility not only in their internal processes but also throughout the supply chain. This study provides a reliable model for evaluating and improving sustainable logistics performance, contributing both to the academic literature and to practical applications in logistics firms. Full article