Carbon-Efficient Supply Chains

There is increased interest in the business community to reduce carbon based energy consumption as well as the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the products and services they provide. Even though there are numerous "corporate" and "national" centric initiatives, in our modern economy the flow of products to consumers engage multiple partners in long and complex supply networks. It is therefore necessary to address this problem from a supply chain perspective.

This research initiative will address three challenges in developing carbon-efficient strategies for supply chains:

• Measurement - How do you calculate the carbon footprint of a supply chain? Where do you start and stop? What do you include?

• Strategy & Decision Making - What are the right strategies to reduce the energy and carbon emissions through out the supply chain? How do you prioritize technology investments based on your current footprint and supply chain strategy?
  

• Labeling & Reporting - How do you communicate the carbon footprint to consumers and stakeholders? How do you communicate carbon information within the supply chain?

Note: We use the word "carbon" to indicate both embodied non-renewal energy as well as greenhouse gas emissions.