Sustainable Supply Chains

Business, government, and consumer concern about environmental and sustainability issues shape the practice of supply chain management. Companies and organizations must develop strategies that are both strategic for their supply chains and that meet their responsibility and sustainability goals.

A new generation of sustainability is unfolding. Join us as we explore the future.

MIT Sustainable Supply Chains Lab

Sustainable supply chain management

Supply chain sustainability is now a business imperative fueled by the demands and requirements of consumers, governments, investors, and third parties. Investors and consumers are requiring increasingly robust social and environmental action from organizations.

To better understand and support these changes, researchers at the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics have come together in this initiative to individually and collaboratively improve the social and environmental sustainability of supply chain business processes.

The next generation of supply chain professionals

This work serves as a platform for MIT CTL to engage with students, industry, and stakeholders on research, education, and engagement related to sustainable supply chains. We aspire to empower current and future generation of supply chain leaders to make a positive impact on people and planet while meeting their business needs. Educating future supply chain professionals is the key to enabling the future of sustainable supply chains.

Interested in learning more or getting involved? Visit our website at sustainable.mit.edu or email our Sustainable Supply Chains Lab at ctl-sscl@mit.edu.

Areas of Focus

Organizational Change for Sustainability. This research focuses on the fundamental strategies and techniques required for organizational change to embed sustainability across the supply chain. Through a combination of interviews, surveys, and roundtables, research to obtain a deeper understanding on how to embed sustainability into large organizations, how to transition from “eco-efficiency” efforts into a broader systems thinking and, most importantly, how to prioritize the various dimensions of sustainability combining strategic goals with effective approaches and internal and external stakeholder engagement.

Supply Chain Climate Impact. For many companies, climate impact is in the supply chain - distributed across a wide range of suppliers across the globe. CTL researchers are working to better understand - and reduce - climate impacts through the development and application of emissions calculation methodologies, engagement with suppliers and the advancement of procurement strategies.

Technologies for Supply Chain Traceability. This project is an investigation into technology innovations for supply traceability. Beginning with a broad review of existing practices, best practices, and newly emerging technologies including a trial pilots – this research seeks to examine the viability of emerging digital options such as blockchain and other tracing technologies in increasing the visibility and traceability into deeply opaque supply chains.

Sustainable Logistics. Global supply chains create a dependence on freight transportation that is only growing - the logistics sector is set to triple by 2050. To support the sustainable development of the logistics sector, CTL researchers are finding new ways to optimize supply chains, efficiently use of transportation assets, streamline urban logistics, and track carbon emissions.

Supply Chains and Humanitarian Response. Supply chains are the critical link in delivering life-saving supplies during crisis triggered by events such as natural disasters, conflict, and disease outbreak. CTL's research combines empirical study of the decision-making context through appropriately-sanctioned deployment during crisis with practical application by upgrading skills through education and shaping public and private sector policies and practices.

Sustainable Development through Community Food Systems. CTL, along with its Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence (SCALE) Network, has been involved in food systems for over two decades in Africa, North America, Southeast Asia, Latin America and beyond. This project represents a new step forward for CTL, bringing together the capability of its internal expertise to tackle the issues facing agriculture and food-related supply chains.

Palm Oil Sustainability. Rapid growth in palm oil demand has resulted in high rates of deforestation and deeply inequitable social conditions in highly opaque supply chains. Major users of palm oil are highly invested in increasing the portion of sustainable palm oil that they source. This research identifies the barriers in sustainable sourcing of palm oil through an examination of governance, traceability approaches, and disclosure of practices in the palm oil supply chain.

Researchers at CTL

Professor Yossi Sheffi, CTL Director and Elisha Gray II Professor of Engineering Systems
Alexis Bateman, Sustainable Supply Chains Lab Director
Kellen Betts, Sustainable Supply Chains Lab Project Manager
Inma Borrella, Research Scientist
David Correll, Research Scientist
Tugba Efendigil, Research Associate
Jarrod Goenztel, Humanitarian Supply Chain Lab Director
Maria Jesus Saenz, Digital Supply Chain Transformation Director
Chris Mejía Argueta, Food and Retail Operations Lab Director
Eva Ponce, Omnichannel Distribution Strategies Director
Tim Russell, Humanitarian Supply Chain Lab Manager
Josué Velázquez, Sustainable Logistics Initiative Director
Matthias Winkenbach, Megacity Logistics Lab Director

Sustainability-Related Publications

In chronological order

View all of CTL's publications here. Follow CTL on Medium here.

Bateman, A. (2019) What Supply Chain Transparency Really Means. Harvard Business Review. link

Greene, S. (2019) How to Make CO2 a KPI for Freight Transportation. MIT Supply Chain Blog. link

Sheffi, Y. (2019) Corporate Hot Air No Substitute for Real Action on Climate Change. MIT Supply Chain Blog. link

Natali, P, Greene, S., & Toledano, P. How much carbon dioxide is actually in your products? MIT Supply Chain Blog. link

Velázquez-Martínez, J., Gámez-Pérez, K. & Cottrill, K. An Alternative Route to a Fuel-Efficient Last Mile. MIT Supply Chain Blog. link

Greene, S. & Lewis, A. (2019) Global Logistics Emissions Council Framework for Logistics Emissions Accounting Methodologies. Smart Freight Centre. link

Sheffi, Y. & Cottrill, K. (2018) Why We Need a New Manhattan Project to Combat Climate Change. MIT Supply Chain Blog. link

Bateman, A. (2018). Fed Foot-Dragging on Food Regs Highlights Company Role. MIT Supply Chain Blog. link

Sheffi, Y. (2018) Profits v. Planet: Can Big Business and the Environment Get Along? MIT Supply Chain Blog. link

Sheffi, Y. (2018) Setting a Course for Viable Sustainability. MIT Supply Chain Blog. link

Sheffi, Y., & Blanco, E. (2018). Balancing Green. MIT Press. link.

Greene, S. (2018). What's Missing? Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Accounting in The Metals And Minerals Industry.” Matériaux & Techniques 105, 503. link

WWF. (2018) “Transport Science-Based Target Setting Guidance.” Greene, S., Ed. link.

Bateman, A. & K. Setavoraphan (2017). Urban Adaptations and Innovations in Bangkok, Thailand: A Case Study of 7-Eleven. In Reaching 50 Million Nanostores: Retail Distribution in Emerging Megacities. Edited by E. Blanco & J. Fransoo.

Bateman, A. (2017). Digital Audits as a Tactical and Strategic Management Resource. Sloan Management Review.

Bateman, A. (2017). A Clearer Picture of Supply Chain Transparency. Supply Chain Management Review.

Bateman, A. (2017). Why Most Supply Chain Management Risk Management Strategies Don’t Hold Water. Sloan Management Review.

Bozic, D. & A. Bateman (2017). Social Transparency in Global Apparel Supply Chains: Legal and Technological Influences. In Eco Friendly and Fair: Fast Fashion and Consumer Behavior. Greenleaf Publishing.

Brennan, M., Goentzel, J., Gooding, E., Green J., and Spielberg, J. (2017). Scaling Adoption of Hermetic Post-harvest Storage Technologies in Uganda. MIT Comprehensive Initiative on Technology Evaluation. link

Correll, D.H.C., Suzuki, Y. and Martens, B.J. (2017). The diversity-logistics hypothesis: how animals and manufacturers stand to reduce inbound logistics and inventory costs through diversity, Progress in Industrial Ecology - An International Journal, Vol. 11.

Greene, S. (2017). Logistics Emissions Move Into the Spotlight. UPS Longitudes.

Greene, S. (2017). Black Carbon Methodology for the Logistics Sector. UN Climate and Clean Air Coalition. link.

Leenders, B.P.J., Velázquez-Martínez, J.C., Fransoo, J.C. (2017). Emissions Allocation in Transportation Routes. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment.

Acimovic, J., and Goentzel, J. (2016) Models and metrics to assess humanitarian response capacity. Journal of Operations Management, Volume 45, Pages 11 - 29, July 2016. link.

Bateman, A., Blanco. E., & Sheffi, Y. (2016). Disclosing and Reporting Environmental Sustainability of Supply Chains. In Sustainable Supply Chains. Springer. Edited by Y. Bouchery, T. Tan., J. Fransoo, & C. Corbett.

Bateman, A. & Y. Sheffi. (2016). How a Lack of Systemic Thinking Threatens a Sustainable U.S. Energy Policy. Sloan Management Review.

Bateman, A. (2016). New Supplier Strategies Raise Important Corporate Questions. Wall Street Journal.

Carland, C., and Goentzel, J. (2016). Evaluating Business Criteria for Scaling Stock of Malaria Rapid Diagnostics. MIT Comprehensive Initiative on Technology Evaluation. link.

Goentzel, J., and Heigh, I. (2015) Supply Chains in Crisis. Inside Logistics, Pages 16 - 18. link.

Greene, S. and Lewis, A. (2016). A Harmonized Approach for Calculating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Freight Transportation. Environmental Management.

Sheffi, Y. and Blanco, E.E. (2016). Green Logistics. In Sustainable Supply Chains. Edited by Y. Bouchery, T. Tan., J. Fransoo, & C. Corbett. Springer.

Velázquez-Martínez, J.C., Fransoo, J.C.,Blanco, E.E., Valenzuela-Ocaña, K. (2016). A New Statistical Method of Assigning Vehicles to Delivery Areas for CO2 Emissions Reduction. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment.

Velázquez-Martínez, J.C., Fransoo. J.C. (2016). Green Facility Location. In Sustainable Supply Chains. Edited by Y. Bouchery, T. Tan., J. Fransoo, & C. Corbett. Springer.

Bateman, A. (2015). Tracking the Value of Traceability. Supply Chain Management Review. November 2015.

Bateman, A. (2015). Labeling Aside, Companies Need Transparent Supply Chains. Wall Street Journal.

Greene, S. and Lewis, A. (2015). Global Logistics Emissions Council Framework for Logistics Emissions Methodologies. Smart Freight Centre. link.

Kirchain, R., Olivetti, E., Miller, TR, and Greene, S. (2015). Sustainable Apparel Materials. MIT Materials Systems Laboratory. link.

Jairo R. Montoya-Torres, Edgar Gutierrez-Franco & Edgar E. Blanco (2015) Conceptual framework for measuring carbon footprint in supply chains, Production Planning & Control, 26:4, 265-279.

Velázquez-Martínez, J.C., Blanco, E.E., Fransoo, J. C., Mora-Vargas, J. (2015). Transportation Cost and CO2 Emissions in Location Decision Models. Beta Research School for Operations Management and Logistics/ TU/e. Working Paper series 451.

Bateman, A. (2014). A meta-analysis of global eco-labels. MIT Engineering Systems Working Paper.

Blanco, E.E. and Cottrill, K. (2014). Closing the loop on a circular supply chain. Supply Chain Management Review.

Blanco, E.E. and Cottrill, K.(2014). Delivering on the promise of green logistics. MIT Sloan Management Review.

Correll, D.; Suzuki, Y. and Martens, B.J., (2014). Biorenewable fuels at the intersection of product and process flexibility: A novel modeling approach and application. International Journal of Production Economics.

Correll, D.; Suzuki, Y. and Martens, B.J. (2014) .Logistical supply chain design for bioeconomy applications. Biomass & Bioenergy 66, pp. 60-69.

Juan, A., Goentzel, J. and Bektas, T. Routing Fleets with Multiple Driving Ranges: is it possible to use greener fleet configurations? Applied Soft Computing, Volume 21, pages 84–94. link.

Velázquez-Martínez, J.C., Fransoo, J.C., Blanco, E.E., Mora-Vargas, J. (2014). The Impact of Carbon Footprinting Aggregation on Realizing Emission Reduction Targets. Flexible Services and Manufacturing Journal, 1-25.

Craig, A., Blanco E.E., and Sheffi,Y. (2013). Estimating the CO2 intensity of intermodal freight transportation. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 22, 2013, Pages 49-53.

Sullivan, E., Goentzel, J., and Weintraub, R. (2012) The Global Health Supply Chain. Concept Note GHD-C01, Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston. link.

Greene, S., Adames, J., Alonzo, A., and Forterre, D. (2011) Business Decisions Around Carbon Offsets: Examining the Drivers of Value and Sources of Uncertainty.” MIT Leaders in Environmental Assessment and Performance. link

Craig, A. and Blanco, E.E. (2009) The Banana Carbon Footprint Case Study. MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics. link.