sustainability

Review
Sustainable Supply Chain Management: A Comprehensive
Systematic Review of Industrial Practices
Ehsan Shekarian 1,2,3, * , Behrang Ijadi 4 , Amirreza Zare 5 and Jukka Majava 2

1 European Shared Service Center, Rockwell Automation, 3065 WB Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2 Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Faculty of Technology, University of Oulu,
FI-90014 Oulu, Finland; [email protected]
3 Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences, Eindhoven University of Technology,
5612 AE Eindhoven, The Netherlands
4 Department of Accounting and Information Systems, School of Business, University of Canterbury,
Christchurch 8041, New Zealand; [email protected]
5 School of Engineering and Sciences, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Puebla 72453, Mexico; [email protected]
* Correspondence: [email protected] or [email protected] or [email protected]
or [email protected]

Abstract: Sustainable business practices are those that allow companies to increase their profit while
still considering the triple bottom line of sustainability, which involves economic, environmental, and
social aspects. There are a lot of studies exploring various aspects of supply chain practices. However,
there remains a gap for the proposal of a complete framework concerning various industries. This
research fills this gap by studying existing empirical and review studies. Based on a content analysis
of 86 studies, 789 practices are derived and categorized, leading to a comprehensive classification
of sustainable practices in supply chains. Moreover, the employed methods to analyze the data
are investigated. The practices are cross-checked versus the studied industries showing the current
sustainable industries. The details of the studied papers are presented in a comprehensive table.
The sustainable framework showing the industrial solutions toward sustainable supply chains is
Citation: Shekarian, E.; Ijadi, B.;
divided into 38 minor practices classified into 11 main categories. This paper provides a novel
Zare, A.; Majava, J. Sustainable
Supply Chain Management: A
interpretation of the sustainable solutions addressed by different industries and presents a new and
Comprehensive Systematic Review of updated classification of the literature identifying future directions. This offers many advantages
Industrial Practices. Sustainability for practitioners and researchers to transform a supply chain into an improved version in the
2022, 14, 7892. https://doi.org/ bigger picture.
10.3390/su14137892
Keywords: supply chain management; sustainable supply chains; sustainable practices; industrial
Academic Editor: Marc A. Rosen
classification; review
Received: 31 March 2022
Accepted: 8 June 2022
Published: 28 June 2022

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral

1. Introduction
with regard to jurisdictional claims in Over the past decades, the term “supply chain (SC)” has been discussed in countless
published maps and institutional affil- studies. Before raising concerns about the environment, supply chain management (SCM)
iations. merely considered the effectiveness and responsiveness of a system from receiving raw
materials and production procedures to delivering products to end-users [1]. The next
generation of researchers stated that SCM needed to be updated; considering sustainability
and the concept of closed-loop production and consumption was unavoidable due to
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.
the environmental impact of supply chains and the limitations on resources and raw
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
materials [2]. This led to an ever-increasing number of studies with a particular focus
This article is an open access article
on sustainability in different industries, and consequently added the “sustainable supply
distributed under the terms and
chain (SSC)” to the field terminology [3,4].
conditions of the Creative Commons
The changes experienced due to society’s awareness about the Earth-threatening
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
activities of industries have forced practitioners to modify industry processes. These
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
activities have been the main causes of the vast creation of solid and liquid trash, air and

Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14137892 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability

Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 2 of 30

water pollution, global warming, and decreases in the world’s non-renewable resources
and critical materials for many years. Pressure from social media and non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), world-wide community requests (e.g., 17 sustainable development
goals established by the UN and the recent World Climate Change Conference held in
Glasgow in 2021), and various customer and stakeholder sustainability expectations are
some of the significant motivations and initiatives that push organizations to shift their
SC policy more toward SSCs [5]. Nowadays, companies that use sustainable practices
have significant competitive and economic advantages over those that neglect them. As a
result, businesses have realized the importance of sustainability and its application in their
SC design.
The literature on sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) has been developed in
three streams to integrate sustainability into the SC. These include identifying the barriers
that is already in its mature stage, at least in developed countries [6], and research on
recognizing the practices and performance of companies (see Figure 1). One decade ago,
Ashby and Leat [7] suggested there is a need for researchers to develop more practical
tools for implementing SSCM, and considerable literature has tried to identify sustainable
solutions in different industries to measure performance [8–10] and decision making [11].
Barbosa-Póvoa and da Silva [12] reviewed how sustainability practices are treated through
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892
operation research methods. Saeed and Kersten [13] identified 1559 drivers of SSCM3 and of 30
listed 40 unique external and internal drivers. Koberg and Longoni [14] conducted a
rigorous systematic literature review (SLR) focused on SSCM in global SCs and contributed
to practice by providing managers of focal firms with global SC directions. The role
What is
of network the procedure
structural of collection
properties and analysis for
in SC sustainability sustainable practices?
is investigated by Alinaghian and
The study is organized in the following structure.
Qiu [15], who describe the impact of a set of SSCM practices through The next section
whichexplains the re-
firms achieve
search methodology, descriptive statistics based on the initial analysis,
sustainability goals across their SCs. An SLR by Nilsson and Göransson [16] extracted and a broad frame-
work
14 maintocategories
categorizeof the sustainable
critical factors,practices.
including The content of the
collaboration, studiedorientation,
strategic papers is described
culture,
in Sectionand
practices, 3 according to the classification
political context connected
for the realization of SSCto innovation.
a comprehensive
Pimentatable that
and shows
Ball [17]
the details how
uncovered of the investigated studies
environmental (Seesustainability
and social Table 1). The practices
results are demonstrated
are diffused acrossin Sec-
SC
tion 4. Discussion and suggestions for future research are presented in Section
tiers through supplier development initiatives directly or indirectly by manufacturing firms 5. Finally,
the the
and paper is concluded
factors that enhancein Section
them. 6.

Figure1.1.The
Figure Thestructure
structureofofstudying
studyingSSCs
SSCsconsidering
consideringpractices.
practices.

2. Research Methodology
Progressively, the concept of SSCM practices has become vital for businesses through-
out the
We carried outstudies
globe, and on their
a systematic influence
literature havebased
review obtained
on aan established
four-stage place inFirst,
procedure. the
SSCM literature [18]. These practices refer to tools, solutions, approaches,
a comprehensive database was considered to select previous studies. The next step in- methods, and
strategies that help athe
cluded presenting company improve
descriptive its sustainability
analysis. performance
Then, to investigate through its
the mentioned SC. An
questions,
investigation
a comprehensiveby Bloomberg
framework that targeted
was 600 companies
presented. in Europe
The extracted andwere
materials the U.S. showedat
evaluated
that
the sustainability means
final stage. This different for
methodology the companies,
is used and accordingly,
in similar studies different practices
related to sustainable supply
may be followed up [19]. Although
chains in the literature [20–23]. different studies have investigated sustainable practices

2.1. Literature Search

In order to search the literature, Scopus, known as the most comprehensive scientific
database, was chosen. The combinations of “supply chain management” and “sustainable
supply chain” with keywords such as “practice”, “solution”, “enabler”, “adaptation”,
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 3 of 30

for specific industries, there is still a lack of a systematic and comprehensive framework for
classifying SSCM practices [8], hindering the effective utilization of them.
The present study systematically gathers the literature and provides a comprehen-
sive framework of practices introduced to improve the sustainability of SCs in different
industries. A typical empirical study in this sustainability domain first targets a specific
industry and then derives the practices through a literature review or interviews with
experts. The practices are analyzed and discussed through qualitative or quantitative meth-
ods to propose sustainable strategies for the next step. Figure 1 (dashed part) illustrates
the organization of these studies to derive the practices. In order to reach our goals, we
investigated the content of 86 studies that followed this process. This is important, as it
enables practitioners and researchers to know and compare the sustainability situations of
different industries and understand the application of the methods. This is the first study
linking solutions, industries, and methodologies to enhance sustainability understanding
in SCs. Therefore, this study answers the below questions:
How can we classify the SSC practices extracted from different industries to show a
bigger picture?
What are the contributions of different industries to grow SSCs?
What is the procedure of collection and analysis for sustainable practices?
The study is organized in the following structure. The next section explains the
research methodology, descriptive statistics based on the initial analysis, and a broad
framework to categorize the sustainable practices. The content of the studied papers is
described in Section 3 according to the classification connected to a comprehensive table
that shows the details of the investigated studies (See Table 1). The results are demonstrated
in Section 4. Discussion and suggestions for future research are presented in Section 5.
Finally, the paper is concluded in Section 6.

2. Research Methodology
We carried out a systematic literature review based on a four-stage procedure. First, a
comprehensive database was considered to select previous studies. The next step included
presenting the descriptive analysis. Then, to investigate the mentioned questions, a com-
prehensive framework was presented. The extracted materials were evaluated at the final
stage. This methodology is used in similar studies related to sustainable supply chains in
the literature [20–23].

2.1. Literature Search

In order to search the literature, Scopus, known as the most comprehensive scientific
database, was chosen. The combinations of “supply chain management” and “sustainable
supply chain” with keywords such as “practice”, “solution”, “enabler”, “adaptation”,
“implementation”, and “execute” were investigated through the database. We focused on
journal papers in English that had received considerable citations, and especially papers
with content matching the scope of the present study (see Figure 1). Therefore, other
areas investigating barriers and performance were excluded. After checking the abstracts,
titles and removing duplicated sources, the initial search yielded almost 300 publica-
tions, including review papers and original research articles. The content of these refer-
ences was checked considering the application of sustainable practices in SCs. We gained
80 articles. Using the references of these papers we added six more papers, finally resulting
in 86 articles. When updating the search (November 2021), each of the derived papers,
on average, received more than 120 (≈10,567/86) citations based on Google Scholar. The
oldest reference was published in 2009 [24].

2.2. Descriptive Analysis

The overall trend of publishing in the field has shown an increase in publications since
2009. Almost 60 percent of the papers were published after 2017 (See Table 1). Figure 2
shows the contributions of the leading journals which have published at least four papers
 consistent with previous research published in this journal, a rapidly growing
consistent with previous research published in this journal, a rapidly growin
[25,26]. Additionally, it can be found that five leading journals published almos
[25,26]. Additionally, it can be found that five leading journals published almos
the publications. Figure 3 presents the affiliation of the corresponding authors o
the publications. Figure 3 presents the affiliation of the corresponding authors o
lected papers regarding their countries. Indian-affiliated corresponding authors o
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892
lected papers regarding their countries. Indian-affiliated corresponding authors
4 ofwith
30
o
first place with 15 papers, followed by the UK, China, and Germany 10,
first place with 15 papers, followed by the UK, China, and Germany with 10,
papers, respectively.
papers, respectively.
In order to conduct deep analysis, the keywords of the papers were investiga
In order
since 2009. to conduct
The associated deep
papers analysis,
were published theacross
keywords of the
24 different papers
journals. were
The broadinvestiga
categorized. In total, 460 keywords were derived, and they were classified based
categorized.
range of journalsIn total, the
confirms 460desire
keywords were
of different derived,
journals and on
to publish theythe were
subjectclassified
of SSCM base
used frequency. Those which were repeated more than four
Journal times
of Cleaner are presented i
practices and the variety
used frequency. of researchers
Those which were studying this topic.
repeated more Thethan four timesProduction
are presented i
4. In
was thethis figure,
one that “country
published name”
the most papersrefers
about tothisthe name
subject. Thisofresult
a specific country.
is consistent with Regar
4. In this
previous
figure,
research
“country
published in
name”
this
refers
journal, a
to the
rapidly
name
growing forum
of a[25,26].
specific country. Regar
Additionally,
common keywords related to SC and sustainability (i.e., the first seven keywords
itcommon keywords
can be found relatedjournals
that five leading to SC published
and sustainability
almost half of (i.e.,
the the first seven
publications. Figurekeywords
3
most frequency), the ones related to “textile industry”, “design”, “green supply
most frequency),
presents the affiliationthe ones
of the related toauthors
corresponding “textile industry”,
of the “design”,
selected papers “green
regarding their supply
and “environment”
countries. were
Indian-affiliated among theauthors
corresponding most used keywords.
obtained first place with 15 papers,
and “environment” were among the most used keywords.
followed by the UK, China, and Germany with 10, 9, and 7 papers, respectively.
16%
16%
contribution
Journal'scontribution

11%
11% 9%
9%
6% 6%
6% 6% 5% 5% 5%
Journal's

5% 5% 5%

Conservation
Journalofof

Journalofof

Planning&&
Journal

Management
Cleaner

Sustainability

Economics

Journalofof
Research

An
Resources,Conservation

InternationalJournal

ProductionManagement
JournalofofCleaner

Sustainability

ProductionEconomics

ProductionResearch

Management:An
Chain
Production

ProductionPlanning
InternationalJournal

InternationalJournal

InternationalJournal
SupplyChain
Production

Operations&&
Recycling

Management:

Control
&&Recycling

Control
International

Operations
Supply
International

International
Journal

Production

International
Production
Production

Production
Resources,

Figure 2. Contributions of the journals that have published at least four papers in the inv
Figure
Figure 2. 2. Contributions
Contributions of theof the journals
journals that havethat have published
published at leastinfour
at least four papers the inv papers in
the investigated
area since 2009.
area since 2009.
area since 2009.

15
15
considering

14
affiliation
studiesconsidering

14
author'saffiliation

13
13
12
12
11
11
10
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9
correspondingauthor's
thestudies

89
78
67
Contributionofofthe
thecorresponding

56
45
34
Contribution

23
12
01
the

0
UAE
India

China

France

Malaysia

Poland
Australia

Canada

Brazil
UK

Italy

Bangeladesh

Portugal
USA

Spain

Iran

Denmark
Finland
Kong
Ireland

Taiwan
Qatar
Colombia

Netherlands
Germany

UAE
India

China

France

Malaysia

Poland
Australia

Canada

Brazil

Bangeladesh

Portugal
UK

Italy
USA

Spain

Iran

Denmark
Finland
Kong
Ireland

Taiwan
Qatar
Colombia

Netherlands
Germany

Hong
Hong

Figure3. 3.
Figure Corresponding
Corresponding authorauthor affiliations
affiliations of thepapers
of the collected collected paperscountry.
considering considering
country.
Figure 3. Corresponding author affiliations of the collected papers considering country.
In order to conduct deep analysis, the keywords of the papers were investigated
and categorized. In total, 460 keywords were derived, and they were classified based on
the used frequency. Those which were repeated more than four times are presented in
Figure 4. In this figure, “country name” refers to the name of a specific country. Regardless
of common keywords related to SC and sustainability (i.e., the first seven keywords with
the most frequency), the ones related to “textile industry”, “design”, “green supply chain”,
and “environment” were among the most used keywords.
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 5 of 30
5 of 30

45

29

Frequency
19 18
17 17 16
14
11 11 10 10
8 8 8 7 7 7 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Oil/gas/minig/chemical
SC

Interpretive Structural Modeling

Sustainable development

Textile/apparel/fashion industry

MCDM
Sustainability

Sustainability practices

Coumtry name
Performance
Literature review

Environment

Healthcare

Factor analysis
Emerging economy
Social
Driver and barrier
Case studies

Circular economy

Organizational
SSC

Design

Collaboration
Firm size

Evolutionary theory
Green SC

CLSC

DEMATEL
AHP
SSCM

SCM

Critical success factor

Keywords

Figure
Figure4.4.Distribution
Distributionof the keywords
of the in the
keywords instudied papers.
the studied papers.

2.3.
2.3.Category
CategorySelection
Selection
To reach an unabridged categorization, the papers’ content was investigated; espe-
To reach an unabridged categorization, the papers’ content was investigated; especially,
cially, tables presented through the body of the gathered papers were screened. This led
tables presented through the body of the gathered papers were screened. This led to
to extracting 789 practices. At the next step, similar practices that were close to each other
extractingthe
regarding 789 practices.and
applicability At the
areanextwerestep, similar
set. This practices
resulted that categories
in 11 major were close to each other
identi-
fied with capital letters: A, B, C, …, K. Finally, each main category was classified again toidentified
regarding the applicability and area were set. This resulted in 11 major categories
withmore
put capital letters:
similar A, B,together
practices C, . . . , in
K. subcategories
Finally, each shown
main category
with smallwas classified
letters: a, b, …,again
e. to put
more
The aimsimilar
was topractices
assign eachtogether
practicein tosubcategories
a specific class; shown with
however, small letters:
the practice a, b, . . . , e. The
was assigned
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892
aim
to thewas to assign
nearest each
classes practiceantooverlap
whenever a specific
wasclass;
seenhowever, the practice
between two was
categories. assigned
Figure 5 6 ofto30the
illustrates the categories
nearest classes wheneverandan
subcategories.
overlap was seen between two categories. Figure 5 illustrates
These categorizations
the categories were organized based on the typical SC concepts (E-K) and
and subcategories.
structures (A-D). The first and second categories dealt with activities relevant to the pro-
duction process as the starting point of a SC. The third category (C) targeted the points
tying the customer to the chain in a circle. The fourth category (D) was based on providing
the material from the suppliers. The fifth category (E) contained the required software
skills to manage the SC. The sixth category (F) was about measuring the quality toward
sustainability. The seventh category (G) covered risk and safety factors. The eighth class
(H) investigated human-based relations to enhance sustainability. Financial matters were
considered in the ninth category (I). The practices related to SCM, and incentives were
dis-cussed in categories J and K, respectively. In total, sustainable solutions were summa-
rized into 38 categories.

Figure5.5.Suggested
Figure Suggestedframework
framework for
for sustainable practices.
sustainable practices.

2.4. Evaluation Stage

The collected papers were cross-checked with Web of Science (WoS), the world’s
most trusted publisher-independent global citation database. The authors evaluated the
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 6 of 30

These categorizations were organized based on the typical SC concepts (E–K) and
structures (A–D). The first and second categories dealt with activities relevant to the
production process as the starting point of a SC. The third category (C) targeted the points
tying the customer to the chain in a circle. The fourth category (D) was based on providing
the material from the suppliers. The fifth category (E) contained the required software
skills to manage the SC. The sixth category (F) was about measuring the quality toward
sustainability. The seventh category (G) covered risk and safety factors. The eighth class
(H) investigated human-based relations to enhance sustainability. Financial matters were
considered in the ninth category (I). The practices related to SCM, and incentives were dis-
cussed in categories J and K, respectively. In total, sustainable solutions were summarized
into 38 categories.

2.4. Evaluation Stage

The collected papers were cross-checked with Web of Science (WoS), the world’s
most trusted publisher-independent global citation database. The authors evaluated the
reliability and validity of the selected papers by a deductive–inductive approach. To derive
the structural dimension, papers were chosen and then analyzed using the deductive
method, while in the inductive technique, these dimensions were developed from the
material using generalization [27]. This helped to derive an appropriate classification.

3. Comprehensive Framework
In this section, the categorization of sustainable practices is explained based on an-
alyzing the content of the collected papers. As shown in Figure 5, each main practice is
subcategorized into a few practices identified with small letters (a, b, c, d, and e). These
practices are presented for each paper in Table 1. Columns 2–13 in Table 1 indicate the practice
in detail extracted from each paper. For example, the second column in Table 1 is related to
the first main practice (i.e., A: manufacturing), which is split into small practices a–e.

3.1. Manufacturing
3.1.1. Green Production
Green manufacturing, i.e., employing technologies for cleaner production and process
modernization, causes less energy consumption and contamination [28–30], for example, by
adopting intelligent factory components, manufacturing machinery renewal, and advanced
technology for water-saving and remanufacturing. Different solutions are developed
in industries such as the textile industry via biological production, organic cotton, the
replacement of solvent-based polyurethane with water-based alternatives and natural
dyeing processes [31], and in the food industry via returnable and sustainable packaging.
Other practices can be applied to shift toward sustainable production, including digitization,
mass customization, lean philosophy, computer-aided design/manufacturing, mobile and
remote maintenance, RFID technology, 3D seamless technology, additive manufacturing,
and digital printing [31–34].

3.1.2. Licensing and Outsourcing

It is beneficial if companies ask other parties to produce or distribute their services
and products in some situations. This can happen by selling a name, design, or process to a
third party while exploiting the shared profit [24]. Well-known solutions in these conditions
are either licensing or outsourcing. By doing so, the licensor permits to call the licensee to
another company to manufacture and/or sell some items in a defined market area.

3.1.3. Lean Philosophy

Mass production systems are switched to just-in-time manufacturing in lean produc-
tion strategies. The lean philosophy introduced by Toyota promotes sustainability. It
is defined as a waste-free system in terms of equipment, materials, parts, and working
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 7 of 30

time, encompassing only what is required for production [35]. Applying the lean practice,
companies can avoid mistakes using the poka-yoke (mistake-proofing) mechanism [30].

3.1.4. Product and Service (P&S)

Sustainable P&S practices have four aspects, including (i) product stewardship,
(ii) product quality, (iii) product safety, and (iv) customer-centric products and services.
The first one is an extended product responsibility approach to make industries responsi-
ble when designing a product, i.e., by considering the interest of the environment in the
product design. Decommoditization (i.e., opposed to commoditization where price tags
show the differences in the products within specific categories), designs to facilitate product
disposal and disassembly, product value recovery such as using poultry fat, and revamping
and refurnishing to extend the product life cycle are examples of this [36,37]. Second,
industries should adopt strategies to develop product quality, for instance, founding a
quality assessment system and complying with industry quality standards [29]. According
to the third practice, consumers’ safety and health should always be prioritized (e.g., by
omitting or reducing preservatives, gluten, and fat in food products) [38]. Finally, P&S
should effectively meet customer needs and consider welfare in each stage, for instance
by producing specific categories of consumers, placing additional information on product
packaging, offering Lego-based education on how to use some products, and allowing the
end-user to monitor the product for its carbon footprint [39,40].

3.1.5. Maintenance
One of the efficient solutions to prevent or reduce solid waste is regularly checking
machines, hardware, facilities, and equipment with maintenance action plans. Using
preventive and maintenance strategies as well as conducting regular inspections increases the
efficiency of facilities and equipment; this is even more important in industries such as the oil
and gas industry with expensive machines [41–43]. Advanced predictive maintenance helps
avoid system shutdown and breakages in the SC, especially in the automotive industry [34].

3.2. Design
3.2.1. Sustainable Design: Product, Process, and Infrastructure
Sustainable design aims to improve the environmental performance of companies
while minimizing environmental impacts [44]. It can be classified as regarding the de-
sign of (i) products and (ii) processes. The first stream is composed of practices to pro-
duce products that: reduce consumer health risk, disassemble easily, include green mate-
rial and less hazardous substances, are compatible with ecology, and use less energy to
run [42,43,45–47], for instance, products that can be kept at room temperature and need
less storage area in transportation [33]. The second realm focuses on the processes that
lead to services and products. It can be described as practices that reduce waste, emissions,
and energy consumption, such as applying tools and elements of TQM, JIT, time-based
competition, and sustainable packaging [30,40].

3.2.2. SC Design
The SC’s configuration is a crucial topic for the optimal execution of sustainable prac-
tices. Understanding and reducing the supply base complexity by considering commercial
disintermediation and rationalization is an essential practice. The number of intermediary
levels and suppliers in outbound SC can be decreased by effective facility planning, direct
selling, intermodal freight transport, new path configuration, and vending machines or lo-
cal exchange communities [34,36,38,48]. It results in focusing on a few compliant suppliers
to develop sustainable projects. Sometimes designing a short SC is a better approach. This
refers to procurement from geographically close suppliers and the creation of a disinter-
mediated SC upstream. Sustainable practices concerning SC design can be categorized as
(i) redefinition and (ii) ability to shift. The first one broadly refers to a reconceptualiza-
tion of the SC design to check business redefinition and exocentric perspectives, such as
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 8 of 30

working with extra-economic communities (i.e., NGOs and CSOs) [24,49]. Secondly, SCs
should be designed to respond to rapid changes quickly and effectively to meet customer or
supplier needs [40].

3.2.3. Innovation
Innovative solutions accelerate the movement toward sustainability. Sustainability-
related innovations are mainly classified as technological innovation and innovations
in method and approach [32,50,51]. The first one refers to the adoption of advanced
technologies such as nano environmental technology, clean technology and modern in-
formation management approaches, high technical ability, and the purchase of modern
machine/equipment with reduced energy consumption [37,52–55]. The second one seeks
to make the present situation more sustainable with the best available techniques, for
example, design innovation for longevity and easy disassembly, simultaneously.

3.3. Logistics
3.3.1. Inventory Management
Warehousing and inventory management are inseparable parts of SCs. On this subject,
SSCM practices have been widely discussed in two categories: (i) keeping inventories under
control and (ii) inventory management development [56]. There should be an efficient
interaction between inventory control and the information systems to determine the proper
order quantity and reorder points. Especially, employing just-in-time systems to reduce
hazardous materials and proper storage is effective [35]. Other practices to implement
sustainable and carbon-free methods include collaborative inventory management, the
deployment of two-bin systems, store consolidation, the deployment of centralized replen-
ishment systems, and use of hybrid stockless systems in which high- and low-volume
products are delivered directly to points of care and the central store, respectively [57,58].

3.3.2. Sustainable Distribution

Transportation is an inherent part of logistics systems. In this regard, sustainable/green
distribution aims to minimize the environmental impact when transporting raw material
and final products through the chain. It should be utilized to achieve economies of scale in
inbound and outbound transportation [56,59,60]. We can categorize the suggested practices
as (i) consolidation and collaboration actions, for instance, multi-drop, multi-pack, and
cross-docking by the integration of demand, the consolidation of internal and external
site systems, coordinating lot sizes and collaborative warehousing, and cooperation with
vendors to decrease packaging size [33,38,57]; (ii) the use of alternative and renewable
energy [61]; (iii) the upgrade, redesign, and automation of freight logistics networks, for
example, weight and volume reduction, using full-load capacity and full load truck, apply-
ing environmentally friendly storage, reducing container weight, improving refrigeration,
and decreasing human intervention [31]; (iv) tracking emissions caused in product distribu-
tion [62]; (v) the development of services (e.g., the promotion of public transport use and
shared-occupancy vehicle use) to minimize or even stop travel (e.g., by telehealth and home
healthcare in the healthcare industry, and videoconferencing); and (vi) the identification of
shorter routes for product transportation to minimize the relevant costs and emissions [38].

3.3.3. Market Management

The main goal of market management is achieving customer satisfaction. Sustainable
market management is possible via some practices such as: (i) boosting green brand
image, which gives a competitive advantage in the global marketing space leading to
increases in market share and profitability [28,63]; (ii) on-time delivery management by
increasing supply flexibility and customer relationship management [29,64]; (iii) resolving
customer concerns through informing customers of sustainable movements and green
initiatives, designing eco-friendly products, distribution systems, and green and sustainable
SCs to address the environmental concerns of customers [52,53,60,65]; and (iv) finding
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 9 of 30

markets for recovered products and accessing new markets in comparison to the company’s
key competitors [40,59].

3.3.4. Reverse and Green Logistics

Product and material recovery is a vital end-of-life practice frequently mentioned in the lit-
erature [48,58,66] to acquire the economic value of returned goods in the SC. It can be achieved
by adopting nR approaches (i.e., refurbishing, repairing, reusing, remanufacturing, etc.) for
green, reverse, and closed-loop SC logistics [67]. It includes a range of different logistics
activities such as recycling containers, energy-efficient vehicles, recyclable pallet systems,
green investment, the elimination of excess packaging materials and shipping, engaging third
parties for product recovery, and integrating production with recovery [40,43].

3.3.5. Waste Management

Different types of waste in the forms of solid, liquid and gas are released through
the SC process from start to endpoint, for instance, through CO2 emission contributing to
the company’s carbon footprint. Companies should try to prevent, control, or minimize
waste to lead to less pollution [68]. Different approaches are suggested, such as managing
by-products and establishing a recycling system for waste products (e.g., the take-back
programs of pharmaceutical companies for patients in the healthcare industry), using the
waste as a resource (e.g., collecting EoL cell phones), asking suppliers to commit to waste
reduction goals, proper segregation, the use of alternatives to incineration, and finally
landfill. Following particular protocols can also reduce the probability of contamination,
such as hazard analysis and critical control points in the food industry [38,54,69,70].

3.4. Supply Planning and Procurement

3.4.1. Resource Management
Due to the scarcity of natural resources, the use of these types of resources (e.g., rare
metals) should be optimized. Therefore, there is a necessity for resource management (RM),
conservation, and material substitution to minimize resource use in the SC [71]. For instance,
limiting meat consumption, opting for organic and locally grown alternatives, composting,
and using sustainable sources (e.g., vegetarian meals) is a solution in food SCM [57]. The
practices of RM follow four pillars: (i) hazardous management to avoid using toxic and
harmful material [72–74]; (ii) water management; (iii) energy-saving management; and
(iv) resource based-supplier management. Some practical solutions include the harvesting
of rainwater, waterless dyeing, controlling leakage, installing flow restrictors and dual-flush
toilets, the use of drought-resistant plants, reclaiming water from services such as dialysis
and sterilization, odor treatment, using non-conventional and alternative sources of energy,
automatic lighting timers and sensors, updating lighting to LEDs, considering local and close
suppliers, supplier proximity, and preventing chemical fertilizers or pesticides [24,38,55].

3.4.2. Purchasing
Sustainable purchasing practices require the procuring process to be green and sus-
tainable. The first green practice involves ensuring that the purchased green logo products
are recyclable and include environmentally friendly raw materials, for example, meat
produced without hormones or antibiotics, certified organic coffee, eco-friendly and lighter-
weight packaging, and shopping bags [57,75,76]. The second practice is related to socially
responsible purchasing activities, such as considering the human rights impact of procured
products (e.g., not purchasing the products which workers produce under non-standard
conditions) [77,78]. The most important suggested practice is having a supplier selection
strategy based on a code of conduct [36,79]. This leads to transparency in purchasing and
strengthening procurement centers and local manufacturers [35,80].
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 10 of 30

3.4.3. Supplier Management

Supplier development plays a pivotal role in SCs moving toward sustainability. The
primary practices can be categorized into four parts: (i) certification matters, (ii) technologi-
cal aspects, (iii) location, and (iv) training. Companies prefer suppliers with environmental
certifications, as this should help them obtain authentic certifications [71]. Transferring tech-
nology to and sharing knowledge with suppliers to develop their capabilities is an effective
strategy [38,63]. In some cases, choosing local and small suppliers is a preferred solution
as they can be trained and developed for the future, and thus some issues such as local
regulatory and legislative requirements and intermediary problems can be resolved [35,81].

3.4.4. Coding
A well-defined code of conduct functions as a map for dealing with suppliers in a
sustainable way [38,47]. It allows companies to choose the best suppliers and helps to
provide an ethical benchmark. It should be structured based on international guidelines
and compliance with government regulations [82]. Companies should be assured that
suppliers will commit to the code of conduct in long-term relationships.

3.5. Management Information Systems

3.5.1. Information Management
Information and communication technology (ICT) is vastly used in SCM. A basic level of
ICT involves gathering and employing information through websites, social media, public
reports, and advertisements depending on data availability and provisions. An essential
ICT practice is information and knowledge sharing, which ties players in the SC together
from end to end. For instance, the integration of IT solutions and exchanging transactional
information with multiple stakeholders is a helpful approach [32,47,66,78,83–85]. Sharing
environmental regulations, resources consumption, and material flow management with
suppliers is a key element. Moreover, advanced methods such as the digitization of SC
activities, the adoption of blockchain technology and ma-chine learning algorithms and
using internet of things (IoT) technologies and inter-departmental IT linkage systems are
suggested by some studies [29,61,65,73,86].

3.5.2. Communication, Conversation, Collaboration, Cooperation, Coordination,

and Contribution (6Cs)
Studies suggest that different practices in the form of the 6Cs create cross-functional
relationships among partners to implement a successful SSCM. It is proposed that these
practices should be part of daily routines and decision-making for the main company
strategies, rather than add-ons [24]. Regular meetings and open dialogue, establishing edu-
cated field personnel, the development of collaborative arrangements, decommodization,
collaboration with NGOs, social legitimacy, and accountability, and building trust among
employees are among the recommended initiatives to reach the 6C goals [39,57,87–89]. Two
vital entities in this regard are specifically addressed by the studies: suppliers and con-
sumers. Client collaboration to facilitate a return [40], the exchange of technical information
with customers [44], the joint development of projects with the supplier [76], and collab-
oration with suppliers for customer demand planning and forecasting [40] demonstrate
positive supplier–consumer relationships.

3.6. Quality Performance

3.6.1. Certifications and Standards
In order to implement sustainability concepts in SCs and support the establishment
of business processes, a variety of accountability and auditing practices are designed.
Although some companies are trying to develop their own certifications, some international
standards have been designed for different industries, such as: different types of ISO
certifications (e.g., series of 9000, 14,000, 26,000, and 50,000), aiming to move towards
quality improvement with an eco-friendly approach; the LEED standard, which is the most
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 11 of 30

widely used green building rating system; the EPD standard, which shows data about the
environmental impact of a particular building material; GOTS, which defines world-wide-
recognized requirements for organic textiles; EMAS, which is developed by the European
Commission for companies and other organizations to evaluate, report, and improve
their environmental performance; UNGC, which includes ten universal sustainability
principles to support UN goals; and ILO, that sets out basic principles and rights at
work [42,50,55,76,79,83]. Especially, the ISO 14000 family, known as the Environmental
Management System, is an established platform providing information on organizations’
environmental performance and indexes, resource consumption mapping, and advanced
environmental data collection systems [31,54]. An essential practice is the regular auditing
of suppliers to ensure that they are certified by OSHAS18001 and SAI8000 (employee’s
occupational health and safety) [24] and provide a fair and decent environment for workers
based on the highest social standard [45].

3.6.2. Quality Management

Adopting advanced quality improvement techniques such as total quality manage-
ment, Six Sigma, total productive maintenance, total quality control, and lean program
practice are recommended by the studies to move towards SSCM [30,56,57]. Establishing
and emphasizing these types of practices assist in removing non-value-added activities in
existing SCs and results in continuous improvement [34].

3.6.3. Evaluation and Assessment

A company’s sustainability performance management systems should be checked
regularly to understand the current situation and identify required changes [65]. Therefore,
it is necessary to undertake formal or informal assessment practices using well-defined
metrics, indicators of sustainability, and benchmarks of sustainability practices [90,91], such
as consumption mapping and CO2 calculators [55,76]. Supplier evaluation has a significant
impact on SSCM assessment. For example, OEM can send environmental, safety, social,
and ethical responsibility questionnaires to suppliers to monitor their compliance [42,57].
Applying life cycle assessment methods to assess the environmental impacts of a product’s
life from design to the grave or recycle stage is a well-known solution [35,84].

3.7. Safety and Security

3.7.1. Health and Safety Management
Health and safety management systems (HSMSs) should be established and imple-
mented in companies to reduce the risk of accidents and ensure environmental safety
practices [46]. The execution of HSMSs improves health and safety aspects and decreases
the possibility of environmental disasters [28]. In this regard, compliance questionnaires
and standard programs are the tools to manage and monitor the different players in the SC,
such as suppliers [71,78]. For instance, one of the risks of creating activity in a company
environment is the transfer and movement of products through company or trading partner
facilities [92]. Transport safety should be ensured by inspecting drivers’ health (e.g., driving,
resting time, etc.) and location situations [43].

3.7.2. Risk Management

Dealing with and identifying factors that expose the SC process to risk is discussed
thoroughly in the literature. The perception and management of risk are identified as
common practices among industries moving toward sustainability. This involves finding
potential sources for competitive advantage and being ready for an emergency [93]. In this
regard, the management of operational risk and reducing supplier risk should be taken
into account [43,47].
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 12 of 30

3.8. Ethics and Social Responsibility

3.8.1. Human Resources and Rights
On a wider scale, sustainability sophisticatedly aims to affiliate humanity with the
environment in order to prompt innovation and conservation. Human resource manage-
ment is the key point to reaching these goals, and human rights should not be neglected.
The axis of practice involves three elements that can be summarized as (i) the employment
process, (ii) working environment and welfare, and (iii) skills development. Equity and
guaranteeing diversity to ensure strict adherence to gender non-discrimination policies
and meritocracy should be considered in employment [51,77,80,92,94]. Companies should
provide safe, optimistic, and healthy working conditions for all employees via appropriate
workplace management [29,56,88]. They should consider the worker’s in terms of job
responsibility, ethical behavior, employment stability, flexitime and reducing the necessity
of overtime work, salary, funds, award, medical benefits, work–family balance, well-being
systems, and empowerment and engagement across the SC. Continued education and
capability development opportunities for employees are part of their rights [64].

3.8.2. Humanitarian Activities

Among the social activities related to SSCM, humanitarian activities have received
much attention in the literature. SC partners must be encouraged to participate in philan-
thropic activities by organizations. These voluntary activities include donations, partic-
ipating in local charities and events, and generating employment for vulnerable people
to promote sustainability [29,39,42]. Organizations should minimize the negative impact
on communities around SC operations, use low-income companies in SC activities, and
support welfare programs for the local community and charity work [71]. The inclusion
of NGOs, the community, and charities in decision-making processes is a (re)definition
practice of the social SC strategy [95].

3.8.3. Behavior Practices

Organizations need to consider the results of their behaviors, such as breaking laws
leading to penalties by governments. This type of performance can damage the image
of the company [96]. Successful SSCM involves changing behavior so that all levels of
the SC are sustainable [37]. Moreover, companies must monitor customer behaviors, such
as being environment-conscious and cooperating in return handling [59]. To understand
and promote sustainability measures, companies can encourage critical thinking through
their customers [57].

3.8.4. Fairness
A SSC should be equitable and fair on all sides for the involved entities. Fairtrade
practices should be considered when redefining the SC strategy [33,45]. In a sustainable
business environment, companies fight for fair trade and anti-corruption policies. They
are free to sell products and services to clients, choose their suppliers, and refuse bribes
from suppliers [29]. Sourcing from fair trade certified suppliers, guaranteeing a minimum
price to suppliers, and anticipating 60% final compensation at the beginning of the trade to
sustain business survival are examples of fair-trade solutions in an SSC [38].

3.9. Financial Management

3.9.1. Cost Management
Although applying sustainable systems leads to reduced cost in the majority of cases,
we should know how to complete cost reduction activities. These are actions used to
reduce various expenses, including fixed or initial costs, production costs, and distribution
costs [29]. They are feasible by establishing an appropriate cost management system,
adopting new technology and equipment, managing environmental costs for green SCs,
and reducing stoppage and scrap loss [73]. Companies can facilitate suppliers in carrying
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 13 of 30

out value engineering to reduce the cost of components [56] through lowering production
costs [40] and buying on total cost, not price [24].

3.9.2. Reward and Incentive Systems

Incentive management and perceptual benefits motivate entities (i.e., employees, sup-
pliers, and consumers) to be involved in a sustainability path that generates a sustainable
system. Consumers and companies can also be incentivized by taking back and adopting
access revenue models, tax rebates, or soft loans [97]. Regarding employees, measurement,
reward, and compensation systems can be linked to the company’s sustainability perfor-
mance [51,67] to apply greener activities. It is possible to offer larger orders or long-term
contracts for compliant suppliers with trade credit programs, loans, or better discount
rates for suppliers with better sustainability performance [88,98]. For example, Puma and
Alibaba Group use an SSC finance (SSCF) system that evaluates suppliers’ performance in
terms of environmental and social criteria.

3.9.3. Investment
Devoting investment and capital specifically to the recovery process is an essential solu-
tion to shift to sustainability. The investment should be in technology and resources [78]. In
this regard, some practical options are suggested by the studies to grow SSC improvement,
such as transforming surplus assets into revenue by selling idle assets, excess inventories,
scrap or by-products, and excess capital equipment [33,44,46,62].

3.10. Structural Management

3.10.1. Organizational Management
The arrangement and management of organizations should be in a proactive stance,
providing sustainability. The scope of sustainable organizational practices is determined by
(i) organizational culture and (ii) image and reputation [83,99]. Regarding the culture, initia-
tives such as reinforcing team-based, flexible, opportunistic, competitive, market-oriented
structures, and organizing social responsibility committees, sustainability departments, and
chief sustainability officers can positively influence SSCM [52,76]. Presenting the corporate
history effectively and improving the reputation relative to the competitors will promote
sustainability [91].

3.10.2. Stakeholder Management

The role of stakeholders should not be forgotten when thinking about the success of
a SSC. The investors or stakeholders have the right to receive their share from company
benefits [28]. These communities are not necessarily included in the company or its
partners; they mainly refer to people or customers who have environmental concerns or
are influenced by the sustainability programs of other competing companies [53,63]. These
players should be managed well to reduce the pressure on the company [48]. It is necessary
to define sustainable practices in stakeholder management when considering the investors’
welfare at trading partner locations [92].

3.10.3. Integration and Joint Activities

Jointly built programs and integrated approaches, usually referred to as integrating dig-
ital and physical systems, are efficient practices. They help to reduce or eliminate material
use and logistics costs and facilitate the SC tracking system for quick responses [77,86,96].
They include activities such as cross-functional integration and joint forecasting/planning.
Joint initiatives are discussed in different industries, for instance, in integrated nursing
workstations and the consolidation of shipments in healthcare and manufacturing indus-
tries, respectively [51,67,100].
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 14 of 30

3.10.4. Rules and Regulations

Governments and social planners adopt effective policies and regulations for com-
panies to reduce environmental pollution. Following the established guidelines that are
enforced by environmental laws is an obligation that leads to sustainability. It is necessary
to know the regulatory frameworks at regional, national, and international levels. These
governmental policies are legal frameworks and structures for sustainability implemented
through pressure, supportive systems, or international environmental agreements. For
example, Article 191 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (EU) expresses
that combatting climate change is an explicit objective of EU environmental policy [52,53,99].
At the national level, some governments have established environmental rules about safety,
such as the management of hazardous and toxic waste, that companies must comply with;
otherwise, they will be penalized [28]. Moreover, companies should choose external parties
who follow standards and environmental regulations [96].

3.11. Promotional Programs

3.11.1. Training and Learning (T&L)
T&L is a mutual key practice to enhance knowledge factors among different SC
entities [50,83,89,101]. It includes educational programs for top managers and all employees
to enhance awareness about the benefits of sustainability [28,70]. It will help them to
make eco-friendly decisions which lead to adopting top-rated SSCM practices. Especially,
studies target three groups: (i) staff, (ii) suppliers, and (iii) consumers. T&L practices to
engage employees in the reduction of waste [40], procurement staff conducting supplier
prequalification assessments [81], transport safety training for drivers [43], providing
environmental training seminars and facilitating suppliers [40], and consumer education
about healthier habits [39] are examples of T&L practices.

3.11.2. Supportive Plans and Programs

A sustainable development strategy is pivotal to reaching sustainability goals [91].
Prestigious companies have sustainability policy statements based on the triple bottom
line approach published periodically [33,47]. This helps to deal with the institutional
pressures which can affect a company’s reputation. These programs can be written un-
der different names, for instance, corporate social responsibility programs to enhance
creating wealth [28]. The studies recommend two more practices to reach the goals:
(i) top management commitment and support and (ii) financial support. An efficient plan
not only needs top managers’ commitment and a fixed annual budget, but also adequate
participation from middle managers and micro-budgets for sustainability projects [31,70].
The strategies require the involvement and support of employees, consumers, suppliers,
and stockholders.

3.11.3. Awareness
Awareness in sustainable practice refers to the attempts to increase society’s general
consciousness [48,50]. Consequently, promoting public environmental awareness boosts
and facilitates adoption strategies [34,65]. By engaging people in sustainability programs,
environmental plans’ social and economic benefits should be realized in society to enhance
sustainability literacy [30]. Focusing on enhancement in social consciousness beyond the
workplace can be provided in many ways. For instance, environmental slogans with
convincing concepts on companies’ products, trucks, websites, or even as an icon on
their logos attracting people’s attention can help people to understand the issue and
improve awareness [55,76].

4. Results
We gathered 789 practices classified into 38 practices in 11 major groups. The radar
chart in Figure 6 depicts the contribution of each group by comparing the percentages
of usage. Analysis of these categories showed that, among the SSCM leading practices,
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 15 of 30

logistics solutions (C) were studied most over the others, followed by supply planning and
procurement (D) and quality performance (F) practices. Regarding category C, the results
showed the importance of attention to focal points (i.e., distributor, inventory, market,
reverse and waste management centers) in a SC to enhance sustainability. The radar chart
revealed that ethics and social responsibility (H), financial management (I), and safety and
security (G) solutions have received less attention. Specifically, practices related to health,
safety, and risk management have not received enough consideration. We can say that
50 percent of solutions were consistently used in most industries.

Figure 6. Comparison between main categories of SSC practices.

We can investigate the application of practices by analyzing the subcategories

in-depth. Concerning the frequency, the subcategory 6Cs, of the main practice (E)
(i.e., management information systems), was the best practice to enhance sustainabil-
ity in the SC. This highlights the importance of communication regardless of the type of
industry. After that, supportive plans and programs related to the main category pro-
motional programs (K) had priority, showing how reward and incentive mechanism can
effectively catalyze SSCs. The licensing, outsourcing and behavioral practices from the
major categories of manufacturing (A) and ethics and social responsibility (H) were applied
in fewer cases. This shows that most of the sustainable systems have been developed
as centralized cases instead of decentralized ones. Figure 6 uses the radar chart to show
the frequency of each main category, and the details are illustrated in Figure 7, where the
horizontal and vertical letters are consistent with those of the comprehensive categorization
in Figure 5.
Figure 8 presents the geographical distribution of case studies in different countries.
India was the leading country with respect to proposing sustainable practices in supply
chains based on empirical studies, followed by China, the UK, and Germany. However,
there were studies discussing multinational cases in more than one country [36,76]. Conti-
nentally, most cases were conducted in Asia and Europe, and Africa had a poor contribution.
The results were consistent with sustainable development growth in developing countries
such as India and China. Some interesting observations are seen in Table 1, in the columns
called “Industry” and “Case country.” The table shows that the manufacturing, oil, gas,
mining, and automotive industries were mainly discussed and explored in Asian countries.
European and Australian countries worked more on food and household industries.
As illustrated in Figure 9, the research on sustainable practices was not limited to a
particular industry. The figure shows the wide range of industries that have been explored
considering SSCM practices. This helps to find the gaps and clarify the applicability of
 Safety and security 12% procurement
10%
8%
Financial management 6% Quality performance
4%
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 2% 16 of 30
0%
Ethics and social responsibility Promotional programs
this area of research. The manufacturing industry has been the target of many studies
since the onset of operation research, and SCs have historically been associated with
Management information
Manufacturing
manufacturing. Moreover, the production process is one of the focused areas of sustainable
systems
development. The second one in this ranking was the textile and apparel industry, followed
Design industry. Structural
by the automotive management
Almost 8 percent of the collected literature was conducted on
different industries shown as “multiple industrial sectors.” The ones related to the food,
mining, oil, and gas industries also had high rankings. The chemical industry and those
which targeted household appliances are at the end of the list. It should be noted that some
studies arebetween
Figure 6. Comparison merely considered as “general”
main categories in Table
of SSC 1, which are pure review papers that
practices.
do not focus on any specific industry (column “Industry”).

tainability 2022, 14, 7892

some studies are merely considered as “general” in Table 1, which a

that7.do
Figure 7. Comparing
Figure not focus
subcategories
Comparing onsustainable
of any
subcategories specific industry (column “Industry”).
practices.
of sustainable practices.

Figure 8 presents the geographical distribution of case studies in different countrie

India was the leading country with respect to proposing sustainable practices in supp
chains based on empirical studies, followed by China, the UK, and Germany. Howeve
there were studies discussing multinational cases in more than one country [36,76]. Co
tinentally, most cases were conducted in Asia and Europe, and Africa had a poor contr
bution. The results were consistent with sustainable development growth in developin
countries such as India and China. Some interesting observations are seen in Table 1,
the columns called “Industry” and “Case country.” The table shows that the manufactu
ing, oil, gas, mining, and automotive industries were mainly discussed and explored
Asian countries. European and Australian countries worked more on food and househo
industries.
Figure
Figure
As illustrated in8.Figure
Contribution
8. Contribution of9,empiricalof empirical
studies
the research studies
considering differentconsidering
on sustainable countries.
practices was different countries
not limited to
particular industry. Themethodologies
Different figure shows havethe wide
been used range
to collectofand
industries
analyze thethat
effecthave been explore
of sustainable
considering practices. In order to collect
SSCM practices. data in to
This helps thefind
empirical
the studies,
gaps and the prevalent methods
clarify the included of th
applicability
interviews, conducting different types of literature reviews, and designing questionnaires
area of research. The manufacturing industry has been the target of many studies sin
(see the column called “data collection” in Table 1). The main techniques to analyze the data
the onset of are
operation
displayedresearch,
in Figure 10.and
TheySCs have
consist of ahistorically been multi-criteria
variety of statistical, associated decision-
with manufa
making,the
turing. Moreover, and production
mathematical methods
process detailed
is oneinofthethe
last focused
column of Table
areas1.of
The most usual deve
sustainable
method was structural equation modeling (SEM), which is composed of a set of statistical
opment. The second one in this ranking was the textile and apparel industry, followed b
the automotive industry. Almost 8 percent of the collected literature was conducted o
different industries shown as “multiple industrial sectors.” The ones related to the foo
mining, oil, and gas industries also had high rankings. The chemical industry and tho
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 17 of 30

techniques to measure the relationships of observed and latent variables in experimental

and observational research. Methods employed only once are gathered in the category
“Others” in Figure 10, including moderation analysis–subgroup analysis, Delphi, the best–
worst method, univariate statistical analysis, and TOPSIS. To model the uncertainty, the
Figure 9. Classification
Figure of studies
8. Contribution
fuzzy ofwith
theory was regard studies
empirical
combined towith
industries.
considering
some different
of these methods countries.
[41,102]. Most of the papers on
the manufacturing industry used the survey-based method.
Different methodologies have been used to collect and analyze the effect of sustaina-
ble practices. In order to collect data in the empirical studies, the prevalent methods in-
cluded interviews, conducting different types of literature reviews, and designing ques-
tionnaires (see the column called “data collection” in Table 1). The main techniques to
analyze the data are displayed in Figure 10. They consist of a variety of statistical, multi-
criteria decision-making, and mathematical methods detailed in the last column of Table
1. The most usual method was structural equation modeling (SEM), which is composed
of a set of statistical techniques to measure the relationships of observed and latent varia-
bles in experimental and observational research. Methods employed only once are gath-
ered in the category “Others” in Figure 10, including moderation analysis–subgroup anal-
ysis, Delphi, the best–worst method, univariate statistical analysis, and TOPSIS. To model
the uncertainty, the fuzzy theory was combined with some of these methods [41,102].
Most of the papers on the manufacturing industry used the survey-based method.
Figure 9. Classification
Figure 9. Classification of studies of studies
withwith regardto
regard to industries.
industries.
Others
Partial Least Squareshave been used to collect and analyze the effect of su
Different methodologies
Qualitative Analysis
ble practices. In order
Exploratory Factorto collect data in the empirical studies, the prevalent meth
Analysis
Decisioncluded
Making Trial and Evaluation
interviews, Laboratory different types of literature reviews, and designing
conducting
Interpretive Structural Modeling
tionnaires (see the column
Thematic called “data collection” in Table 1). The main techniq
Analysis
analyze the data
Descriptive are displayed
and Thematic Analysis in Figure 10. They consist of a variety of statistical,
Multivariate Statistical Analysis
criteriaQualitative
decision-making, and mathematical methods detailed in the last column o
Cross-Case Analysis
1. The most usual
Structural method
Equation was structural equation modeling (SEM), which is com
Modelling
of a set of statistical techniques 0to measure 2 4 the 6 relationships
8 10 12 of 14
observed
16 and laten
18
Frequency
bles in experimental and observational research. Methods employed only once ar
ered
Figure 10. in thetechniques
Different category “Others”
Figure 10. Different
used inanalyses.
Figure
techniques
for data 10,analyses.
used for data including moderation analysis–subgrou
ysis, Delphi, the best–worst method, univariate statistical analysis, and TOPSIS. To
the uncertainty, the fuzzy theory was combined with some of these methods [4
Most of the papers on the manufacturing industry used the survey-based method.

Others
Partial Least Squares
Qualitative Analysis
Exploratory Factor Analysis
Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory
Interpretive Structural Modeling
Thematic Analysis
Descriptive and Thematic Analysis
Multivariate Statistical Analysis
Qualitative Cross-Case Analysis
Structural Equation Modelling
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 18 of 30

Table 1. Categorization of practices.

Practices Class Data Data Analysis

Author (Year) Industry Case Country Type of Practice
A B C D E F G H I J K Collection Technique

Pagell and Wu [24] bc b d a–c * ab a–c b a ab ac b Multiple General V QCCA

Faisal [65] c ab c d bc DC ** General LR, V ISM
Gimenez and
c ab b a–c ac ab General For suppliers SLR TA
Tachizawa [91]
Tachizawa, MSA
ac c a Different sectors Spain GSCM SSQ
Thomsen [103] (cluster analysis)
Aerospace, retail
Walker and
d bc ab c ab (Pharmaceuticals, food, UK General V QCCA
Jones [104]
and drink)
Wittstruck
d a a ab Electrical Germany Recycling networks SLR DTA
and Teuteberg [100]
Zailani, Manufacturing
a a e ab c Malaysia GSCM SSQ MSA (C&R)
Jeyaraman [75] (400 firms)
Delai
c a Retail Brazil E V QCCA
and Takahashi [64]
Beske
c ab c b bc b General General SLR TA
and Seuring [105]
Dynamic
Beske, Land [93] c b c b bc ab Food SLR TA
capabilities
Diabat, Kannan [73] d c ab a ab ac d Textile India 13 selected LR, V ISM
Mitra and Datta [59] a a b–e a–c ac c b c Manufacturing India GSCM SSQ SEM
Stiller and Gold [49] b c ab b Seed sector India S V QA
de Sousa Jabbour,
de Oliveira a b b a c Leaders Brazil GSCM V QCCA
Frascareli [44]
Jia, Diabat [70] a a de a b ac a ab Mining and Minerals India SSCM LR, V ISM
Luthra, Garg [63] c c ac a ab a bd a–c Automobile India GSCM SSQ EFA
Marshall, MSA
ab cd ac d b Ireland S SSQ
McCarthy [45] (Hierarchical R)
Wan Ahmad, Oil and gas
bc bc a General SSQ Descriptive
de Brito [81] (30 companies)
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 19 of 30

Table 1. Cont.

Practices Class Data Data Analysis

Author (Year) Industry Case Country Type of Practice
A B C D E F G H I J K Collection Technique

Wan Ahmad, Firm

de a de b–d ab c ab b ac ab Oil and gas QD, V MSA (EFA, R)
Rezaei [43] internal factors
Esfahbodi, Zhang [62] a b ab b ac c Manufacturing Iran, China E SSQ MSA (Multiple R)
Gopal
bc cd ab a b a–d ac Automotive India ES SSQ, QD SEM
and Thakkar [48]
Gopal
c c b c b a c Automobile India General SSQ SEM
and Thakkar [94]
Kusi-Sarpong,
c de c ab ac b c ab Mining Ghana GSCM LR, V DEMATEL
Sarkis [68]
Inter/external
Lu, Lai [47] a e d ab c a d ab Maritime Taiwan SSQ SEM
collaboration
Mejías, Paz [35] ac ac ad bc b bc b b c General General SLR DTA
Chen and Kitsis [87] ab b General Relational SLR TA
Das [56] a a ab c ab a ab a Manufacturing India ES, OP SSQ EFA
Manufacturing
Esfahbodi, Zhang [61] a b ab b a c d UK EG SSQ SEM
(146 firms)
Golini, Moretto [38] d a–c b–e abd ab c bd b c b Food Italy Economic, E V QCCA
Kausar, Garg [53] c c a a b abd b India 12 selected LR, V ISM
Köksal, Strähle [88] b a b b Textile S SLR TA
Mathivathanan
d c ac b d ab Automotive India 10 common SSCM QD, V MSA (ANOVA)
and Haq [84]
Oelze [89] b ab Textile Germany IE V QCCA
Raut, Narkhede [28] ad a cd ab ab a a a ab abd ab Oil and gas India 32 selected LR, V ISM
Wu, Santoso [54] c e a a Coal Indonesia General LR, V DEMATEL-ANP
Agile and
Ciccullo, Pero [95] ad d ac ab General SLR DTA
sustainable
Croom, Vidal [106] ab US S SSQ MSA (CFA, R)
Das [85] a–c abde c a a bc a Manufacturing India ES, OP, SCI SSQ SEM
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 20 of 30

Table 1. Cont.

Practices Class Data Data Analysis

Author (Year) Industry Case Country Type of Practice
A B C D E F G H I J K Collection Technique

Das [60] a a a–c a a ab c Manufacturing India ES, OP, SCI SSQ SEM
Hussain, Ajmal [99] c e a b ab ad abd c Healthcare UAE S SSQ SEM
Hong, Zhang [101] a b b ab Manufacturing China Five categories SSQ SEM
Mathematical
Das [30] acd ac de a b a–c cd bc Lean Secondary data
modelling
Luthra ISM-fuzzy
d c b c c ab Automotive India Nine key strategies LR, V
and Mangla [37] MICMAC
Mathivathanan,
ad ac d b b ac a b c ab Automotive India ESG LR, V DEMATEL
Kannan [67]
Moretto,
a b abd ab ac ab a a–c Fashion Ita, Ger, Fra ES V QCCA
Macchion [76]
Prasad, Pradhan [78] cd b c a c ad ab Steel sector India General SSQ EFA
Thong and Wong [71] de acd ac ab abd b General Malaysia General SSQ SEM
Different sectors
(industry (59.5%),
services (30.2%),
Vargas, Mantilla [40] ad ab cd bd ab ac a ab ab ad ab commerce (6.3%), Colombia E SSQ PLS-SEM
agriculture (1.6%),
mining (1.6%), and
construction (0.8%))
Wang and Dai [42] ae a ce b b ac a ab cd ab General (172 firms) China IE management SSQ SEM
Wu, Zhang [96] e c bc a a ab a ad ab Manufacturing China Economic, ES SSQ SEM
Andalib
Ardakani and de ab b a a d b General Iran GSCM SSQ PLS-SEM
Soltanmohammadi [74]
Baliga, Raut [77] a a cde b a a a General E SLR DTA
Bressanelli, Household SC redesign
ab b c Italy V QCCA
Perona [97] appliances for the CE
Broemer, Brandenburg Intra/inter
abc ac ac ac a Chemical Germany Single case QA
[107] organizational
Cousins, Lawson [86] c d ab c Manufacturing UK GSCM SSQ MSA(EFA)
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 21 of 30

Table 1. Cont.

Practices Class Data Data Analysis

Author (Year) Industry Case Country Type of Practice
A B C D E F G H I J K Collection Technique

Duque-Uribe,
a ab abde a–c ab b ac c ab Healthcare General SLR TA
Sarache [57]
Jadhav, Orr [82] de ad ab c b Manufacturing Australia Internal ES SSQ SEM
León-Bravo,
ad e ab ab c ab ab Food Italy A few selected V QCCA
Caniato [39]
Li, Fang [29] ad a cd b abd a b General China For supplier LR, V TOPSIS
Reactive,
Zimon, Tyan [72] a c bde ab b ac c b Manufacturing Taiwan cooperative, SLR TA
dynamic
Balon [108] de b ab General GSCM SLR Bibliometric
Choudhary,
a c d b b b b Automotive India E LR, V DEMATEL
Kumar [32]
Different industries
(10 exploratory case
studies in different Canada,
Ciccullo, Pero [36] ad b bc b a General V QCCA
industries and four US, Italy
explanatory cases in the
furniture industry)
Cloutier, Oktaei [90] b ab c b cd Collaborative SLR DTA
Geyi, Yusuf [46] d a c b ac a a c ab Manufacturing UK Agile practices SSQ SEM
Knowledge and
Gloet
c c ab a b ac ab Food and beverage Australia innovation V QCCA
and Samson [83]
management
Heidary Dahooie,
Zamani e a d b ab ab Mining Iran General LR, V Fuzzy DEMATEL
Babgohari [41]
Manufacturing
(Chinese manufacturers
Hong, Guo [52] c c b b b ad b China SSCM SSQ MSA (C&R)
in the Yangtze River
Delta region: 209 firms)
Islam, Perry [31] ad c be ab a ac ab Textiles ES SLR DTA
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 22 of 30

Table 1. Cont.

Practices Class Data Data Analysis

Author (Year) Industry Case Country Type of Practice
A B C D E F G H I J K Collection Technique

Case companies
(Brazilian companies
that have ISO9001
regarding the
Jabbour, Janeiro [109] c ab b d Brazil S SSQ MSA (C&R)
level/intensity of
adoption of
practices/initiatives for
justice in supply chains)
Luxury goods
Jaegler Specified for
bce a b (11 European luxury France SSQ USA
and Goessling [69] industry
good companies)
Jia, Yin [110] d de Textile PDS, E SLR DTA
Jia, Zhang [98] b General Financial SLR DTA
Kumar, Moktadir [51] c b c a b a ab Footwear Bangladesh Behavioral LR, V DEMATEL
Wang, Zhang [66] c d b a bc b b General (172 firms) China General (IE) SSQ SEM
Electronics (electronics
Laosirihongthong, parts/components
a bd b Thailand Five selected LR, V Fuzzy AHP
Samaranayake [102] manufacturing
organizations)
Mani, Jabbour [92] a ab bd SME manufacturer India S SSQ SEM
Narimissa,
c ce b c a b b Oil and gas Iran 112 selected SLR Delphi
Kangarani-Farahani [80]
CSR practices in SC
Stekelorum [111] b SME general SLR DTA
of SMEs
Silvestre, Silva [55] ad c ce a ab ac a-c Five SC cases Brazil General V QCCA
Germany Internals and
Warasthe, Schulz [79] bc ab ac c Textile V QCCA
Ethiopia externals
Yadav, Luthra [34] ae b cd ab ab b a b c bc Automotive India Industry 4.0 LR, V BWM-ELECTRE
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 23 of 30

Table 1. Cont.

Practices Class Data Data Analysis

Author (Year) Industry Case Country Type of Practice
A B C D E F G H I J K Collection Technique

Zimon, Tyan [58] a a abde ab b c b b UN SDGs General SLR TA

Kouhizadeh, Blockchain
a LR, V DEMATEL
Saberi [112] technology
Qorri, Gashi [33] a ac bd b–d b ac ad bc ab S MAR MA-SA
Sabuj, Ali [50] c d ab a cd a–c Garment Bangladesh General LR, V ISM
* The small letters a, b, c, d, and e are based on Figure 5. If a hyphen is used, it includes all the letters, for example, a–c means abc. ** For columns 2–12: A: Manufacturing; B: Design;
C: Logistics; D: Supply planning and procurement; E: Management information systems; F: Quality performance; G: Safety and security; H: Ethics and social responsibility; I: Financial
management; J: Structural management; K: Promotional programs. For columns 13–17: DC: developing countries; SSCM: sustainable supply chain management; GSCM: green supply
chain management; E,S,G: environmental, societal, governmental; OP: operational; SCI: supply chain integration; IE: internal and external; PDS: product design and stewardship;
V: interview; LR: literature review; SLR: systematic literature review; QD: questionnaire development; SSQ: structured survey questionnaire; SEM: structural equation modelling;
ISM: interpretive structural modeling; PLS: partial least squares; QCCA: qualitative cross-case analysis; R: regression; MSA: multivariate statistical analysis; DEMATEL: decision-
making trial and evaluation laboratory; ANP: based analytic network process; USA: univariate statistical analysis; QA: qualitative analysis; DTA: descriptive and thematic analysis;
C&R: correlation and regression; MAR: meta analytical review; EFA: exploratory factor analysis; MA-SA: moderation analysis–subgroup analysis; BWM: best–worst method.
 of a SC will be improved. In this regard, sustainable purchasing (forward direction) and
reverse logistics-based solutions were the most frequent actions among the different in-
dustries. This highlights how approaches such as closed-loop and circular SCs can be im-
portant and effective to increase sustainability. Although inventory management (in cat-
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 egory C) is well developed in the literature, it has been neglected in sustainability dimen- 24 of 30
sions. This is also evident in previous studies [113], and reveals a new opportunity for
further research.
According
5. Discussion and to Future
Figure Research
7, quality performance practices (F) were studied almost to the
sameAccording
extent as to promotional programs
the categorization, it is(K). The first
observed one
that concerns
most the quality
of the practices of each
were layer
proposed
of the SC and the involved entities, and the second one shows
based on category C (logistics) and D (supply planning and procurement). This shows the importance of human-
based
that plans in channels
connection the SC. Although there have
that link business withbeen efforts to
consumers areboost societies’
essential attention
regardless to
of the
SSCs, more practices should be developed. For example, social media
type of the industry. The better these relations, the more the level of sustainability of a SC is a powerful tool;
however,
will its influence
be improved. is regard,
In this not well-investigated [114], affirming
sustainable purchasing (forward another future
direction) anddirection.
reverse
Having a strong
logistics-based and non-stop
solutions were the relationship
most frequent calledactions
as 6Cs among
between alldifferent
the the composing ele-
industries.
ments
This of the SC
highlights how is another
approaches key such
factor astowards
closed-loopsustainability.
and circularInSCs Figure
can be11,important
this is shown
and
with a straight
effective and continuous
to increase sustainability.lineAlthough
through inventory
the chain. management
In contrast to (inother practices,
category C) iswhich
well
developed in the literature, it has been neglected in sustainability dimensions. This chain.
are usually focused on a player, section, or topic, category E consists of the whole is also
Oninthe
evident next level,
previous we suggest
studies [113], and practices
reveals related to the management
a new opportunity for furtherof research.
products and
people, classified
According as B and
to Figure J, respectively.
7, quality performance It waspractices
shown that the most
(F) were applied
studied almostsolutions
to the
concerning
same extent asthese practices programs
promotional were innovation(K). Theand firstjoint activities.the
one concerns It quality
is necessary
of eachtolayer
changeof
theSC
the traditional format ofentities,
and the involved products and tothe
enhance
secondsustainability
one shows the and facilitate relationships
importance of human-based be-
tweeninthe
plans thestaff and stockholders.
SC. Although there haveInbeen thisefforts
regard, to sustainable product
boost societies’ development
attention to SSCs, more and
designingshould
practices circular beproducts
developed. areFor
new trends [115]
example, socialthat can is
media promote sustainability
a powerful through
tool; however, its
SCs. Practices
influence is notrelated to manufacturing
well-investigated and social
[114], affirming responsibility
another (AH) achieved
future direction. Havingthe same
a strong
and non-stop
priority. relationship
However, practicescalled as 6Cs
related between
to these all the did
categories composing
not obtain elements
the same of attention.
the SC is
another key factor
The discussed towards
practices are sustainability.
illustrated in Figure In Figure
11 to11, thisa is
give shown
whole with aofstraight
picture a typicalandSC
continuous
platform. line through the chain. In contrast to other practices, which are usually focused
on a player, section, or topic, category E consists of the whole chain.

Figure 11. The distribution of practices through supply chains.

Figure 11. The distribution of practices through supply chains.
On the next level, we suggest practices related to the management of products and
The column called “Type of practice” in Table 1 shows the axis of discussion regard-
people, classified as B and J, respectively. It was shown that the most applied solutions
ing the investigated solution in each paper. The simultaneous investigation of this column
concerning these practices were innovation and joint activities. It is necessary to change
and the one named “Industry” reveals the papers’ shortcomings. Among the ESG (i.e.,
the traditional format of products to enhance sustainability and facilitate relationships
between the staff and stockholders. In this regard, sustainable product development and
designing circular products are new trends [115] that can promote sustainability through
SCs. Practices related to manufacturing and social responsibility (AH) achieved the same
priority. However, practices related to these categories did not obtain the same attention.
The discussed practices are illustrated in Figure 11 to give a whole picture of a typical
SC platform.
The column called “Type of practice” in Table 1 shows the axis of discussion re-
garding the investigated solution in each paper. The simultaneous investigation of this
column and the one named “Industry” reveals the papers’ shortcomings. Among the ESG
(i.e., environmental, societal, governmental) factors, social and environmental practices
have been studied in several cases. However, governmental practices that can affect sustain-
ability through the supply chain are not addressed well, specifically how the government
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 25 of 30

can promote SSCs nationally and internationally, suggesting political, management, and
leadership strategies. Future research should investigate bureaucratic flexibility to create
and maintain accountable sustainable policies in SCs.
Table 2 shows the industries vs. practices. The researchers explored the practices
from three perspectives: general, selective, and focused. Although the number of the
studies dealing with the practices in the big picture and considering a general framework
is still increasing, there is still a gap in analyzing the effect of specific solutions. For
instance, the ones covering dynamic capabilities, agile, lean, and innovative practices need
more investigation. Considering the structure of the SC, the focus is usually on suppliers.
However, the roles of the other parties, such as retailers, and developing specific practices
for them, are ignored.

Table 2. Overview of the industry based on the type of practice.

Industry
Practice Aerospace Chemical Clothing Electronics Energy Food Healthcare Luxury Manufacturing Maritime Retail Steel
√ √ √ √ √ √
Selected √ √ √ √ √ √ √
General √ √ √
GSCM √ √
SSCM √ √ √
Environmental √ √ √ √
Social
Environmental √ √ √
and Social
Environmental √
and Govern-
mental
Environmental, √ √
Social and
Economic √
ESG factors √
Digitalization √
Agile
Dynamic √ √
capabilities
Innovation √
management
Internal and √ √ √ √
external √
Behavioral
Cooperate √
social
responsibility

Compared to other industries, the manufacturing industry is studied from a more

practical point of view. Traditional industrial sectors related to “textiles, garments, leather,
and footwear” and “oil, gas, coal, and mining”, classified generally as the clothing and
energy industries, were the topic of several studies. In terms of global SCs, some industries
such as the chemical sector and aviation industry have rarely been discussed. Moreover,
there is a vacant place for some industries such as banking and real estate, specifically
considering financial practices.
Another substantial finding is the absence of more advanced and complicated data
techniques. Despite the wide usage of traditional qualitative and quantitative data analysis
techniques, there is a great opportunity for state-of-the-art data mining methods, artificial
intelligence, and machine learning approaches to implement sustainable practices and
make positive differences. Despite the existence of many outstanding mathematical models
in the supply chain and sustainable supply chain, there is not a considerable mathematical
model that uses sustainable practices as the main feature of the model.

6. Conclusions
The present paper studied the application of sustainable practices to move traditional
SCs toward improved versions called SSCs. We conducted a literature review and analyzed
the results to provide a bigger picture concerning sustainable practices. Different aspects,
including the type of industry and the applied methodologies, along with depicting a
comprehensive categorization for the practices, were investigated. The details of the
practices in each subcategory were presented in a cross-referenced database (Table 1).
Sustainability 2022, 14, 7892 26 of 30

This provided an opportunity to see the progress of recent years, and how examine the
situation in different countries regarding the industries. Besides the statistical method,
we pointed out a roadmap for future research and discussed the gaps. These findings
will be useful for researchers and practitioners, allowing them to see and compare the
application of sustainable solutions considering all investigated industries. The new and
updated categorization showed the shortcomings of new practices and considered the
ignored industries. Future research can identify the situation of SSCs based on barriers and
performance based on the present format.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, E.S.; methodology, E.S.; software, E.S.; validation, E.S.;
formal analysis, E.S.; investigation, E.S.; resources, E.S.; data curation, E.S.; writing—original draft
preparation, E.S., B.I. and A.Z.; writing—review and editing, E.S. and A.Z.; visualization, E.S., A.Z.
and B.I.; supervision, E.S.; project administration, E.S.; funding acquisition, E.S. and J.M. All authors
have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research was funded by the Academy of Finland, InStreams profiling (grant No. 326291).
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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