Supply chain management in view of climate change: an overview of possible impacts and the road ahead

Abstract

Purpose: The paper aims to provide a general overview of the impacts of climate change upon supply chains and to analyze the implications of climate change for supply chain management in terms of strategic and operational planning. A roadmap of fruitful research approaches is also presented.

Design/methodology/approach: The paper makes use of a general review of the relevant literature and, based on a systematic categorization of the findings, looks for useful insights towards the issues of climate change and supply chain management. A framework is drawn for systematically assessing the impacts of climate change upon supply chains and their management, while making suggestions for future research.

Findings and Originality/value: Supply chain networks run physical, operational and reputational risks attributed to climate change. Escalation in regulations, market forces and stakeholders’ pressures are paving the way for the decarbonization of supply chains with obvious implications for supply chain management. Supply chain managers should pay special attention to the impacts of climate change on supply chains and academics should further explore the interrelationships between climate change and supply chain design and operations.

Research limitations/implications: Additional qualitative research based on grounded theory is suggested for validating and interconnecting the findings with empirical data.

Practical implications: The paper provides several insights towards the issues of supply chain management in view of climate change and may serve as an initial basis for exploring future research directions by academics. Practitioners, especially those drafting value-creating supply chain agendas, may also find these insights useful for improving their managerial practices.

Originality/value: By providing an original structured overview of the impacts of climate change upon supply chain design and operations management the paper substantiates the need for management improvements and provides research directions that may prove valuable to researchers.