Research framework and empirical evidence of sustainable supply chain

The aim of this research is to conduct a review on the approaches used to assess different criteria on sustainability used by supply chains and to suggest a framework for a methodical approach that would be easy and practical in making complex sustainable assessments. A review was conducted on the present models that are used to examine sustainability within supply chains. A sample of 332 companies mainly from the manufacturing area was examined to determine what criteria they require for assessing sustainable issues amongst their supply chains. A quantitative study using factor analysis and multiple regression were used to analyse the data to determine the statistical significance of the attempted prediction. It was identified that corporate commitment to sustainability, corporate reporting and management systems are significant predictors for green procurement in supply chain management. This framework can be beneficial in implementing environmental sustainable assessments for supply chains. Much of the empirical research on supply chains has focused on business performance, while there is very little empirical work undertaken in the literature on sustainable supply chains, Sustainability within supply chains implies that businesses need to consider the economic, environmental and social impacts of their activities.