Laboratory for Manufacturing and Sustainability

Supply-chain greenhouse gas emissions and water scarcity are investigated as important components of sustainable manufacturing systems and a different impact reduction approach is suggested for each metric. Greenhouse gas emissions have a global impact regardless of emission location, which allows for supply-chain tradeoffs, whereas water scarcity is a local measure that is useful in predicting the long-term sustainability of a manufacturing location. Using publicly available data, greenhouse gas supply-chain tradeoffs are shown to exist between transportation distances, transportation mode, and regional electricity mix. This study sets the groundwork for designing and implementing reduced impact supply-chain networks.