Designing a Closed-Loop Supply Chain Inventory Management System for a Plastic Recycling Company
MAGAZINE №1 (102) - 2021
AUTHORS
FEDOROVA T.V. - environmental projects specialist, «EcoTechnologies» (Moscow, Russia)
CATEGORY Green Logistics& Supply Chain Inventory management Return flows management (reverse logistics)
ABSTRACT
Over the past 70 years, the production of plastics worldwide has increased 215 times – from 1.5 million tons in 1950 to 322 million tons in 2015 [Darrin Qualman, 2017], and already in 2017, production volumes exceeded 400 million tons [UN Environment, 2018]. Plastics are produced from by-products of the oil and gas industry, primarily from associated petroleum gas. According to Plastics Europe – the European Association of Plastic Producers, between 4 and 6% of the oil produced is used for plastic production [Plastics Europe, 2017]. According to experts, this figure may reach 20% by 2050, due to the growing demand for plastic products, which increases the need for their production. Although renewable, the Earth's oil and gas reserves are limited, and they cannot be used forever to make new polymer products.
According to the report of the multinational company "BP" [BP, 2018], the world's oil reserves will last for 50.2 years, gas-for 52.8 years. In Russia, as one of the largest countries producing hydrocarbon raw materials, oil and gas reserves with existing exploration technologies will last for 25.8 and 55 years, respectively. At the same time, many products can be produced completely or partially without the use of polymers. In addition, plastic waste can be used as a secondary raw material, so that the demand for oil and gas processing products can be reduced.
Plastic waste produced by businesses and the public is a global problem [UN Environment, 2018] that threatens the health of people and the entire ecosystem of the Earth. At the same time, plastics take a very long time to decompose in the environment. For different types of plastic, these terms are in the range from 100 to 500 years. Plastic breaks down into small particles – microplastics that cannot be completely recycled by the ecosystem, such as paper or wood. This microplastic penetrates into the soil, as well as into water bodies and thus ends up in the stomachs of animals and fish. The United Nations estimates that every year 1 million seabirds, 100,000 marine mammals and turtles, as well as countless fish die from microplastics entering their bodies [Sustainable Development United Nations, 2017].
Damage to the ecosystem can be avoided if non-degradable waste is not allowed to enter the environment. To do this, the production cycle must be closed. Thus, many companies around the world began to move from linear supply chains to closed ones, in which return flow management or reverse logistics appeared. Therefore, the task of organizing work with plastic waste is quite relevant in scientific and practical terms.
Keywords:
Green Logistics in Retail Companies
MAGAZINE №5 (94) October 2019
AUTHORS ELYASHEVICH I.P., ELYASHEVICH E.R.
CATEGORY Industrial companies’ corporate logistics Green Logistics & Supply Chain Return flows management (reverse logistics)
ABSTRACT
The search for effective ways of waste management is an urgent scientific and practical task that companies involved in various sectors of the economy face. On the one hand, this is due to the need to comply with environmental legislation which imposes requirements to reduce the negative burden on the environment in the implementation of their activities. On the other hand, the effective organization of waste collection and transfer for recycling can help reduce the costs of companies and create an additional source of income, which will increase business profitability.
The article considers possible directions of work with waste generated in result of domestic retail chain companies' activities. The classification which can be used for the purposes of separate waste collection organization and their subsequent processing is offered. The analysis of logistics theory method whose modification will promote introduction of ecological principles in retail business is carried out. The results of domestic market analysis of waste processing, their nomenclature, and specifics of treatment, and prices for disposal are presented. Calculations of possible revenues of retail chain companies from waste transfer to recycling are based on industry averages.
The methodological principles set forth in the article are based on a systematic analysis of the relationships between the elements of logistics and environmental systems in the process of managing direct and return material flows. The methods of technical, economic and financial analysis, mathematical statistics and information processing were used to assess the economic efficiency of the solutions proposed in the article. The calculations carried out show that the organization and implementation of separate waste collection by retail chain enterprises can reduce the cost of removal and disposal of waste and have a positive impact on the environment.
Keywords: Green logistics return flows return flows management return management recycling solid waste waste management municipal solid waste
Sustainable Supply Chains in the Automotive Industry: Working with Suppliers
MAGAZINE №2 (91) April 2019
AUTHOR LAKHNO Y.V. - Cand. of Eс. Sc, Associate professor, Commerce and Logistics Department, Rostov State University of Economics (Rostov on Don, Russia)
CATEGORY Analytics and reviews Supply chains reliability and sustainability Green Logistics& Supply Chain
ABSTRACT
The development of supply chains of the largest automakers is accompanied by an increase in the contribution of suppliers to the finished product and at the same time increasing the complexity of building sustainable supply chains. The purpose of the research is to study the experience of the largest automakers in terms of the organization of work with suppliers in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. The article discusses the criteria for selecting suppliers as an element of a sustainable supply chain. The evaluation procedure of the development potential of the provider in accordance with the principles of sustainable development is considered based on the analysis of the report on sustainable development of the companies of automobile manufacturers. Inconsistencies in the activities of suppliers to the principles of sustainable development are considered. Areas of work with suppliers aimed at stimulating the development of their responsible attitude to the environment, society and business partners are differentiated. The mechanism of work with suppliers in a sustainable supply chain of the automakers. The importance of digital technologies for the organization of sustainable supply chains is shown. An analytical study of the compliance of the criteria for selection of suppliers and the stages of development of logistics integration in the supply chain allowed to propose a hierarchy of criteria for selecting a supplier, where the criteria of a higher level cause changes in the criteria at the lower levels.
Keywords:
Analysis of Trends in the Study of «Green» Logistics
MAGAZINE №2(85) April 2018
AUTHORS Berezhnaya L.Y. - Senior Lecturer, Department of Management, Orenburg State University (Orenburg, Russia)
CATEGORY Analytics and reviews Green Logistics& Supply Chain
ABSTRACT
The increasing role of environment-oriented management methods is reflected in the development of theoretical aspects of "green" logistics. The author of the article analyzed the total number of articles published over the past 8 years on this topic. As a database, three modern science-metric systems have been chosen: Elibrary, SpringerLink, Scopus. Comparative analysis has shown that the number of publications devoted to a certain degree to "green" logistics has grown over the analyzed period of time. Most actively this direction is developing in Russia. However, there is a certain lag in the publication activity in comparison with foreign science-metric databases. The main reasons for some delay in the Russian scientific school have been identified. Within the framework of the article basing on the previous period study the forecasted number of published articles in 2018 is proposed.
Keywords:
Economic Methods and Incentives for Solving Environmental Problems in Logistics
MAGAZINE №5 (82) October 2017
AUTHORS BORISOVA L.A.
CATEGORY Green Logistics& Supply Chain
ABSTRACT
The negative impact of logistics and especially transport and its infrastructure on the environment is quite extensive and includes current international problem of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere and corresponding climate change. According to statistics 28% of emissions accounted for by transportation. Development and implementation of appropriate initiatives of reducing the negative environmental impact of transportation takes place on different levels. This is the result of the Kyoto Protocol, and now of the Paris agreement.Internationally, the system of both normative-legal and economic methods of state and market regulation is actively applied and improved in order to stimulate the introduction of “green” technologies. The article analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the existing Russian and foreign methods and economic incentives for solving an environmental problems that caused by the development of transportation and logistics infrastructure. Article explores the tax policy of foreign countries in the field of ecology; types and amounts of charges of basic environmental taxes. The “shadow prices” method is considered as a possible methodological basis for calculating and subsequently introducing an environmental tax for a specific pollutant. The article proposes changes in the economic policy of the development of “green” logistics in Russia based on an analysis of the results of financial and tax instruments application in different countries. In particular, it is shown that Russia can effectively use the experience of Germany and other countries on the transport tax differentiation (depending on emissions and other environmental indicators), as well as possible ways of improving current charges pollution and emissions charges.
Keywords:
The relevance of the green logistics concept in Russia and ways its implementation by means of modern information technologies?
MAGAZINE №2 (64) April 2015
AUTHOR KOREPIN V.
CATEGORY Green Logistics&Supply Chain Information Technology in Logistics and SCM
ABSTRACT
Green logistics related to the production and distribution of products on a sustainable basis, taking into account environmental and social factors. Thus, the logistics policy should be formed not only on the basis of the effects of the economic condition of the company, but also the broader consequences for society, such as the impact of pollution on the environment.
Events green logistics typically include: measurement of environmental impact of different allocation strategies; reducing energy consumption in logistics activities; reduction and control of the level of waste.
The urgency is caused by the increased green logistics in recent years, concerns about the impact of human activity on the environment, resulting in the current logistics practices will be ineffective in the long run.
Keywords:
