Greening the agrifood supply chain with lean thinking practices. (1st January 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Folinas, Dimitrios; Aidonis, Dimitrios; Malindretos, Giorgos; Voulgarakis, Nikolaos; Triantafillou, Dimitrios
• Is Part Of: International journal of agricultural resources, governance and ecology. Volume 10:Number 2(2014)
• Page Start: 129
• Page End: 145
• Publication Date: 2014-01-01
• Subjects: food supply chain -- corn for animal feed -- lean thinking -- value stream mapping -- green supply chain; Sustainable agriculture -- Periodicals; Agricultural ecology -- Periodicals; Agriculture -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; 630
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1462-4605

Abstract

In this paper, a systematic approach for measuring the environmental performance of a supply chain in agrifood sector based on the value stream mapping (VSM) technique is presented and analysed. The proposed approach aims to determine waste, in terms of measuring the non-value-added time of production and logistics processes, as well as, water and energy used across organisational boundaries. Furthermore, in order to demonstrate its applicability and effectiveness and to understand its sustainable impacts, the suggested approach is applied in an agrifood product (corn for animal feed) and the corresponding supply chain. VSM diagrams are created and specific practices are proposed in order to minimise waste in the examined supply chain.