A fuzzy decision tool to evaluate the sustainable performance of suppliers in an agrifood value chain

Sustainable supply chain management has received much attention from both academia and industry due to various issues such as economic stability, environment conservation, and social ethics. To improve the sustainable performance of a value chain, its members need to carefully select their suppliers in relation to their own strategy. Thus, an effective tool for sustainable supplier selection and evaluation is essential, which considers the triple bottom line (TBL) of economic, environmental and social aspects by means of criteria adapted to the situation analysed. This paper develops a fuzzy decision tool to evaluate the sustainable performance of suppliers according to TBL. Sustainability criteria are identified to take into account the real hotspots in a food value chain. The proposed model integrates triangular fuzzy numbers (TFN), AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) and TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) in a novel way to consider quantitative and qualitative criteria as well as objective and subjective data. This is missing in most existing research when building their fuzzy models for supplier selection, but critical in dealing with the heterogeneous data available for TBL assessment. The application in a sustainable agrifood value chain illustrates the effectiveness of the proposed tool

Combining eco-social and environmental indicators to assess the sustainability performance of a food value chain: A case study

Stakeholders are increasingly demanding transparency on food value chain sustainability performance. Today there is no standard framework to meet this demand and support defining indicators to be used to conduct an overall sustainable performance assessment. This paper mobilizes existing frameworks and indicators to build new sustainable performance metrics for actors willing to work together for their value chain sustainability. Popular methods or tools for assessing dimensions of agrifood products or activities are selected and analyzed to determine how they could contribute to this metric. The analysis aims to distinguish the sustainable development pillars addressed (economic, environmental and/or social), the frames concerned (life cycle thinking or not - multi-actor or not), and the focus of performance measured (drivers, pressures, states, impacts, responses). This categorization is then used to develop a proposal for specifications adapted to food value chain sustainability performance assessment. The applicability of the framework is demonstrated through a case study in a pork agrifood value chain

Facilitating Aligned Co-decisions for More Sustainable Food Value Chains

The transition of existing food value chains towards greater sustainability is a societal imperative and a potential competitive factor. To succeed, some actors in the chains define new practices to establish common sustainability goals. To date, there is little evidence that the visions and values of the various actors in the chains have been leading to common solutions. This work explores the impact of collaboration on the value chain actors’ ability to jointly decide strategies for rede-signing their activities. It reports on an empirical approach, which elicits the values and priorities of different stakeholders. The case takes place in the context of a value chain of the produc-tion/processing/sale of pork products. This value chain involves two French produc-tion-processing and redistribution cooperatives. Stakeholders were questioned about their pri-oritization of sustainability issues and these weights were applied to evaluate 12 animal feed solutions that vary in terms of the composition and geographical origin of rations, and the means and locations of their production. The results show that despite several years of cooperation, the objectives of the upstream and downstream actors remain different. The objectives of the upstream actors are driven by the economic difficulties of production and those of the downstream actors by the multiplicity of consumer demands and cost control objectives. In a reversal of the current practice marked by the economic difficulties of the actors upstream of the chain, an integrated culture could be led by bottom-up approaches to create a shared vision. Public policy would be then essential in regulating the sharing of value among actors; and in promoting chain models that help the required investments

La chaîne de valeur des connaissances pour éco-concevoir et éco-innover en alimentaire Études de cas des projets ECOTROPHELIA

International audienc

Sustainability Business Model: a case study of the evolution of activity system by eco-design and eco-innovation practices to value wine production

International audienceInnovation, sustainability, sustainability innovations are the challenges that today's businesses are facing. While many scholarly researches have produced a great deal of useful knowledge about various forms of sustainability and innovation and their integration in business models, there has been no attention given to the process through which a business activity model evolves from a quality management system to a sustainability business model. In this paper, through a case study, we address this gap in research by focusing on the evolution of management practices related to the dynamics of new knowledge introduced by management innovations, i.e. the implementation of management tools, ideas, processes and practices in organizations, intended to alter the way in which the managerial work is performed and to further organizational goals. Building on Engeström theoretical model of activity system and expansive learning, we show how a French wine Château has learned to improve its capabilities to reinvent its business model through the implementation of ISO standards and created sustainability values to its products, services and customers. Our results show how sustainable development is achieved through the implementation of eco-design and eco-innovation practices. They also show that sustainability in business models and practices is a dynamic and expansive learning mechanism. It is leveraged by management tools and management philosophy that help organizations exploiting their good practices, and exploring and seizing in their environment and among their key partners, the opportunities that can reconfigure the value of their products and services

Quels outils pour quelle éco-conception alimentaire ?

Référence : 201603042224National audienceL’éco-conception, ou la conception de produits et de processus impliquant la prise en compte de critères environnementaux, représente en enjeu majeur pour les entreprises agroalimentaires. Une grande hétérogénéité d’outils et de méthodes sont mobilisés par les entreprises pour la mettre en œuvre. D’un côté des approches « simples » comme de mesure et de réduction de consommation comme l’eau ou l’électricité sont relativement aisées à mettre en place pour les entreprises. D’autres méthodes telles que l’Analyse de Cycle de Vie (ACV) impliquent l’identification et la mesure d’un grand nombre de flux et la définition de leurs impacts sur l’environnement. Ces deux approches extrêmes impliquent donc des périmètres et des indicateurs différents. Des approches intermédiaires sont également envisageables avec les méthodes mono-indicateur comme l’empreinte carbone ou l’empreinte en eau qui comme l’ACV visent à prendre en compte l’ensemble du cycle de vie des produits. Grâce à ces outils, les entreprises peuvent mettre en place une stratégie globale de management environnemental de leurs activités

La chaîne de valeur des connaissances pour éco-concevoir et éco-innover en alimentaire Études de cas des projets ECOTROPHELIA

International audienc

Potentials, limits and complementarities of these methods for the eco-assessment of processes

International audienceSession 1: Environmental assessment for eco-design of agro-bio-industry processes Sub-session 1.3: Potentials, limits and complementarities of existing methods for the eco-assessment of processes Round table with - Remko Boom, WUR, Netherlands - Gérard Gaillard, Agroscope, Institute for Sustainability Sciences, Switzerland - Antonis Kokossis, National Technical University of Athens, Greece - Dominique Maxime, CIRAIG, Canada - Helmut Rechberger, Vienna University of Technology, Austria - Philippe Roux, ELSA Montpellier, France - Ulf Sonesson, SP – Food and Bioscience, SwedenChaired by: Catherine Bonazzi, INRA Massy, France & Gwenola Yannou-Le Bris, AgroParisTech, Franc