Identifying and Prioritizing Sustainable Supply Chain Indicators in the Petrochemical Industry

Abstract

Sustainable development has gained global recognition, especially in industries such as petrochemicals, with profound environmental impacts. Integrating sustainability principles into supply chain management has become increasingly essential, especially in the petrochemical sector, where traditional practices significantly contribute to environmental degradation. Despite progress in sustainable supply chain literature, significant gaps remain in incorporating sustainability principles into supply chain management practices. The petrochemical industry faces unique challenges that remain unaddressed. There are also still no suitable models to address these issues. The main objective of this study is to identify and prioritize sustainable supply chain indicators in the petrochemical industry. This research employs mixed methods, starting with a qualitative meta-analysis of existing sustainability indicators using MAXQDA software for comprehensive coding. It then conducts quantitative analyses using the Delphi-Fuzzy method, DEMATEL, and the Analytic Network Process (ANP) to assess the interrelationships and significance of these indicators. The study identifies and categorizes 15 sustainability arrows for the supply chain, highlighting that environmental management and environmental pressures are the most critical for enhancing sustainability. This research has important scientific implications that will help develop sustainability assessment models in petrochemical supply chains. The results show that integrating economic, social, and environmental dimensions helps improve organizational performance and create more effective solutions to environmental challenges. Also, this research allows decision-makers to optimize their resource priorities and can be a cause for prospective study in the domain of supply chain sustainability in different industries.