Assessing carbon footprint and energy efficiency in competing supply chains: Review – Case studies and benchmarking

This article compares the energy consumption and CO2 emissions of supply chains in Belgium, France and UK looking in particular at, jeans, yogurts, apples, tomatoes and furniture. We use a generic methodology that allows comparability across the supply chain of products, supply chains, and countries. Our benchmarking show relatively high emissions for maritime transport and the consumer leg, while logistics activities such as storage and road freight exhibit relatively low emissions. The influences of distance, retail type, area density and consumer behaviour are also examined.

► This paper develops a methodology to calculate CO2 emissions of supply chains. ► The results, in gCO2/kg of product are then compared for several chains. ► The emissions of the consumer leg are as important as road freight and storage. ► The maritime leg of intercontinental chains often has the highest part of emissions.