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The fertilizer industry (FI) is well known for its high energy needs, reliance on limited natural resources, and negative environmental impacts (EIs). The consumption of 14.2 billion tons (BT) of materials and the extraction of 1,580 tons of resources per acre are solely attributed to the FI. Because of FI's resource and energy-intensive nature, it becomes crucial for FI to adopt a Circular Economy (CE) to improve efficiency, energy, and resource reuse. However, FI needs to strengthen its progress toward CE adoption. The proposed study comprehends and examines the barriers that inhibit the adoption of CE in FI.

A total of 15 barriers obstructing the CE in FI are identified and categorized into seven different categories. The barriers were identified by performing a comprehensive literature review and expert input. The study employs the DEMATEL approach to analyze the barriers and establish a causal relationship between them.

The study reveals that the most significant challenge to implementing CE in FI is governmental restrictions, which are followed by a lack of awareness and understanding and a need for a steady supply of bulk materials. The results comprehensively comprehend the pivotal factors that jeopardize the CE in FI and furnish a robust foundation for the methodology and tactics to surmount the barriers to CE adoption.

The literature review encompasses the barriers to the transition to CE and offers management and policy perspectives that help the FI's policy and decision-makers surmount these barriers with future research endeavors.

This article aims to assess risks related to the supply chain 5.0 digitalization. It aims to analyze interdependencies and causal relationships between critical digital supply chain 5.0 risks, emphasizing the need for proactive management to address emerging challenges.

Through an extensive literature review and expert judgment, risks related to supply chain 5.0 digitalization are identified. An integrated approach for risk assessment is employed, where the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is utilized to prioritize these risks. Subsequently, the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method is employed to investigate cause-and-effect relationships among the identified top 10 risks. This comprehensive analysis forms the basis for informed strategic management decision-making.

The analysis identifies significant influences of “Dependence on technology,” “Complexity”, “Potential system failures”, and “Cyber security” while “Environmental impact” and “Socio-economic disparities” emerge as prominent risks in supply chain 5.0 digitalization. These findings offer actionable insights for management decision-making, guiding the formulation of strategies to address and mitigate critical risks.

The proposed integrated approach (AHP-DEMATEL) provides valuable insights for managers to effectively mitigate digital supply chain 5.0 risks and strategically respond to disruptions. By prioritizing risks, organizations can allocate resources efficiently and address the most critical challenges first, minimizing long-term damage to resilience. Embracing this approach enables practitioners to enhance overall supply chain resilience, guiding key management decisions for the development of sustainable and adaptive strategies.

This paper marks the first comprehensive attempt to assess supply chain 5.0 digitalization risks using decision-making methods like AHP and DEMATEL. The integrated approach contributes novel insights to the field of supply chain risk management, specifically aiding management decision-making in the face of digitalization challenges.

Over the last 2 decades, supply chain sustainability research has become a highly dynamic and fruitful study area. This field has garnered significant attention due to its potential to reshape decision-making processes within supply chains. At the same time, the practical side of supply chain operations remains intensely competitive in today’s business landscape. Furthermore, the current academic research aims to outline effective strategies for achieving sustainability across supply chains, particularly in the manufacturing sector. In response to these challenges, this research has conducted an integrated multi-criteria decision-making approach to evaluate sustainable supply chain performance from the triple bottom line perspective, including financial, environmental, and social performance.

The initial stage involves selecting the crucial criteria (short-term and long-term) and alternatives for sustainable supply chain performance (SSCP) from experts and conducting an in-depth literature review. Initially, there were 17 criteria, but after a pilot test with co-authors and online discussions with experts, the number of criteria was subsequently reduced to 9. In the second phase, the Best-Worst Method (BWM) was applied to rank and prioritize the criteria. The third and final stage examined the causal relationship between the identified criteria, utilizing the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) technique.

Based on BWM analysis results, the top three criteria in terms of prominence are: (1) return on investment (ROI), (2) product quality, and (3) manufacturing lead time. Out of the three alternatives, financial performance (FP) is the most crucial dimension for SSCP, followed by environmental performance (ENP) and social performance (SP). On the other hand, the DEMATEL approach showed that work health and safety (short-term criterion), asset utilization (long-term criterion), energy consumption (long-term criterion), waste disposal (long-term criterion), manufacturing lead time (short-term criterion), and on-time delivery (short-term criterion) are categorized within the cause group, while criteria such as return on investment (ROI) (long-term criterion), customer-service level (short-term criterion), and product quality (long-term criterion) fall into the effect group.

The proposed study has certain drawbacks that pave the way for future research directions. First, it is worth noting the need for a larger sample size to ensure the reliability of results, the potential inclusion of additional criteria to enhance the assessment of sustainability performance, and the consideration of a qualitative approach to gain deeper insights into the outcomes. In addition, fuzziness in qualitative subjective perception could be imperative when collecting data to ensure its reliability, as translating experts’ perceptions into exact numerical values can be challenging because human perceptions often carry elements of uncertainty or vagueness. Therefore, fuzzy integrated MCDM frameworks are better suited for future research to handle the uncertainties involved in human perceptions, making it a more appropriate approach for decision-making in scenarios where traditional MCDM methods may prove insufficient.

The proposed framework will enable decision-makers to gain deeper insights into how various decision criteria impact SSCP, thus providing a comprehensive evaluation of SSCP that considers multiple dimensions, such as financial, environmental, and social performance within the manufacturing sector.

The proposed study is the first empirical study to integrate both BWM and DEMATEL approaches to evaluate sustainable supply chain performance in the manufacturing context.

This study aims to assess the factors influencing the effective implementation of extended producer responsibility (EPR) practices within the context of sustainable accounting goals and circular economy principles. It seeks to provide insights into the significance of EPR policies for manufacturing industries striving to enhance their environmental, social and governance performance while ensuring sustainable accounting of their business operations.

The methodology proposed in this article is based on the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) technique. This approach formulates a structural framework for evaluating influential elements among critical recognized factors. By using DEMATEL, the study examines the interconnectedness between assessed factors through a cause-and-effect diagram, facilitating the integration of EPR into sustainable accounting practices.

The research findings reveal that the most impactful contributors to sustainable accounting practices of EPR within the framework of sustainable development goals and circular economy are producers, consumers, eco-design, public awareness and the support of local authorities. These findings underscore the importance of considering these factors in implementing EPR and advancing sustainable accounting practices.

This paper contributes to the literature by proposing a DEMATEL-based model for evaluating the factors affecting the implementation of EPR within the context of sustainable accounting goals and circular economy principles.

In the recent post-pandemic era, the globe has been anxious for the sustainable disposal of healthcare waste to protect public health, protect the environment and enhance future preparedness. Developing countries, in particular, have struggled to dispose of healthcare waste (HCW) to eradicate the hazardous effects of medical waste generated during and after the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. Hence the purpose of the research paper is to develop a hybrid decision-making framework to identify various barriers for sustainable disposal of healthcare waste use of Grey-Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (G-DEMATEL) and Analytical Network Process (ANP).

A hybrid framework of Grey-Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (G-DEMATEL) and Analytical Network Process (ANP) has been used to rank barriers and sub-barriers in the disposal of healthcare waste.

The study’s findings suggest that lack of segregation practices, absence of green procurement policy, obsolete technologies and resistance to adopting change management are the topmost causal barriers influencing the remaining barriers. Lack of commitment among healthcare administrations, lack of standard performance measures and resistance to adopting change appear to be the topmost crucial barriers.

The study’s finding enables all stakeholders to prioritize the barriers systematically for better performance and save resources during the process. The policymakers can use the results to design a clear regulatory framework.

The literature has highlighted the factors and their association with the disposal of healthcare waste mainly in isolation. The results are validated against the Grey-Analytical Hierarchy Process (G-AHP) to ensure the robustness of the proposed framework. This paper is one of the preliminary attempts to propose a framework of the interrelationships of the factors that have a direct role in survival for management education.

Globally, the landscape of corporate carbon disclosures (CCD) is continually evolving as societal, environmental and regulatory expectations change over time. The goal of this study is to examine the challenges faced by Indian firms’ corporate carbon reporting (CCR). The literature recognized the hurdles to reaching net zero emissions and decarbonization, which are equally applicable to carbon disclosure (CD).

The scope 3 emission disclosure barriers (S3EDBs) identified from the literature were ranked, and their relationships were discovered using the “Grey-based decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory” (Grey- DEMATEL) technique.

The key findings are the S3EDBs, the most prominent barriers, their interrelationships and important insights for managers of organizations in prioritizing the action area for scope 3 CD. Eight S3EDBs were categorized in terms of cause and effect, threshold value is calculated as 0.78. “Quality, and reliability of data,” “Government policies and statutory requirement on emission disclosure” and “Traceability and managing supply chain partners” are the most prominent S3EDBs.

The results will help industry people in countries with emerging economies that have significant scope 3 carbon footprints. The managers can plan to deal with top S3EDBs as a step towards decarbonization and ultimately fighting climate change (CC).

This study is one of the first to rank these barriers to CD so that industry practitioners can prioritize their actions. The core contribution of this research is to detect the most significant S3EDBs and their interdependencies.

The purpose of this study is to establish a synthetic group decision framework based on the Pythagorean fuzzy (PF) set to select the optimal medicine cold chain logistics provider (MCCLP). Fierce market competition makes enterprises must constantly improve every link in the process of enterprise sustainable development. The evaluation of MCCLP in pharmaceutical enterprises is an important link to enhance the comprehensive competitiveness. Because of the fuzziness of expert cognition and the complexity of the decision procedure, PF set can effectively handle the uncertainty and ambiguity in the process of multi-criteria group decision decision-making (MCGDM).

This paper develops an integrated group decision framework through combining the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) technique and combined compromise solution (CoCoSo) approach to select a satisfactory MCCLP within PF circumstances. First, the PF set is used to process the ambiguity and uncertainty of the cognition ability of experts. Second, a novel PF knowledge measure is propounded to measure the vagueness of the PF set. Third, a comprehensive criterion weight determination technique is developed through aggregating subjective weights attained utilizing the PF DEMATEL approach and objective weight deduced by knowledge measure method. Furthermore, an integrated MCGDM approach based on synthetic weight and CoCoSo method is constructed.

The outcomes of sensibility analysis and comparison investigation show that the suggested decision framework can help decision experts to choose a satisfactory MCCLP scientifically and reasonably. Accordingly, the propounded comprehensive decision framework can be recommended to enterprises and organizations to assess the MCCLP for their improvement of core competitiveness.

MCCLP selection is not only momentous for pharmaceutical enterprises to improve transportation quality and ensure medicine safety but also provides a strong guarantee for enterprises to improve their core competitiveness. Nevertheless, enterprises face certain challenges due to the uncertainty of the assessment environment as well as human cognition in the process of choosing a satisfactory MCCLP. PF set possesses a formidable capability to address the uncertainty and imprecision information in the process of MCGDM. Therefore, pharmaceutical enterprises can implement the proposed method to evaluate the suppliers to further improve the comprehensive profit of enterprises.

The purpose of this article is to investigate and analyze the interactions between economic and sustainable development elements in the context of remanufacturing in India.

To comprehend the hierarchical and contextual link among factors impacting remanufacturing in India, the study used interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) methodologies.

The integrated ISM-DEMATEL approach identifies optimal utilization of the resources as the most crucial factor influencing remanufacturing in India, followed by reducing landfills, conserving energy and low cost. The study also reveals that optimal utilization of resources, reduction of landfills, conservation of energy and incorporated advanced technology impacts most of the factors but get affected by a few factors.

Industry practitioners and policymakers should consider the remanufacturing process to achieve sustainable and economic development. The government and other stakeholders can use the ISM framework and cause-and-effect diagram to classify the impact factors and their impact on the Indian economy and environment.

This study supports the process to save the landfills and curbing pollution, conserve energy and optimize utilization of the resources, generate employment and supporting the development of the economy. Remanufacturing will undoubtedly contribute to the development of an environment and economy in India that benefits both.

ISM and DEMATELs strategy offers a tiered model and a cause-and-effect relationship between the variables affecting remanufacturing in India.

The objective is to contribute to the development of strategies through the identification of sustainability practices. Thus, the research has a twofold objective: to unveil sustainability practices integrated into last-mile logistics activities by e-commerce retailers, analyze the interrelations among these practices and categorize them based on their significance for small Brazilian e-commerce retailers.

A literature mapping was conducted to identify sustainability practices in last-mile activities adopted by e-retailers, leading to the proposal of a meta-model. A total of 67 articles are part of the final sample. Subsequently, the study applied the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) multicriteria decision-making technique to structure the research problem through cause-and-effect analysis among practices, aiming to prioritize critical practices.

The results indicate a strong dependence on economic practices to enable sustainability in last-mile logistics. In the economic dimension of sustainability, operating costs and quality of services are effect variables and achieved the highest relation concerning the other practices.

The article provides theoretical contributions by addressing two complementary areas of knowledge: Stakeholder Theory and Sustainability, also aligning with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines. In practical terms, it stands out for offering valuable insights into the implementation of sustainable strategies by identifying economic, environmental and social practices in last-mile logistics, particularly within the context of small businesses in the e-retail segment.

The results help e-retailers re-evaluate last-mile logistics processes from a sustainability perspective. This study aims to fill the knowledge gap in the current literature on adopting sustainable practices in small e-commerce retail firms.

Considering that one of the pillars of sustainability is a commitment to social development, this study contributes to understanding the view of small e-retailers on the independent goods delivery workers responsible for the delivery of goods.

The originality of this research lies in identifying economic, social and environmental sustainability practices adopted by e-retailers in last-mile logistics processes. Additionally, the study focuses on the small-scale e-commerce retail segment, an area that has been little explored in the Brazilian context. Lastly, the proposed meta-model contributes to addressing practices from the perspective of Stakeholder Theory and the Sustainability approach.

El objetivo es contribuir al desarrollo de estrategias mediante la identificación de prácticas sostenibles. Por lo tanto, la investigación tiene un doble objetivo: revelar las prácticas de sostenibilidad integradas en las actividades logísticas de última milla de minoristas de comercio electrónico, analizar las interrelaciones entre estas prácticas y categorizarlas según su importancia para los pequeños minoristas de comercio electrónico en Brasil.

Se llevó a cabo un mapeo de la literatura para identificar prácticas de sostenibilidad en las actividades de última milla adoptadas por minoristas en línea, lo que llevó a la propuesta de un metamodelo. Un total de 67 artículos forman parte de la muestra final. Posteriormente, el estudio aplicó la técnica de toma de decisiones multicriterio Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) para estructurar el problema de investigación mediante análisis de causa y efecto entre las prácticas, con el objetivo de priorizar las prácticas críticas.

El resultado indica una fuerte dependencia de prácticas económicas para implementar la sostenibilidad en la logística de última milla. En la dimensión económica de la sostenibilidad, los costes operacionales y la calidad de los servicios son variables de efecto y presentan una fuerte correlación.

La originalidad de esta investigación radica en identificar prácticas de sostenibilidad económica, social y ambiental adoptadas por minoristas en línea en los procesos logísticos de última milla. Además, el estudio se centra en el segmento minorista de comercio electrónico a pequeña escala, un área poco explorada en el contexto brasileño. Por último, el metamodelo propuesto contribuye a abordar prácticas desde la perspectiva de la Teoría de los Stakeholders y el enfoque de Sostenibilidad.

El artículo proporciona contribuciones teóricas al abordar dos áreas complementarias de conocimiento: la Teoría de los Stakeholders y la Sostenibilidad, alineándose también con las directrices de la Iniciativa de Reporte Global (GRI). En términos prácticos, destaca al ofrecer ideas valiosas sobre la implementación de estrategias sostenibles al identificar prácticas económicas, ambientales y sociales en la logística de última milla, particularmente en el contexto de las pequeñas empresas en el segmento minorista en línea.

Los resultados ayudan a los minoristas electrónicos a reevaluar los procesos logísticos de última milla desde una perspectiva de sostenibilidad. Este estudio pretende contribuir el avance del conocimiento de la literatura actual sobre la adopción de prácticas sostenibles en pequeñas empresas de comercio electrónico.

Teniendo en cuenta que uno de los pilares de la sostenibilidad es el compromiso con el desarrollo social, este estudio contribuye a comprender la visión de los pequeños minoristas electrónicos sobre los trabajadores independientes encargados de la entrega de mercancías.

The digital evolution of production and logistics systems requires seamless integration of various functions. Cyber-physical systems (CPS) can streamline operations, reduce costs and optimise freight transport dynamics. Therefore, CPS adoption is essential to transform existing logistics infrastructure by connecting logistical equipment to cyberspace. This research addresses the critical issue of low CPS adoption in logistics. By analysing the barriers, the study proposes effective strategies to increase CPS integration significantly.

This study used the technology-organisation-environment (TOE) framework and identified 18 barriers to CPS adoption in freight logistics. The barriers were then analysed using the fuzzy data-driven multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method, i.e. fuzzy-based decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (Fuzzy-DEMATEL).

The computational analysis of the proposed framework shows that “the complexity of CPS and lagged data-driven logistics infrastructure” (T₁) is a major technological inhibitor to CPS adoption. The “high cost of CPS technology” (O₈) and a “lack of top management support” (O₃) are the top causal inhibitors at the organisational level. “Lack of data governance and regulatory framework” (E₂) is the main environmental inhibitor.

The causal mapping of the TOE-based barriers helps policymakers and logisticians to develop strategies or follow recommended adoption strategies to improve CPS adoption in logistics.

This study is a pioneering effort to unveil the adoption barriers of CPS in the freight logistics industry and suggest strategies for fostering adoption. This research could provide valuable insights for logistics organisations to support CPS-driven logistics modernisation.