In the European debate, several documents (e.g., European Strategy 2020; Factories of the Future; Sustainability Development Goals-Agenda 2030) address the theme of the role that social sustainability should undertake in the... [ view full abstract ]
In the European debate, several documents (e.g., European Strategy 2020; Factories of the Future; Sustainability Development Goals-Agenda 2030) address the theme of the role that social sustainability should undertake in the decision-making process of industries and governance. Supply Chain Management (SCM) practice focuses on the entire value chain as an integrated and indivisible system, adopting a systemic approach. To improve social sustainability in SCM it is necessary to identify suitable tools for supporting organizations in decision processes. The aim of this paper is to explore the role of social decision support tools inside private companies. A systematic literature review was performed across a combination of keywords referring to SCM and social sustainability. On the basis of the selected literature, it emerged that several methods, methodologies and approaches may be implemented for integrating social sustainability in business companies. Nevertheless, it appeared that social dimension issues are poorly discussed compared to the environmental ones. This could be explained by the difficulties to quantitatively assess social issues. The multitude and confusion between different social issues definitions (e.g., impact, performance, effect, aspect) and the connected myriad of methods often overlapping (e.g., SIA, S-LCA, CSR, ISO 26000, SA 8000), could generate confusion at company level. In this paper, we assume as social impact the “consequences of positive or negative pressures on well-being of the individual and community” according to the S-LCA Guidelines by UNEP/SETAC. Furthermore, the reliability of environmental management tools (e.g., E-LCA) has been increasing in the last years compared to social management ones. Further developments are needed to show the role of social decision support tools in the field of the SCM. In this perspective, companies need to develop skills and resources to influence perceptions of value chain actors from a social sustainability perspective. Indeed, social indicators inspired to the existing literature, provide a base of social principles that are likely to be met in a single company and in the entire supply chain. Through the Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) tools it is possible to assess impacts along the entire life cycle of a product. In particular, S-LCA considers impacts at least on five stakeholders, such as workers and local community. Unlike the audits that cannot highlight the involvement of the entire supply chain, the LCT tools use both a top-down (e.g., E-LCA) and bottom-up (e.g., S-LCA) approach. In this way, the systematic approach of the LCT tools allows to monitor the respect of the International Standards and Conventions on the Human Well-Being in order to protect the social principles throughout the supply chain. The selection of social decision support tools could influence the results of social issues evaluation concerning, fo example, suppliers’ choice, logistic activities, business strategies and national measures of sustainability. This paper outlines how social decision support tools help decision makers and how these tools could improve the economic activities of organizations.
Keywords: Social Sustainability, Life Cycle Thinking, Decision support tools
5d. Value chains & trade
