A Literature Review on the Application of Digital Technology in Achieving Green Supply Chain Management

Abstract

Digitization and greening have become the characteristics of social and economic development. Digital technology, as a critical enabler of green supply chain management, has been widely considered and recognized by academia and business circles. With the advent of the Industry 4.0 era and the rapid development of digital technology, this emerging field of technology is constantly being updated, and so the academic research in this field is increasing but has yet to reach saturation. We systematically reviewed 144 relevant papers published in the last 14 years. We used qualitative analysis to classify, summarize and analyze the literature in two dimensions (i.e., digital technologies and green supply chain practices). Then, we continued the classification from each dimension. According to the basic characteristics, there are five digital technologies: the Internet of Things, big data, cloud computing, blockchain, and artificial intelligence. The green supply chain is divided into green procurement, green production, green consumption, and green logistics according to the essential practices of the supply chain. This study explores which digital technologies are needed in a green supply chain. The study also discusses how these technologies can reduce the input of resources and energy and the emission of pollutants, finally improving the operating efficiency of the green supply chain, and achieving economic, social, and environmental benefits.