Designing sustainability comprehensive indicator for the food supply chain under climate change: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Sustainable management of food systems is not possible without considering the entirety of the supply chain. The limitation of water and energy resources, the pressure of population growth, climate change and numerous environmental challenges have turned the sustainability of the food supply chain (FSC) into a major global concern. This article is trying to provide a comprehensive and appropriate index to evaluate the sustainability of the FSC by a systematic literature review. For this, 96 articles were reviewed and divided into four categories according to the purpose of the study: water and FSC, energy and FSC, water and energy in the FSC, and climate (environment) and FSC. Furthermore, the interconnections between climate change and the FSC were identified, and their effects on the categorized components within the FSC were examined. The integration of components in four categories and the combination of climate change impacts on them resulted in an exciting prospect and a comprehensive index called the Water-Energy-Food-Environment-Climate change nexus (WEFEC) index to evaluate the sustainability of the FSC. Finally, proposed nexus could direct future studies and help planners make efficient actions in the sustainable FSCs.

Keywords

• Sustainable management
• Sustainable index
• Food systems
• Water and energy resources
• GHG emission