Carbon policies in network distribution: a simulation approach for sustainable supply chains

New carbon policies are being introduced by many countries due to stricter sustainability targets. However, the existing research lacks investigation on how carbon policies influence supply chain distribution networks. In this paper, we investigate how different network policies would influence the supply chain carbon footprint and costs while analyzing how different strategies to minimize the total emissions potentially influence the network distribution operation. A simulation approach is used to investigate the impact of carbon policies in a retail company. The case study results show that adopting a carbon emission policy represents a small increase in transportation costs despite affecting omni-channel distribution network strategies to reduce transportation carbon emissions. This research is expected to be useful to support companies with a new approach for a more data-driven decision-making process toward sustainable distribution networks.