Optimal design of a forest supply chain in Argentina considering economic and social aspects

Abstract

Even though the social aspect is a significant issue since it involves the welfare and development of the affected population, it is not usually borne in mind when designing a supply chain, which is imbued with an economic perspective. From a sustainability point of view, the social impact caused by the location of facilities in a region should be specially assessed. This work proposes a mixed integer linear multiobjective model which considers the social dimension in supply chain design, evaluating the location of different productive units in sites with particular social characteristics. A new Social Indicator involving specific attributes of the environment (population size and unemployment rate) is presented. The viability and capacity for appropriately evaluating the performance of a solution are analyzed from the social point of view for the forest industry in the northeastern region of Argentina. In addition, a comparison with other indicators proposed in the literature is provided.