Using the Life Cycle Approach for Multiobjective Optimization in the Context of the Green Supply Chain: A Case Study of Brazilian Coffee

Abstract

This study proposes a multiobjective optimization model (MOO) based on a green supply chain so that coffee produced in Brazil could supply the North American market with lower environmental impacts and costs. Production and distribution arrangements were established considering four coffee-producing regions, three ports of origin in Brazil, four destination ports, seven roasting plants, and fifteen consumption centers, all distributed throughout the American territory. Environmental and economic performances regarding global warming potential (GWP) and costs were determined for a life cycle approach. The results indicate that coffee cultivation has the most significant contributions to the GWP of the arrangements. The transport of the product by road also plays an essential role, especially if extensive distances are covered during the port–roaster–consumer center journey in the United States. The analysis showed differences of 2.0 kg CO2eq and US$8.00 per ton of coffee between the best and worst arrangements, which can be considered significant when projected to the Brazilian annual coffee export scale. In the environmental limit condition, the optimization can lead to non-trivial results compared to the real market. The model conceived for the MOO can be improved to reproduce more realistic conditions by incorporating producer and consumer markets, inserting uncertainties.