A Circular and Sustainable Planning Framework for Supply Chain Optimization: Integrating Lean Practices and Life Cycle Assessment Using Sustainable Value Stream Mapping

Abstract

The increasing environmental burden of manufacturing industries necessitates integrated planning approaches that simultaneously enhance operational performance and environmental sustainability. This study proposes a sustainable supply chain planning framework by integrating Lean Manufacturing and cradle-to-grave Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) through Sustainable Supply Chain Value Stream Mapping (Sus-SC-VSM). The framework enables the alignment of process-level efficiency with life-cycle environmental impacts, providing a structured basis for data-driven planning and evidence-based decision-making. The proposed framework is empirically validated in a batik manufacturing supply chain, a resource-intensive SME sector with significant environmental implications. The results demonstrate substantial operational improvements, including a reduction in lead time from 39,158.78 s to 30,083.86 s (−23.17%), a decrease in non-value added (NVA) time by 89.82%, a reduction in transportation delays by 45.33%, and a decrease in queue/idle time from 4 h 32 m to 2 h 03 m. Process cycle efficiency improves from 58.3% to 75.4%. From an environmental perspective, the LCA results indicate significant impact reductions, including approximately 20% in climate change (GWP), 80–90% in acidification, 85–95% in ecotoxicity, and 90–95% in eutrophication, with moderate improvements in land use (0–10%). These findings highlight the effectiveness of the integrated framework in identifying environmental hotspots and prioritizing sustainability interventions. This study contributes by providing a replicable and decision-oriented planning tool that supports sustainable supply chain management. Furthermore, the framework offers practical implications for policymakers and industry practitioners in designing sustainability strategies, improving resource efficiency, and advancing circular economy implementation in SME-based production systems.