Reshoring and environmental sustainability: An unexplored relationship?

Abstract

Offshoring manufacturing activities to low-cost countries has been an industry mantra for decades. Some companies have started to re-think this supply chain configuration choice; bringing production back home. Reshoring or backshoring production has seen increased interest. This evolution poses a major question for sustainable supply chain management scholars: what is the relationship between reshoring, or global supply chain reconfiguration, and environmental sustainability at firm, country, and global levels? In this paper we propose a set of potential research directions facing this question. Main aspects of reshoring, including motivations, implementation and impact are all discussed in this context.