Ranking of Indicators of Green Supply Chain Management in the Cellulose Industry Using EDAS-SEM Method

Cellulose industries are closely related to forests and natural resources, and on the other hand, the chemicals used in them are sometimes transferred to nature. Therefore, they can affect the environment in two ways and therefore have an urgent need for management with a green approach, especially in the field of supply chain. Achieving this is possible by finding the most effective factors in implementing green supply chain management in this industry, which has been done in this research. In previous similar studies, the weight of the same factors has often been considered, and in addition, the weight of the interviewees has been considered the same when collecting data. In this paper, both problems have been solved by using EDAS-SEM methods and a more valid ranking of the components of green supply chain management in the cellulose industry has been presented. To provide a green supply chain management model in the cellulose industry, including transparent factors and accurate weights so that it can be used to measure the performance of managers in this area and to suggest the most effective factors for future promotion to managers.

This research is qualitative and survey in how to collect data and quantitative in processing them. In terms of practical purpose and in terms of method, it is mixed. Modeling and analysis methods include entropy, EDAS, SEM. The statistical population is 63 managers of Qom cellulose production industries, for whom a questionnaire was sent in 2019, and 55 were completed. Therefore, sampling method, sample is available. Data collection tool is a questionnaire and data analysis tool is confirmatory factor analysis with partial least squares approach and SmartPLS3 software. Excel was used for entropy and EDAS calculations.

The most important indicators of green supply chain performance in Qom cellulose products industries are selecting suppliers with environmental criteria, determining environmental requirements for purchasing items and auditing compliance with environmental regulations. Also, the weight of managers varies according to the characteristics of the elites. These findings can be generalized to other cellulose industries.

 The proposed model can be used for a better future in the management of the green supply chain of cellulose industries by evaluating the performance of managers in senior and middle levels at the organizational and unit levels. The achievements of this research can also be used to identify the most important factors at each level and allocate future resources to them.