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Blue water footprint management in a UK poultry supply chain under environmental regulatory constraints

Published version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Srai, JS 
Aivazidou, E 

Abstract

Chicken is the most consumed meat in the UK, accounting for 40% of meat consumption, while national production sufficiency reaches about 80%. As a farm animal product, chicken meat is responsible for significant freshwater appropriation volumes during its production cycle. In this context, this research aims at exploring freshwater dynamics in the UK processed poultry industry. Specifically, we develop a System Dynamics model to capture the blue water footprint, as key sustainability performance indicator of a poultry supply chain, in case relevant environmental and regulatory constraints are applied. The model contributes towards investigating the impact of two potential policy-making scenarios, namely the "water penalty" and the "water tax", on the nexus between profitability and water usage across the poultry supply chain. Responding to the regulatory constraints, the food processor either reconfigures the supply chain through rethinking desired inventory levels or implements a water management intervention. The results indicate that investing in water-friendly production technologies could offer a greater advantage to sustainable supply chains in terms of blue water efficiency and profitability compared to employing inventory management strategies. Overall, our analysis highlights that effective policy-making and technology-driven interventions could provide potential towards ensuring economic growth and environmental sustainability of the UK poultry sector.

Description

Keywords

blue water footprint, environmental regulation, food supply chain, poultry industry, System Dynamics

Journal Title

Sustainability (Switzerland)

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2071-1050
2071-1050

Volume Title

10

Publisher

MDPI AG
Sponsorship
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/K02888X/1)