Integrating Emissions into Supplier Selection Criteria in Mining

Abstract

In today’s environmentally conscious world, sustainable development has become an imperative pursuit, especially in the context of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This has compelled companies to include environmental considerations into their frameworks. This paper investigates the integration of emissions criteria into supplier selection processes using the Analytical Hierarchy Process(AHP) to provide a systematic and justified approach to decision-making. The scope of research is within the mining industry, with a case study on Debswana Diamond Company, one of the largest diamond mining companies in the world. The Suppliers used to analyse this research problem are Hitachi, Komatsu and Caterpillar. The research looks at identifying the best possible supplier for Debswana using the Analytical Hierarchy Process(AHP) through qualitative and quantitative analysis of the secondary data collected. The findings reveal the complexities of finding a balance between traditional supplier selection criteria like quality and carbon footprint considerations. The AHP models developed in this study provide a structured analysis of carbon footprint analysis against other supplier selection criteria like quality, company size and strength, delivery and capacity in order to provide a suitable recommendation.