Environmental pressure, performance and mitigation potential in global supply chains: An integrated perspective on water, land, and climate

Abstract

The continuous expansion of global supply chains has been widely recognized for driving economic growth, while simultaneously exerting environmental pressures across various dimensions. However, clear methods for assessing the potential to mitigate these environmental pressures embodied in supply chains remain lacking. Here, by employing input-output analysis model and data envelopment analysis model for adaptive development, we identify the environmental pressures and environmental performance of 113 countries and 9 geographical regions within global supply chains, considering three dimensions: water resource, land, and climate. An assessment method for the mitigation potential is further developed to quantitatively reveal the intensity, direction, structure, and geographical distribution of the potential to mitigate environmental pressures within global supply chains. Results indicate that low-income countries are often net outflows of virtual water and land resources and GHGs. The production inputs for export-oriented agricultural products contribute to 86.4 % of water pressure and 90.3 % of cropland pressure, while the service and energy sectors are significant sources of climate pressure in global supply chains. NOR, SWE, CHE, GBR, JPN, and KOR are positioned at the frontier of global supply chain environmental performance, achieving the highest economic benefits with the lowest local environmental pressure input costs. The inter-regional disequilibrium and trans variation density explain over 90 % of the spatial disequilibrium in environmental performance. The average potential to mitigate environmental pressures in 2021 was 54.9 %. Low-income countries exhibit significant input redundancy in local blue water consumption, cropland occupation, and GHG emissions within global supply chains. An effective response to this potential necessitates balancing domestic technological progress with international trade regulation to form global sustainable production and consumption patterns.