Circular supplier selection in the construction industry: A sustainability perspective for the emerging economies

Abstract

Supplier selection is one of the most important multi-criteria problems in supply chain management (SCM). Most of the existing decision-making frameworks for selecting suppliers in the construction industry have given priority to criteria such as cost, delivery, and quality. However, due to the current emphasis on achieving sustainability and reducing environmental impact, organizations are increasingly embracing circular economy (CE) principles. In this study, thereby, we proposed an integrated multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework, which is comprised of a fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) and a preference ranking organization method for enrichment of evaluations II (PROMETHEE II) for circular supplier selection in the construction industry from the perspective of countries with emerging economies. In the proposed framework, FAHP was used to first identify the weight of each criterion and sub-criteria, and PROMETHEE II was used to rank the suppliers from best to worst. Results showed that on-time delivery, conformance to specifications, and rejection rate are the top three criteria for supplier selection. Additionally, the top three circular supplier selection criteria included pollution control initiatives, green packaging, and responses toward environmental regulations and standards. The result of this approach has been compared with another MCDM method, namely the weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS) method, which validated the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed approach. Through the implementation of circular supplier selection, the proposed research is expected to reinforce the circular supply chain model, which can help managers in the construction sector to improve the sustainability of their overall business.