Purpose: Globalization in supply chain networks is urging manufacturing companies for the production of sustainable products with re-engineering technologies that offer competitive advantage in current market. However, the increasing sustainable illumes are influencing reverse logistics (RL) systems to analyze their impacts on economy, environment and society. Recently, China’s $62bn investment under the egis of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which comprises a number of infrastructure and energy projects is developing Pakistan as a part of “One Belt One Road” initiative. Accordingly, a substantial number of economical, ecological and social exercises will occur in closest future. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of sustainable practices, i.e., environmental, economic and social sustainability on RL recovery options.Design/methodology/approach: Sustainable concepts including environmental, economic and social and RL recovery options are extracted through extensive literature review. A number of researchers used a variety of methodologies for achieving their research objectives. However, the authors will be using a combination of VIsekriterijumska optimizacija i KOmpromisno Resenje (VIKOR) and grey relational analysis (GRA) technique under fuzzy environment in the case of CPEC.Findings: Results show that waste management, impact on bio-diversity and economic growth are the most significant factors in designing sustainable RL recovery options. Moreover, remanufacture and reuse rank top among RL recovery options due their significant economic and environmental effects, whereas recycle and resell position last due to their high cost and cutting edge modern technologies.Practical implications: Finally based on this model, it is possible for authorities to design a sustainable RL strategy for efficient operations in case of CPEC projects and other developing countries as well.Originality/value: Negligible work has been done regarding sustainable modeling in RL strategies using a combination of VIKOR and GRA techniques subjected to fuzzy environment in the case of CPEC from perspective of developing country, i.e., Pakistan.

This paper reviews the existing studies employing total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis to evaluate the comparative economic viability of battery electric trucks (BETs) and diesel trucks (DTs). A key finding is that until recent years, BETs have not been cost-competitive with DTs. Light-duty trucks and medium-duty trucks started to become competitive in 2021 (1) according to some estimates, whereas heavy-duty trucks might remain to be not competitive even in future decades. However, (2) TCO estimates differ across continents. (3) The combing effect of fuel prices and taxes is most likely responsible for the fact that BETs enjoy a stronger competitive position relative to DTs in Europe, Asia, and Oceania, whereas, in North America, most estimates assign them poor competitiveness, both presently and in the coming years. (4) Most studies underline that significant cost disproportions persist in the heavy-duty truck segment due to its demanding operational requirements and a lack of robust high-powered charging infrastructure. Consequently, substantial financial incentives and subsidies will be required for heavy-duty trucks to enhance their economic viability, potentially accelerating cost parity from post-2035 to the near future. This paper identifies several constraints in its TCO analysis, including limited data on residual values, variability in discount rates, depreciation costs, and a lack of longitudinal and market data for BETs.

This paper investigates the economic competitiveness of hydrogen-powered trucks. It reviews the growing number of papers that provide an estimate of the total cost of ownership (TCO) of hydrogen-powered trucks relative to their diesel equivalents. It examines the methodology applied, the variables considered, the data used for estimation, and the results obtained. All reviewed studies conclude that hydrogen-powered trucks are not currently cost-competitive, while they might become competitive after 2030. The conclusion holds across truck types and sizes, hydrogen pathways, mission profiles, and countries. However, we find that there is still a huge area of uncertainty regarding the purchase price of hydrogen-powered trucks and the cost of hydrogen, which hampers the reliability of the results obtained. Various areas of methodological improvements are suggested.

This paper presents a comprehensive review of scientific papers and market reports analyzing the economic competitiveness of fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs) with respect to their conventional alternatives via the total cost of ownership (TCO) methodology. We discussed the variables and data taken into account and compared the resulting outcomes by year and geographical areas. It emerged that FCBs are not currently cost competitive. The decreasing trend in acquisition and fuel costs, however, indicates potential for future competitiveness. We find that the current TCO literature on FCEBs presents several areas of uncertainty and weakness. Potential improvements can be achieved by: (i) extending the geographic coverage to Asian and African developing countries; (ii) making use of real-world data instead of simulated data, in particular, concerning acquisition costs, hydrogen costs under different pathways, fuel efficiency, and maintenance costs; (iii) clarifying the role of infrastructural costs; (iv) exploring the existence of economies of scale at fleet level; (v) distinguishing among different bus sizes.