Identifying environmentally important supply chain clusters in the automobile industry

In this paper, we develop a new approach that combines the spectral clustering method and input-output analysis to detect environmentally important supply chain clusters. The newly developed method was applied to automobile manufacturing in Japan, and major clusters with high energy intensities in the automobile supply chain were identified. This paper proposes that the car manufacturers will be able to regularly publish their life-cycle assessment reports with a focus on the indirect energy consumptions within the critical supply chains and request key auto-part manufacturers in the cluster to reduce the indirect consumptions through the relevant supply chain engagement.