Green and Cost-Effective Solutions for Designing a Cold Chain of Agricultural and Aquatic Products

Storage and transportation activities of agricultural and aquatic products in the cold chain contribute to adverse environmental impacts due to their high greenhouse gas emissions. The study addresses this issue by developing a bi-objective model for a greener cold chain with cost minimization. The model incorporates multimodal transportation and scale considerations for cold storage facilities and vehicles, which are crucial in determining the optimal warehouse locations and transportation routes from these locations to customers. The normalization technique combined with the ε-constraint method is explored to achieve an optimal solution that maximizes satisfaction levels of cost and environmental objectives. The model is subsequently applied to a cold chain of agricultural and aquatic products in the Mekong Delta region, encompassing manufacturers, cold storage warehouses, and customers. The results from the model indicate that the optimal solution can reduce total CO2 emissions by 13.99% while only increasing total costs by 1.9%.