Sustainable Supply Chain Risk Management in a Climate-Changed World: Review of Extant Literature, Trend Analysis, and Guiding Framework for Future Research

Abstract

In the face of climate change (CC), “business as usual” is futile. The increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events (e.g., hurricanes, floods, droughts, and heatwaves) have hurt lives, displaced communities, destroyed logistics networks, disrupted the flow of goods and services, and caused delays, capacity failures, and immense costs. This study presents a strategic approach we term “Climate-Change Resilient, Sustainable Supply Chain Risk Management” (CCR-SSCRM) to address CC risks in supply chain management (SCM) pervading today’s business world. This approach ensures supply chain sustainability by balancing the quadruple bottom line pillars of economy, environment, society, and culture. A sustainable supply chain analytics perspective was employed to support these goals, along with a systematic literature network analysis of 699 publications (2003–2022) from the SCOPUS database. The analysis revealed a growing interest in CC and supply chain risk management, emphasizing the need for CCR-SSCRM as a theoretical guiding framework. The findings and recommendations may help to guide researchers, policymakers, and businesses. We provide insights on constructing and managing sustainable SCs that account for the accelerating impacts of CC, emphasizing the importance of a proactive and comprehensive approach to supply chain risk management in the face of CC. We then offer directions for future research on CCR-SSCRM and conclude by underlining the urgency of interdisciplinary collaboration and integration of climate considerations into SCM for enhanced resilience and sustainability.

1. Introduction

The Anthropocene, marked by the significant impact of human activities on the planet, is evident through the frequency and intensity of rampant climate- and weather-related disasters (cf [1]). Climate change (CC) has immense implications for managing supply chains (SCs) and probes the concept of “business as usual” [2].

Realizing the urgency of the situation, the recent reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [3] call for immediate action. To address this global challenge, multidimensional and global solutions are necessary, including social and cultural pillars, national policies, and economic transformations. Additionally, ambitious climate action plans and investments in nature are essential [4]. Therefore, the United Nations has established the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, hereinafter) as a fundamental framework for addressing the multidimensional challenges of the Anthropocene.

Climate action (SDG #13) is paramount within the SDGs, given the alarming projection that medium- to large-scale disasters will increase by 40% between 2015 and 2030, as stated in the [3]. The risks associated with CC and its consequences are further escalating. Businesses cannot overlook CC impacts as rare events anymore. The substantial impact of CC on supply chain management (SCM) necessitates a comprehensive evaluation of risks across multiple dimensions and calls for integrating SDG#12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG#9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure). Therefore, it is imperative to integrate CC considerations into the quadruple bottom line (QBL) that factors in the four pillars (economic, environmental, social, and cultural) of sustainability and align them with the SDGs for SCM in a climate-changed world. Figure 1, based on Ülkü and Engau [5], displays a cascaded view of the QBL pillars and their relationships to the SDGs.

CC has significantly impacted business performance [6,7] and SCM. The risks associated with natural disasters and human-induced actions and the increasing frequency of severe weather events substantially affect SCs. Tang (2006) defines disruption risk as a specific category of events arising from natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, and droughts, besides human-induced actions such as war, terrorism, epidemics/pandemics, and strikes. While these risks have a low probability of occurrence, they carry substantial consequences [8,9,10,11]. Therefore, the substantial impact of CC on SCM necessitates a comprehensive evaluation of risks across multiple dimensions.

Extreme weather events can disrupt SCs, particularly in coastal areas that are major transportation hubs [12,13]. These disruptions have far-reaching economic consequences, with seaports playing a crucial role in transportation and logistics networks, accounting for 50% of global trade in terms of value [14,15]. The damages caused by storms and extreme weather events amount to trillions of dollars globally, including infrastructure damages, SC disruptions, and other economic impacts [16,17].

A report by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction [18] estimated that between 1998 and 2017, direct economic losses from storms, hurricanes, and extreme weather events amounted to approximately $2.9 trillion globally [19]. The impact of climate-related events on SCs was evident during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, resulting in a delay of two weeks for affected SCs, with an estimated excess of $50 billion in damages [20].

As shown in Figure 2, the escalating trends of climate-related events over the past 42 years further emphasize the need to address CC due to the increasing frequency of these events (Figure 2a), as well as their impacts (Figure 2b). Global warming will persist and play an increasingly significant role in the future escalation of natural catastrophe losses, as projected by The Sustainable Development Goals Report [21] (See Figure 3). As CC continues at its current pace, absent a collective remedial action by all involved parties, like governments, citizens, and businesses, the frequency of such events will rise, further impacting coastal areas and SCs [22,23].

Businesses can no longer afford to disregard CC impacts as rare occasions [7,26,27]. The current pace of CC acceleration necessitates that companies establish dynamic and precise assessment capabilities to effectively gauge their SCs in a climate-changed world and manage the resultant risks. Adapting to and mitigating these impacts require investments in resilience, infrastructure upgrades, and CC adaptation strategies.

CC also poses various societal risks to SCs, including the emergence of climate refugees. Türkiye, for instance, currently hosts around 10 million refugees, showcasing the scale of this issue [28]. Similarly, the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011 resulted in radiation-driven migration in Minamisoma City, Japan, causing a significant decrease in the population [29,30]. These refugee influxes present unique challenges for SC management, particularly in addressing their basic needs and ensuring efficient humanitarian logistics [31,32]. In SC management and climate-related challenges, incorporating corporate social responsibility (CSR) principles becomes crucial. Corporate social responsibility refers to the commitment of businesses to operate ethically and sustainably, considering their impact on society and the environment. Consequently, effective SCM, CSR, humanitarian logistics, and indigenous-led conservation initiatives) [33] are vital in addressing CC, climate refugees, and biodiversity loss while mitigating the associated risks.

In response to these rapidly changing circumstances, there has been an ongoing and dedicated effort to redefine the field of SCM [34,35,36,37,38]. CC has emerged as a significant factor impacting SCM, and the interconnections between CC, natural disasters, and their underlying causes have far-reaching implications for the sustainability of the supply chain. Er Kara et al. [26] provide empirical evidence illustrating the heightened managerial awareness of CC risks in multiple entities and functional tiers within SCs. While CC as a risk in SCM has received some attention [26,27,39], a notable gap exists in exploring SCRM under the influence of CC. This study is motivated by the urgency to address the current gap, specifically the escalating impacts of climatic events on SC resiliency and sustainability, thereby highlighting the imperative for developing CC-resilient, sustainable supply chain risk management (SSCRM) strategies. Due to a lack of consensus on SSCRM [35,40,41,42,43,44,45], our research represents a pioneering effort in the exploration of the integrated development of CC-resilient sustainable SC risk management. Through our research, we aim to contribute to the academic discourse and provide the practical strategies necessary for businesses to navigate the complex challenges posed by CC and safeguard the resilience of their SCs.

This study emphasizes the challenges of CC, such as disruptions, political instability, and unsustainable development, within sustainable supply chain management (SSCM). By embracing the principles of the QBL (e.g., [32,45]) and SDGs, organizations can align their strategies with environmental, social, economic, and cultural objectives to navigate the evolving CC impacts on SCs. Integrating climate considerations into supply chain risk management (SCRM) is crucial for enhancing resilience, promoting sustainability, and building a climate-resilient future. Hence, through literature research, this study investigates the following research questions (RQs):

RQ #1:

Are the CC and SCM fields evolving and converging, necessitating a renewed SCRM definition and framework?

RQ #2:

How is CC impacting SCM and vice versa?

RQ #3:

How can a CC-resilient sustainable SC risk be defined?

RQ #4:

What are the prevailing research gaps and future directions in SCRM?

The layout of this paper is as follows: Section 2 describes the motivations for our research, the research questions within a conceptual frame, and the methodology. Section 3 describes our findings from the analysis. Section 4 discusses and answers the four RQs posed above. Finally, in Section 5, we conclude.

2. Research Background, Questions and Methodology

2.1. Research Background

The increasing prevalence of climatic and weather-related disasters has escalated the urgency of addressing CC, deemed by the United Nations to be humanity’s ‘code red’ warning. With every region on the globe experiencing weather and climate extremes, predictions suggest that the frequency and severity of these events, such as heatwaves, flooding, precipitation, droughts, and hurricanes, will increase [3]. If the current trajectory persists, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction projects that the annual count of medium- to large-scale disaster events could reach 560 by 2030, averaging 1.5 events per day, a 40% increase from 2015 [21].

CC risks are increasing with the frequency of these events and with the intensity of their ramifications [3,46,47]. CC, a primary driver for global warming, affects the frequency and intensity of various climatic and weather-related disasters, such as heatwaves, droughts, floods, hurricanes and typhoons, wildfires, and storm surges (see

Table 1. Climatic and weather-related disasters, with their direct impacts.

Disasters	Direct Impacts
Heatwaves	CC can lead to increasingly frequent and severe heatwaves, resulting in heat-related illnesses (heat exhaustion) and increased mortality rates; a 1 °C increase in temperature resulted in an average heat-related illness morbidity increase of 18% and mortality increase of 35% [49,50,51].
Droughts	Rising temperatures can exacerbate drought conditions by increasing evaporation rates and reducing water availability [52]. Prolonged and severe droughts can have significant impacts on agriculture, water supplies, and the ecosystem [53].
Floods	Warmer temperatures can increase the amount of moisture in the atmosphere, leading to rainfall events which are more intense, and to an increased risk of flooding. Also, melting glaciers and ice caps contribute to rising sea levels, exacerbating coastal flooding [46,54,55].
Hurricanes Typhoons Cyclones	While the relationship between CC and the frequency of hurricanes and typhoons is still an active area of research [56], there is evidence to suggest that warmer ocean temperatures can lead to an increase in the number of intense storms [22,46,57].
Wildfires	CC can contribute to increasingly frequent and severe wildfires by creating drier conditions, extending the fire season, and increasing the availability of fuel through an increase in drought-stressed vegetation [58,59].
Storm Surges	Rising sea levels, primarily driven by CC, can intensify storm surges associated with tropical storms and hurricanes, causing coastal inundation and significant damage to coastal communities [8,16,17,57,60,61].

). It is important to note that CC does not directly cause these disasters, but it can influence their characteristics, such as frequency, intensity, and duration. The specific impacts of CC on these events can vary by region and depend on various factors, including local climate patterns and geographical conditions [48].

2.2. Research Motivation for Climate Change and Supply Chain Risk

To further motivate our research, Figure 4 and Figure 5 display the trends related to the general topical themes we examine in this study. Since Google Scholar provides the most comprehensive coverage [62], we conducted this search in Google Scholar on 13 June 2023, confined to only scholarly works (articles and proceedings) for the last two decades (2003–2022), in sub-periods of four years.

In Figure 4, where the search terms were allowed to be “anywhere in the article”, we observe an increasing trend in supply chain/climate change and risk research. For example, during 2019–2022, about 41,000 scholarly works included the terms “CC” and “supply chain”.

Figure 5 is a more refined version of Figure 4 in that it explicitly considers scholarly works that opted to have those search terms be in the article’s title. Regarding Figure 5, we see, for example, that during 2019–2022, there were 116 scholarly works that included the terms “supply chain risk” and either “sustainable” or “sustainability”, and only two articles [26,27] have the terms “climate change” and “supply chain risk” within their titles.

These graphs affirm the increasing attention given to SC and CC-related issues, for they have immensely impacted the business world and humanity. Notably, the increasing search returns in the last period (2019–2022) may primarily be due to immense interest in the SC issues that were felt worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regarding CC, the prevailing academic literature in the environmental engineering field predominantly focuses on disaster-related modeling, natural hazards, infrastructure, and environmental resilience [8,57,61,63,64,65,66,67]. In SCM research, the impacts of CC on businesses are often undervalued and underestimated [26,68]. Existing research in this field primarily concentrates on carbon emission reduction while aiming at greenhouse gas (GHG) cost reduction, with limited attention given to the physical impacts of CC on SCs due to extreme weather conditions [6,69,70,71,72,73]. Hence, an interdisciplinary approach is beneficial and crucial for comprehensive CC and SCM research.

2.3. Objectives of the Research

In response to these challenges, this study aims to explore the role of CC in SCM and vice versa. As global CC contributes to more frequent incidences of severe weather, the risks of natural disasters impacting various SC stages are rising almost exponentially. Adapting to and mitigating these impacts require investments in resilience, infrastructure upgrades, and CC adaptation strategies [74,75,76,77]. Below, we summarize our research objectives as they relate to our RQs posed in Section 1.

Through literature research, this study aims to investigate through bibliometric and network analysis how the broad fields of CC and SCM are evolving and impacting each other, therefore, prompting an urgent need to define and develop a framework for a renewed SCRM (i.e., RQ #1). We address this question in Section 4.1. Next, as for RQ #2, we investigate in Section 4.2. the impact of CC on SCM, explicitly focusing on extreme weather events, tsunami-like storm surges, rising sea levels, altering oceanic and atmospheric patterns, and changing agricultural patterns due to CCs. Additionally, this section will examine how SCM practices can contribute to CC mitigation through actions such as reducing GHG emissions, implementing sustainable sourcing and waste management strategies, and fostering collaboration and transparency among SC stakeholders [71,78,79,80]. Section 4.3. proposes a framework for climate-change resilient sustainable supply chain risk management (CCR-SSCRM) as a strategic approach to identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks associated with CC and its impacts on the SCs. Drawing on extant literature, we offer a new definition and research venue for CCR-SSCRM: This addresses RQ #3. Finally, in Section 4.4, we respond to RQ #4; the remaining research gaps and future directions regarding, among other considerations, developing resilience strategies and implementing measures to adapt to oncoming SC disruptions caused by climate-related disasters are discussed.

2.4. Methodology: Systematic Literature Network Analysis

The literature review significantly contributes to research progress by offering a historical perspective of the research area and providing an in-depth account of independent research efforts [38,40,43,81,82,83]. This study utilizes a two-pronged methodology, combining the systematic literature review (SLR) with bibliometric network analyses (BNA), a method known as systematic literature network analysis (SLNA) (see, [40,43]). The process of SLNA, as illustrated in Figure 6, involves utilizing multidisciplinary academic databases.

We use multiple visualization tools like VOSviewer and NVivo, which offer several advantages in research analysis. VOSviewer and NVivo employ different visualization techniques, which can provide unique insights into the data. VOSviewer specializes in visualizing networks and bibliometric data, allowing us to explore relationships, co-occurrence, and clustering of terms, authors, or documents [84,85]. On the other hand, NVivo offers a broader range of qualitative data analysis tools, including text analysis, coding, and thematic exploration [86]. By synthesizing insights from both tools, we can enhance the richness and depth of their findings, creating a more robust understanding of the research topic.

The Systematic Literature Review

We conduct an SLR with relevant peer-reviewed papers to gain insights into prevailing patterns and identify areas of gaps in the scientific literature. To ensure the utmost relevance to our research, we have incorporated specific keywords when searching for articles about the management of SC risks in the context of CC and the influence of CC on SC operations. In addition to this, we have included synonymous expressions like “CC and supply chain sustainability”, “climate change and supply chain vulnerability”, and “climate change and supply chain risk”.

SCOPUS, a prominent academic database, identifies high-quality peer-reviewed articles based on ranking, citations, and impact factors. SCOPUS is widely employed for data source screening and has been demonstrated to deliver reasonably comprehensive results [62].

Using the above keywords (see

Table 2. Keywords used for bibliometric analysis.

Inclusion Criteria	Description
Keywords	“climate change and supply chain risk management”, “climate change and supply chain operations”, “climate change and sustainable SCs”, “climate change and supply chain risk”, “climate change and supply chain resiliency”, “climate change and supply chain disruptions”, “climate change and business”, “disasters and supply chain risk”, “climate change and supply chain solutions”, “climate change and supply chain analytics”, “climate change and supply chain and sustainable development goals”, “climate change and supply chain losses”, “climate change and supply chain vulnerability”
Source Title	Journal of Cleaner Production; Sustainability; Business Strategy and the Environment; Science of the Total Environment; Resources, Conservation and Recycling; European Journal of Operational Research; Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment; Annals of Operations Research; International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management; International Journal of Production Economics
Language	English
Document Types	Peer-reviewed articles
Time Interval	2003–2022

) to search the SCOPUS database, we conducted these searches on 23 June, and 699 documents were found. For each keyword,

Table 3. List of search keywords used for SLR (from 2003–2022).

Keywords	No.	Keywords	No.
climate change and supply chain risk management	28	climate change and business	479
climate change and supply chain operations	39	disasters and supply chain risk	48
climate change and sustainable SCs	131	climate change and supply chain solutions	41
climate change and supply chain risk	44	climate change and supply chain analytics	1
climate change and supply chain resiliency	1	climate change and supply chain losses	30
climate change and supply chain disruptions	10	climate change and supply chain vulnerability	4
climate change and business	479	disasters and supply chain risk	48
climate change and supply chain solutions	41	climate change and supply chain losses	30
climate change and supply chain analytics	1	climate change and supply chain vulnerability	4
climate change and supply chain and sustainable development goals	19

shows the number of scholarly documents published from 2003 to 2022 and indexed in SCOPUS. The experts in SCM carefully curated a list of their top 10 source titles that are highly relevant to climate change, considering actively published research. Therefore, the included documents are only peer-reviewed studies from SCOPUS in English from strongly related sources (Journal of Cleaner Production, Sustainability, Business Strategy and The Environment, Science of The Total Environment, Resources Conservation and Recycling, European Journal of Operational Research, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Annals of Operations Research, International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, and International Journal of Production Economics) and published from 2003 to 2022.

Based on the data provided in

Table 4. Distribution of articles across ten selected journals.

Journal Title	# Articles
Sustainability	221
Journal of Cleaner Production	220
Business Strategy and The Environment	70
Science of The Total Environment	63
Resources, Conservation and Recycling	35
European Journal of Operational Research	22
Annals of Operations Research	22
Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment	18
International Journal of Production Economics	16
Int. Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management	12
Total	699

and Figure 7, which shows the distribution of articles across ten selected journals from 2003 to 2022, we can gain some insights regarding CC-related research within the context of SCRM. The top two journals with the highest number of articles related to CC and SCRM are Sustainability and the Journal of Cleaner Production, with 221 and 220 articles, respectively. These two journals collectively contribute to more than half (63%) of the articles in the dataset. This indicates that these journals have been prominent platforms for publishing research in this field. Beyond the top two journals, other notable journals in the SCRM context for CC-related research include Business Strategy and the Environment, with 70 articles, Science of the Total Environment, with 63 articles, and Resources, Conservation and Recycling, with 35 articles. These top five journals emphasize sustainability and environmental considerations, and a growing recognition of the need to integrate CC concerns into SCM is evident. The second-most-mentioned keywords can reaffirm this, specifically “CC and sustainable SCs” (131), as seen in Table 2. The remaining journals listed in the table have published fewer articles in the SCRM context. This information indicates the prominent journals in the field of SCRM with a focus on CC. Researchers and practitioners interested in this area can refer to these journals for valuable insights, trends, and advancements at the intersection of CC and SCRM.

3. Results and Trend Analysis Based on the Extant Literature

3.1. NVivo Word Cloud Text Mining

NVivo is qualitative data analysis software that allows researchers to analyze and gain insights from unstructured data, such as text, audio, video, and images. The word cloud, visualizes the frequency and prominence of specific words in the dataset. By examining the frequency and positioning of words, researchers can identify prevalent themes, concepts, and potential relationships within the analyzed data. Word frequency, which represents the occurrence of each word in the analyzed text, is reflected in the size of the words in the cloud. Larger words indicate higher frequencies. The positioning of words in the cloud, known as prominence, is purely aesthetic and does not convey meaning or significance. On the other hand, word colors, such as bold, large, and red, are often used to highlight essential terms or concepts [86,87].

We query the final set of 699 articles’ titles and abstracts for the last two decades, 2003–2022, and the last three years, 2019–2023, to better identify the trends (see Figure 8). The word cloud (generated in NVivo 14) shows word associations and connections which can be determined by observing the word cloud, as the proximity or co-occurrence of words suggests themes or associations within the data. These terms relate to SCRM in the context of CC.

The insights from Figure 8a, the 2003–2022 word cloud, follow:

• ✓ Core Concepts: Bold, large, and red words (climatic, changing, sustaining, environmentally, products, emissions) emphasize the understanding of CC’s impact and sustainability in risk management;
• ✓ Supply Chain Focus: Bold black words (chain, supply, foods, energy, impact, businesses’, assessment, develops, model, carbons, record, waters, managers, analysis, industry) highlight key SC elements and address CC impacts;
• ✓ Comprehensive Approach: Black words (environments, greenhouse, economic, scopes, sector, strategies, risk, policy, life, systems, research, performed, increase, cycle, partnership, costs, globally, results, approach, effects) stress environmental and economic considerations, risk strategies, and global effects;
• ✓ Stakeholder Engagement: Black words (socially, potential, reduce, waste, process, mitigation, relations, resources, cases, transportation, consumption, scenarios, stakeholders, practicing, decision, technology, company, urbanizing, agricultural, reductions, benefits) emphasize stakeholder engagement, waste reduction, and sustainable practices;
• ✓ Market Dynamics and Planning: Black words (imports, corporations, markets, green, provide, economy, futures, data, control, adaptive, governments, improving, levels, plans, operators, innovative, framework, efficiently, regions) shed light on market dynamics, green strategies, government involvement, and innovative planning;
• ✓ Challenges and Implementation: Least-large words (challenges, identifying, implementing, design, contribute, value, nature, responsibility, footprints, support, firms’, internationality, demand, integration, issues, present, countries, methods) underscore challenges, effective design, sustainability value, and integration.

We notice that these insights encompass comprehensive approaches, stakeholder engagement, market dynamics, and implementation challenges. This shows that these aid better decision-making for climate-resilient SCRM. It is curious how these cloud words have changed in the last three years, placing the trends in a more current setting. To that end, we extract some insights from the 2019–2022 period (see Figure 8b), as below:

• ✓ Core Concepts and Environmental Focus: The repetition of words like “environmental”, “climate”, “emissions”, and “carbon” underscores an ongoing emphasis on environmental concerns and climate-related factors.
• ✓ Supply Chain and Technology: The presence of terms like “production”, “supply”, “systems”, and “technology” suggests an increased focus on supply chain management practices, particularly in the context of technology integration.
• ✓ Sustainability and Impact: Words like “sustainability”, “model”, “impact”, and “efficiency” reflect a continued interest in sustainability modeling and assessing the impact of climate change on various aspects of business.
• ✓ Urban and Economic Considerations: Terms like “urban”, “assessment”, “global”, and “economics” indicate attention to urban areas, assessing the global impact and economic implications of climate change.
• ✓ Challenges and Renewable Energy: The appearance of words like “challenges”, “renewable”, and “power” suggests an ongoing focus on challenges related to renewable energy adoption and sustainable power sources.

These insights demonstrate that, while certain themes persist over time, there are also evolving trends. The 2003–2022 analysis emphasizes comprehensive approaches, stakeholder engagement, and broader market dynamics, while the 2019–2022 analysis delves into specific SC aspects, technological integration, urban considerations, and a continued focus on sustainability challenges.

These insights not only highlight the dynamic nature of trends, but also offer a nuanced perspective that supplements the broader analysis spanning from 2003 to 2022. As we delve deeper into 2019–2022, we recognize its significance in shaping contemporary research. In this regard, while our current research focus encapsulates the 2003–2022 timeframe, we acknowledge the potential for future research to specifically address the evolving trends of the period of 2019–2022.

3.2. Publication Years

The first scholarly study on CC and SCM dates back to 1988 [88]. Upon analyzing the data provided, it is evident that there has been a notable increase in the number of documents focusing on CC and SCRM in recent years. Figure 9 illustrates a gradual increase in articles, with a notable surge in 2015. This upsurge can be attributed to the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2015 [89], which served as a significant catalyst for academic interest in the burgeoning interdisciplinary research field of CC and SCM. Research conducted in Europe in 2015 accounted for 30% of the published articles, marking the first time during the surveyed period that the number of papers exceeded the number reported in the United States.

The most significant surge in document volume occurred between 2019 and 2022, indicating a heightened focus on CC and SCRM in the past four years. This surge is likely driven by various factors, including global events, environmental concerns, and the increasing recognition of the importance of managing SC risks associated with CC. The spike in document volume in 2019 can be attributed to the attention given to SC disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic [90,91,92,93]. This event highlighted the vulnerabilities and risks associated with global SCs, prompting researchers to explore the intersection of CC and SCRM.

In addition to the recent surge, the data also reveal a steady growth in the number of documents from 2003 to 2022, indicating a growing interest in the topic over time. The earlier years (2003–2009) saw relatively low document numbers. However, there was a gradual increase, suggesting that the topic gained traction in the academic community during this period, laying the foundation for subsequent growth.

These insights agree with similar patterns identified in previous graphs based on data from Google Scholar (Recall Figure 3 and Figure 4). They highlight the growing importance of CC and SCRM in recent years, driven by global events, environmental concerns, and the recognition of the need to manage risks associated with CC within SCs.

3.3. Publishing Authors

Several notable scholars considering CC have made influential contributions to the SCM field. Some of these scholars include Daddi, T.; Lee, S.Y.; Baumgartner, R.J.; Hauschild, M.Z.; Sarkis, J.; Sala, S.; Azapagic, A.; Bi, J.; Bocken, N.M.P.; Damert, M.; Dargusch, P.; Frey, M.; García-Sánchez, I.M.; González-García, S.; Griffiths, A.; Huisingh, D.; Iraldo, F.; Johannsdottir, L.; Kaur, H.; Tan, R.R.; and Todaro, N.M., among others. These scholars have achieved significant impact through their research and publications, which are shown in

Table 5. Top-publishing authors out of 699 papers.

Author; Affiliation (No. of Documents)	Most-Contributed Topics during 2018–2022 from SCOPUS Database
Daddi, Tiberio; Sant’Anna Scuola Universitaria Superiore Pisa, Pisa, Italy (5)	Sustainability; Environmental Management Systems; Eco-Management and Audit Scheme; Industrial Symbiosis; Sustainable Development; Circular Economy; Alliance Portfolios; Firm; Open Innovation
Lee, Su-yol; Graduate School of Business, Gwangju, South Korea (5)	Sustainability; Environmental Management Systems; Eco-Management and Audit Scheme; Corporate Social Responsibility; Sustainability Reporting; Global Reporting Initiative; Director; Corporate Governance; Board Independence
Baumgartner, Rupert J.; Universitat Graz, Graz, Austria (4)	Business Model Innovation; Innovation; Digital Transformation; Industrial Symbiosis; Sustainable Development; Circular Economy; Supply Chain; Environmentally Preferable Purchasing; Green Practices
Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark (4)	Sustainable Development; Elementary Flow; Product Environmental Footprint; Manufacturing; Machine Tools; Sustainable Manufacturing; Material Flow Analysis; Strategic Materials; Metals
Sarkis, Joseph; Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, United States (4)	Supply Chain; Environmentally Preferable Purchasing; Green Practices; Bitcoin; Ethereum; Internet of Things; Disruption; Supply Chain Disruptions; Dual Sourcing
Sala, Serenella; European Commission Joint Research Centre, Brussels, Belgium (4)	Sustainable Development; Elementary Flow; Environmental Product Footprint; Structural Decomposition Analysis; Carbon Emissions; Material Flow Analysis; Food Loss; Waste Prevention; Community Participation
Azapagic, Adisa; The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom (3)	Solid Waste Management; Life Cycle Assessment; Municipal Solid Waste; Life Cycle Assessment; Photovoltaic System; Solar Collectors; Beef Production; Functional Unit; Life Cycle Assessment
Bi, Jun; Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, China (3)	Structural Decomposition Analysis; Carbon Emissions; Material Flow Analysis; Water Footprint; Water–Energy Nexus; Nexus; Optical Thickness; Aerosol; MISR (Radiometry)
Bocken, Nancy M.P.; Maastricht University School of Business and Economics, Maastricht, Netherlands (3)	Business Model Innovation; Innovation; Digital Transformation;Industrial Symbiosis; Sustainable Development; Circular Economy; Product-Service Systems; Service Economy; Value Co-Creation
Damert, Matthias; Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (3)	Sustainability; Environmental Management Systems; Eco-Management and Audit Scheme; Supply Chain; Environmentally Preferable Purchasing; Green Practices; Cause-Related Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility; Corporate Philanthropy
Frey, Marco K.; Sant’Anna Scuola Universitaria Superiore Pisa, Pisa, Italy (3)	Sustainability; Environmental Management Systems; Eco-Management and Audit Scheme; Industrial Symbiosis; Sustainable Development; Circular Economy; Cause-Related Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility; Corporate Philanthropy
García-Sánchez, Isabel María; Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain (3)	Corporate Social Responsibility; Sustainability Reporting; Global Reporting Initiative; Cause-Related Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility; Corporate Philanthropy; Director; Corporate Governance; Board Independence
Huisingh, Donald; The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, United States (3)	Corporate Social Responsibility; Sustainability Reporting; Global Reporting Initiative; Supply Chain; Environmentally Preferable Purchasing; Green Practices; Manufacturing; Machine Tools; Sustainable Manufacturing
Griffiths, Andrew; The University of Queensland Business School, Brisbane, Australia (3)	Cause-Related Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility; Corporate Philanthropy; Alliance Portfolios; Firm; Open Innovation; Farm Animal Welfare; Carbon Management; Governance

.

Table 6. Frequency of keywords (The authors’ most-contributed topics, 2018–2022).

Keyword	Frequency	Keyword	Frequency
Sustainability	12	Sustainable Development	10
Environmental Management Systems	8	Eco-Management and Audit Scheme	8
Industrial Symbiosis	8	Circular Economy	8
Corporate Social Responsibility	8	Sustainability Reporting	6
Global Reporting Initiative	6	Business Model Innovation	6
Innovation	6	Supply Chain	6
Environmentally Preferable Purchasing	6	Green Practices	6
Digital Transformation	4	Structural Decomposition Analysis	4
Carbon Emissions	4	Material Flow Analysis	4
Sustainable Manufacturing	4	Product Environmental Footprint	4
Manufacturing	4	Machine Tools	4
Life Cycle Assessment	4	Cause-Related Marketing	4
Corporate Philanthropy	4	Alliance Portfolios	4
Firm	2	Open Innovation	2
Director	2	Corporate Governance	2
Supply Chain Disruptions	2	Strategic Materials	2
Food Loss	2	Waste Prevention	2
Community Participation	2	Disruption	2

displays the keywords and their corresponding frequencies of occurrence in the ‘Most Contributed Topics 2018–2022’. It demonstrates the key themes and areas of focus when considering the intersection of CC and SCM; the following insights can be derived from the provided keyword frequency: it involves several key themes, such as Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Environmental Management Systems, Eco-Management and Audit Scheme, Industrial Symbiosis, Circular Economy, Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability Reporting and Global Reporting Initiative, Business Model Innovation and Innovation, Supply Chain and Environmentally Preferable Purchasing, and Green Practices. These keywords highlight the need for sustainable practices, circular economy principles, and responsible sourcing, as well as incorporating environmental considerations throughout SC operations when addressing CC and SCM.

3.4. Top-Publishing Countries and Affiliations

The top publishing countries provide several key insights into CC and SCRM, as shown in Figure 10. As leading contributors, the United States and the United Kingdom have the highest number of publications, indicating their significant contributions to research in this field: Arguably, these countries possess advanced research infrastructure and expertise in CC and SCRM. China is the third-largest publishing country, indicating its increasing engagement in CC and SCRM research. The strong presence in Europe shows that Germany, Italy, Australia, Spain, and the Netherlands are among the top publishing countries. India and Sweden have notable publishing counts, and are actively engaged, suggesting their active involvement in addressing CC impacts on SCs. These countries’ contributions indicate their involvement, expertise, and commitment to understanding the challenges and developing solutions for managing climate-related risks in SCs.

Regarding the affiliation of authors contributing to CC-related research within the context of SCM (Figure 11), the Chinese Academy of Sciences has the highest number of affiliated authors, with 17 documents. This indicates this institution’s strong presence and contribution to CC-related research within SCRM. Although the research on CC and SCRM began relatively recently, in 2013, compared to 2003 to 2022, the findings presented collectively exemplify the wide array of research areas within SCRM and the dynamic nature of CC-related research. These findings indicate an interdisciplinary approach area encompassing diverse fields such as meteorology, agriculture, energy, urban planning, and environmental science. By addressing these key topics, researchers strive to enhance our comprehension of the impacts of CC and devise strategies for adapting to and mitigating environmental challenges.

The data indicate a diverse range of institutions from various countries and regions actively engaged in CC-related research within SCRM. These include universities and research institutes from China, Europe, Australia, the United States, and other parts of the world. Overall, the data highlight the global nature of CC research within SCM. It showcases the involvement of institutions from different countries, emphasizing the collaborative effort to address the challenges posed by CC in SC practices.

4. Towards a New Definition of SC Risk Management and a Guiding Framework

We analyzed the literature using bibliometrics (cf. [94,95]). Bibliometric analysis is a scientific methodology that utilizes software assistance to identify key characteristics of publications related to a specific subject or domain, such as authors, affiliations, publication years, publication titles, publishers, publishing countries, and other metrics of interest.

4.1. Cluster Analysis for SCRM Keywords Using Network Visualization

To conduct keyword and co-occurrence analysis, we utilize a highly efficient tool renowned for generating useful bibliometric network visualizations, VOSviewer. This tool facilitates the creation and representation of co-occurrence networks composed of relevant keywords extracted from scholarly publications, employing text mining as a distinctive capability. The visualization of word clouds as clusters provides a broad picture of the research dynamics in the literature, motivating further analysis. The distance between two articles in the visualization indicates the articles’ relatedness. Generally, the closer two journals are located to each other, the stronger their relatedness. The lines between journals represent the strongest relatedness. A color bar indicates how years are mapped to colors.

As shown in Figure 12, the clusters show noticeable changes between 2003 and 2022 in the CC and SC literature. In the first period (2003–2006), four clusters (carbon, air pollution, allocation decision, and CC policies) emerged. In 2005, the emergence of the colored green keywords “CC policies” can be attributed to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol [96], which entered into force that year, highlighting the need for various scholarly research on CC. The initial corporate response to CC in SCM focused primarily on adopting policy regulations (e.g., pollution tax). Notably, there are no linked lines between them; each domain is separate and distinct.

The second period (2007–2010) shows some significant differences compared to the first period (2003–2006), where several new keywords (e.g., “Kyoto protocol”, “CC”, “risk assessment”, “supply chain disruptions”, “supply chain management”) mix with a few recurrent terms (e.g., “air pollution”, “environmental policy”). In particular, the narrowing gaps between each keyword and the connected lines indicate strong relatedness. In addition, as indicated by the size of the circles representing those keywords, research on CC (along with keywords such as “global warming” and “global climate”) had been more actively conducted in environmental management. It can also be observed that environmental monitoring and risk assessment had gradually started to be connected to supply chain management, supply chain disruptions, and risk management in 2010.

While a few terms in the first period (2003–2006) and second period (2007–2010) are similar (e.g., “air pollution”, “carbon”, “environmental policy”), several new keywords became popular in the third period (2011–2014), a list which includes: “carbon footprint”, “GHG emissions”, “automobile industry”, “insurance”, “life cycle (assessment)”, “uncertainty analysis”, “agriculture”, “food chain”, “recycling”, “waste disposal”, “adaptive management”, “organizational resilience”, “disasters”, “sustainability”, and “social responsibility”. The third phase can be characterized as a vast expansion in research on CC and SCM. The number of published papers increased, particularly as active consideration was given to incorporating CC into the SCM field. This may have resulted from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, which affected the global automobile industry’s demand–supply dynamics [11], prompting a significant recognition of natural disasters as risks within SCM. Many keywords of the third period continued to appear in the fourth period (2015–2018), along with additional new keywords like “air quality”, “renewable energy”, “renewable resource”, “optimization”, and “environmental sustainability”.

In the fifth period of our study horizon (2019–2022), there was considerable growth in the volume of climate change and supply chain, and the new keywords received more attention: “COVID-19”, “extreme event”, “vulnerability”, “disaster management”, “circular economy”, “CC mitigation”, “biomass”, “bioenergy”, “decarbonization”, and “sustainable development goals”. Over the past four years, the size of each keyword circle has increased compared to the previous fourth period, indicating sustained research interest. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that the distances between the keywords “climate change”, “supply chain management”, and “sustainability” have gradually converged, and even overlapped, suggesting that research in these areas has become increasingly commixed. The keywords “air pollution”, “carbon”, “environmental policy”, “climate change”, and “supply chain” appeared consistently across the period (2003–2022).

Upon integrating the findings mentioned earlier, as shown in Figure 12, the following key research trends become apparent:

• CC and Supply Chain Risks: The risks of SCs relative to CC form a critical area of research (e.g., [11,97]. Studies concentrate on discerning the potential impacts of CC on SCs and identifying risks as vulnerabilities that may emerge. Key areas of focus include pinpointing susceptible zones, understanding vulnerability drivers, and analyzing the influence of CC on vulnerability.
• Strategies for Mitigating CC Risks in the Supply Chain: This research category reviews strategies and approaches for mitigating CC risks within SCs [35,98,99]. Scholars have identified various climate-related risks affecting SCs, such as extreme weather events, sea-level rise, temperature fluctuations, and changing precipitation patterns. These risks can disrupt transportation [77,100], damage infrastructure [14], impact resource availability [101], and affect the overall resilience of SCs [102].
• Assessment and Measurement of Climate-Related Risks in SCs: A significant part of the research in this area is geared toward the evaluation and quantification of climate-related risks within SCs [14,26].
• Integration of CC Considerations in Supply Chain Decision-Making: A growing body of literature focuses on how CC considerations can be incorporated into supply chain decision-making (SCDM). The need to integrate these considerations is amplified by the fact that SCs are complex, global, and prone to human errors or biases [103]. Various SC decisions, such as procurement, capacity allocation, contracting, scheduling, postponement, and demand forecasting, can be modeled as decision-making problems under uncertainty, emphasizing the importance of considering CC in SCDM.

4.2. Impacts and Influences between CC and SCM

Based on the literature review and network analysis, we aim to answer the remaining RQs we posed early in this paper.

4.2.1. Impacts of CCs on SCM

CC contributes to the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, including hurricanes, floods, droughts, and heat waves. These events can destroy transportation networks, damage infrastructure, and interrupt the flow of goods, leading to delays, disruptions, and increased costs.

• ▪ Extreme weather events: CC is leading to an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, floods, droughts, and heatwaves [8,29,60,104]. These events can disrupt transportation networks, damage infrastructure, and disrupt the flow of goods, leading to delays, disruptions, and increased costs [77,105].
• ▪ Rising sea levels: As sea levels rise, coastal areas and ports are at risk of flooding [100]. This poses a threat to SC operations located in these areas, including ports, warehouses, and distribution centers [106].
• ▪ Changing patterns in agriculture: CC affects agricultural production, impacting raw material availability and pricing [80,107]. SCs that rely on agricultural inputs may face challenges due to changing crop yields [22], shifts in growing regions, and increased susceptibility to pests and diseases.
• ▪ Regulatory changes and carbon footprint: Governments worldwide are implementing stricter regulations to reduce GHG emissions [71]. This includes carbon pricing, emission standards, and sustainability reporting requirements. SCs need to adapt to these regulations, reduce their carbon footprint, and ensure compliance.

In addition to extreme weather events, numerous other impacts of CC, including sea-level rises, changes in precipitation patterns, glacier retreats, ocean acidification, biodiversity loss, and shifts in agricultural patterns (refer to Table 1), can significantly impact SCs. As shown in

Table 7. Climate-related disturbances and their potential impacts on SCs.

Climate-Related Disturbances	Examples	Supply Chain Impacts
Extreme Weather Events	Hurricanes, storms, floods, droughts, heatwaves	Disruption of transportation, damaged infrastructure, supply delays, increased logistics costs
Sea-Level Rise	Coastal inundation, erosion, saltwater intrusion	Damage to port facilities, coastal transportation disruptions, supply chain rerouting
Temperature Changes	Increased average temperatures, heatwaves	Impacts on perishable goods, increased energy costs for temperature control
Precipitation Changes	Changes in rainfall patterns, increased or decreased precipitation	Water scarcity, impacts on agriculture and raw material availability
Changes in Natural Disasters	Increased frequency and intensity of wildfires	Disruption of transportation routes, damage to facilities, supply chain interruptions
Glacier Retreat	Reduced freshwater availability, altered ecosystems	Impacts on water-intensive industries, changes in water-dependent SCs
Ocean Acidification	Harm to marine ecosystems, coral reef bleaching	Disruption of seafood SCs, impacts on aquaculture
Biodiversity Loss	Species extinction, disruption of ecosystems	Disruption of agricultural SCs, impacts on biodiversity-dependent industries
Changes in Agricultural Patterns	Altered growing seasons, crop yield fluctuations	Impacts on agricultural SCs, food production challenges
Disease Outbreaks	Expanded range of disease vectors, increased transmission	Disruption of labor availability, impacts on healthcare SCs

, these CC-related disturbances result in substantial economic costs, affecting sectors such as healthcare [99,104,108], agriculture [52,109,110] infrastructure [8,60], tourism [111], insurance [112], and emergency management [113].

4.2.2. Impact of SCM on CC

Organizations need to assess CC risks, incorporate climate resilience strategies into their SCM practices, and consider the long-term environmental impacts of their SC decisions [42,44]. By integrating sustainability principles into SCM, organizations can mitigate climate-related risks, enhance operational efficiency, and contribute to global CC mitigation efforts. Some examples of the ways through which SCs impact CC follow.

Greenhouse gas emissions: SCs contribute to GHG emissions through transportation, manufacturing processes, and energy consumption [42]. Optimizing logistics operations, adopting cleaner transportation modes, and reducing energy consumption can help reduce carbon emissions and mitigate CC [83].

Sustainable sourcing and waste management: SCM can promote sustainable sourcing practices by selecting suppliers with environmentally friendly practices, using recycled or renewable materials, and minimizing waste generation [78]. Proper waste management, including recycling and responsible disposal, can help minimize the environmental impact of SC operations [79].

Collaboration and transparency: Effective SCM involves collaboration and information-sharing among stakeholders [114]. Improved transparency throughout the supply chain enables better identification of environmental risks, encourages sustainable practices, and facilitates the adoption of climate-friendly technologies and processes.

4.3. Climate-Change Resilient Sustainable Supply Chain Risk Management (CCR-SSCRM)

The SCRM literature is rife with evolving definitions. Colicchia and Strozzi [40] provided definitions for a basic understanding of the key concepts related to SC risk, vulnerability, robustness, resilience, and risk management in the context of SCM: Supply Chain Risk refers to potential disruptions or variations in outcomes within a supply chain, impacting its performance, stability, and ability to meet objectives; Supply Chain Vulnerability represents a supply chain’s susceptibility to random disturbances, leading to negative consequences like disruptions in material flow, information, or finances; Robustness refers to a supply chain’s ability to maintain its functions unchanged when faced with disruptions, protecting performance and operations; Resilience denotes a supply chain’s capacity to adapt, recover, and establish stability after disruptions, going beyond mere recovery; Supply Chain Resilience refers to a supply chain’s adaptive capability to prepare for unexpected events, respond to disruptions, and maintain operations; and Supply Chain Risk Management involves identifying risks, implementing strategies among supply chain members to reduce vulnerability, and safeguarding against adverse events. We also note the distinction between risk and uncertainty: risk involves known probabilities of outcomes, while uncertainty arises from a lack of information and quantifiable probabilities.

An increasing hazard does not necessarily mean increasing losses [47]. While natural CCs are mainly uncontrollable, humanity can mitigate their exacerbating impacts through appropriate interventions, ensuring a more sustainable future [8,9,11], SCs being no exception.

According to existing research, the current state of SCRM models indicates the field’s early stages due to a lack of consensus on sustainable SCRM [42,44]. Further research is essential to enhance conceptual clarity and theoretical development, and particularly to address extreme situations such as CC [26,27,40,43]. Tang [35] emphasizes the need to reevaluate SCRM for managing disruption risks. It is necessary to rethink SCM to cope with extreme situations, both now and in the future, whether due to pandemics, war, regime change, CC, or biodiversity damage. Although most studies define sustainability to include the three pillars of the triple bottom line [44] and evaluate mainly the economic pillar, we agree that sustainability encompasses not only the economic but also the environmental dimensions and we will delve deeper into this aspect in our proposal framework, drawing on studies like [10,32,41,42,45]. Moreover, we highlight again, as displayed in Figure 12, that the scholarly fields of CC and SCM have evolved and converged, thus presenting the need for a new framework and definition for supply chain risk management that explicitly includes resiliency and sustainability aspects.

Therefore, drawing on the motivation of this study and the need for it, and in light of the evolving SCRM concepts, we propose a new definition, “climate-change resilient, sustainable supply chain risk management”, CCR-SSCRM, as follows:

CCR-SSCRM is an integrative approach used to identify, assess, and mitigate CC-borne risks and their impacts on supply chain sustainability such that the resiliency mechanisms built within the supply chain configuration, planning, and execution forestall the related economic, environmental, social, and cultural vulnerabilities.

Figure 13 displays a conceptual guiding framework for relating the ramifications of CC, sustainable SCs, and the intervening CCR-SSCRM. It involves developing resilience strategies and implementing measures to adapt to and withstand the potential SC disruptions caused by climate-related events and changes in environmental conditions. As shown in Figure 13, we apply SSCA—sustainable supply chain analytics [5]—for SSCA is a set of activities and analytic tools that are big-data-driven in order to provide both optimal solutions and innovative foresight to complex SCDM problems with the goals of achieving the cultural, economic, environmental, and social sustainability pillars (QBL pillars).

The CCR-SSCRM can be considered as a strategic approach focusing on identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks associated with CC and its impacts on the coffee supply chain. At the same time, this approach aims to maintain a sustainable SC—balancing the QBL pillars of economy, environment, society, and culture (e.g., [32,45]).

For example, the coffee industry, extending from farmers to retailers to consumers, is quite susceptible to CC impacts; increasing temperatures, changing rainfall patterns [109], and the frequency of extreme weather events threaten coffee production, which relies on specific climatic conditions [115]. This makes the industry a fitting case for applying CCR-SSCRM.

Economic viability can be achieved by ensuring fair prices for farmers. Environmental sustainability can be addressed by promoting organic farming techniques and efficient water usage [116]. Social and cultural aspects could include fair labor practices and preserving local coffee farming traditions. The SC stages of sourcing (coffee beans), making (processing), and delivering (distribution to retailers) are all considered here, aiming to ensure return and recovery in the face of CC impacts [117].

SSCA could then be applied as a data-driven tool to support these goals, beginning with an ‘Analysis’ stage to collect and visualize data on past climate impacts on coffee production. ‘Simulation’ predicts future impacts, while ‘Optimization’ identifies the best adaptation strategies, such as cultivating climate-resistant coffee varieties, diversifying supply sources, or implementing sustainable farming practices that the indigenous people can provide. The ‘Self-Learning’ phase leverages artificial intelligence to continually refine these strategies based on real-time data. By incorporating climate risks as an integral part of SCM and using SSCA, the coffee industry can mitigate the vulnerabilities caused by CC. This approach helps the industry become more resilient. It ensures the sustainability of its SCs, both in environmental terms and in maintaining the social, cultural, and economic well-being of those involved in coffee production. Besides the coffee industry, this concept can be applied and analyzed by considering various industries, regions, and CC factors. Such applications can provide a broader and deeper understanding and insight.

As we turn our attention to gaps in current literature that may further help shape research venues, we have identified the following ten papers as the most pertinent to our definition of CCR-SSCRM and that will support future studies: Ülkü and Engau [5], Aldrighetti et al. [10], Bag et al. [27], Tang [35], Colicchia and Strozzi [40], Ghadge et al. [41], Bazan et al. [42], Colicchia et al. [43], Negri et al. [44], and Tiller et al. [45].

4.4. Gaps in Extant Literature

While existing literature has shed light on CC risks in SCs, underexplored dimensions warrant further investigation. This section highlights some of these gaps. Next, we identify and explicate these future research venues.

4.4.1. Underexplored Dimensions of CC Risks in SCs

• Social and cultural dimensions—The literature has primarily focused on the economic and environmental aspects of CC risks in SCs [40,118]. Few researchers have considered and investigated the social and cultural dimensions of CC risks in SCs [32,45,98]. Therefore, more research is needed to understand the social and cultural dimensions, including the impacts on local communities, labor practices, human rights, and cultural heritage.
• Behavioral and organizational factors—Understanding the role of human behavior and organizational factors in addressing CC risks is crucial [119,120]. This includes examining how organizational culture, decision-making processes, and stakeholder engagement influence the ability to identify, assess, and respond to climate-related risks.

4.4.2. Methodological Gaps in Studying Climate-Related SC Risks

• Longitudinal studies: Most studies in the literature focus on cross-sectional analyses, providing a snapshot of the current state of SCs. Longitudinal studies that track changes in SC risk over time can offer valuable insights into the dynamic nature of CC impacts and risk management practices [39,44].
• Integration of qualitative and quantitative methods: While both qualitative and quantitative methods are utilized in studying SC risks, there is a need for more integrated approaches [68,121,122]. Greater insights could be derived from research that integrates qualitative insights from case studies and interviews with quantitative data analysis. Such an approach can help obtain a more comprehensive understanding of climate-related risks and their implications for SCs [27].
• Scenario-based analysis: Future climate scenarios and their potential impacts on SCs have received limited attention. Incorporating scenario-based analyses, including varying CC scenarios and their likelihoods, can help identify sustainable risk management strategies that are adaptable to uncertain future conditions [97,123].

4.4.3. Sector-Specific Challenges and Opportunities in SCRM and CC

• Agriculture and Food SCs: These SCs are especially vulnerable to CC, as they are directly linked with weather patterns and natural resource availability [45,124]. Increased temperature, changes in precipitation, and extreme weather events can lead to decreased agricultural productivity [109] shifts in growing seasons, increased pest activity, and ultimately threaten food security [80,107,125]. Moreover, the transportation and storage of food products can be disrupted due to climate events, leading to higher costs and waste [78]. Despite these challenges, there are opportunities for adopting climate-resilient ways [126] such as farming practices, diversifying crop varieties [127], improving irrigation efficiency, and implementing sustainable logistics solutions.
• Energy SCs: CC can affect the supply of energy resources [101], particularly those dependent on water, such as hydropower and thermal power plants. Extreme weather conditions can disrupt the transmission and distribution of energy, and infrastructure may also be vulnerable to damage from severe climate events [49,128]. However, these challenges highlight the need and opportunity for a transition towards renewable and less climate-sensitive energy sources, as well as the development of resilient infrastructure [129].
• Manufacturing SCs: These chains can be affected due to climate-induced disruptions in the availability and cost of raw materials, energy supply, and transportation. Sea-level rise can threaten coastal manufacturing facilities [13,29,109]. The opportunities lie in improving resource efficiency, adopting circular economy principles, developing climate-resilient infrastructure, and relocating critical facilities to less-vulnerable locations [130].
• Healthcare SCs: These are vital in managing health risks associated with CC [119]. Changes in temperature and precipitation can influence the spread of diseases, increasing the demand for certain healthcare services and products. Disruptions due to extreme events can impede the delivery of healthcare services. Here, opportunities include improving the responsiveness and resilience of healthcare SCs [131], implementing robust contingency plans [132], and leveraging technology for effective healthcare delivery [133].

By addressing these gaps in the current literature, future research can provide a more comprehensive understanding of CC risks in SCs, offer methodological advancements, and uncover sector-specific challenges, as well as opportunities for effective supply chain risk management in a climate-changed world.

4.5. Future Research Venues

While CC poses significant threats, it also presents opportunities to rethink and redesign SC practices toward sustainability and resilience. It is crucial to assess CC risks, strategize and adapt SCM practices for long-term environmental impacts, and work towards mitigating CC itself.

• Developing comprehensive risk assessment and management models: Understanding the complexity and interdependencies of CC risks within SCs requires developing a comprehensive measure of SC risk and management models [68,121,122]. These models should incorporate multiple risk factors, ranging from physical risks (such as extreme weather events or sea-level rise) to transitional risks (such as regulatory or market changes related to CC). These models should be able to simulate different climate scenarios, assess their impacts on different aspects of SCs, and identify the most effective strategies for mitigating these risks. This process must also consider the pivotal role of humanitarian logistics in climate-induced crises. Given the potential for CC to intensify the frequency and severity of natural disasters, there is a growing imperative for effective humanitarian logistics. Accordingly, research should focus on applying SSCM principles to humanitarian logistics. This would ensure a swift and effective response to disasters, efficient resource allocation, and resilience in recovery processes.
• Exploring the role of intelligent technology and innovation in CCR-SSCM: Technologies like big data analytics and blockchain, and smart process improvement can be crucial in building climate-resilient SCs [27,82,93,134]. These technologies can provide real-time monitoring, predictive analytics, traceability, and transparency, enhancing the ability of SCs to anticipate, respond to, and recover from climate-related disruptions. For example, big data analytics can process large volumes of structured and unstructured data to uncover patterns and insights, facilitating informed decision-making [135,136]. By incorporating environmental data, like temperature patterns, rainfall, and wind speed [137], and operational data (delivery times, production volumes, and energy consumption), predictive models can be developed to assess CC risks and devise adaptive strategies. However, successfully integrating these technologies faces operational challenges related to data privacy, cybersecurity, technological compatibility, and workforce skills. Further research is needed to understand how to effectively harness these technologies in different SC contexts and overcome potential barriers.
• Examining the influence of policy and regulation on CCR-SSCRM: As observed in Section 3.1, the term “environmental policy” has been prevalent throughout the period under consideration. Climate-related policies and regulations, such as carbon pricing, emissions standards, and sustainability reporting requirements, can significantly influence SCRM [130,138,139,140]. Therefore, future research could explore how these policies impact SC strategies, operations, and competitive dynamics and how SCs can optimally gauge these regulatory environments.
• Investigating the role of SC relationships in devising CCR-SSCRM: Research on CC and SCM calls for interdisciplinarity and global collaboration. More attention is being drawn to the participation of various countries and institutions in CC research, as evident from the top affiliations and the countries with the highest number of published research papers (recall Figure 10 and Figure 11). However, a growing need exists to foster more organic collaboration and partnerships. Such collaboration and partnerships are essential for establishing sustainable and resilient practices in managing SC risks amidst CC [31,32,141]. Within the SC context, collaboration entails sharing information, resources, and best practices among stakeholders. This collective effort enhances their ability to manage CC risks effectively. It is important to note that collaboration extends beyond individual SCs to include partnerships with external organizations for climate refugee resolution, such as research institutions, NGOs, and government agencies. Through these partnerships, joint efforts can be focused on innovation and technology development to promote climate resilience. Moreover, partnerships are crucial for advocating supportive policies that incentivize and enable climate-resilient practices throughout the SC. In future research, it is imperative to prioritize understanding the dynamics of collaboration, identifying effective strategies for managing partnerships, and exploring their impact on building sustainable CC SCs.
• Future research directions aligned with the SDGs: The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a framework for addressing global challenges, including CC. Future research could explore how sustainable SC strategies in a climate-changed world can contribute to achieving these SDGs. For instance, the research could investigate how SC decarbonization can support SDG #13 (Climate Action) or how sustainable sourcing practices can contribute to SDG #12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). By examining these connections, future research can contribute to a better understanding of how climate-resilient SCs can support the achievement of the SDGs, ultimately fostering sustainable development and addressing CC challenges from an interdisciplinary and inclusive perspective [142,143].

5. Concluding Remarks

The analysis of keyword clusters has revealed the evolving dynamics of CC and SCM literature over different periods. It has shown the emergence of new keywords and their evolving relationships, indicating growing attention to CC risks in SCs. The literature review has emphasized the vulnerability of SCs to CC, strategies for mitigating CC risks, assessment and measurement of climate-related risks, and integration of CC considerations in SC decision-making.

These findings have significant implications for practitioners and policymakers. Organizations must recognize the vulnerability of SCs to CC and develop strategies to mitigate associated risks. Collaboration and partnerships play a crucial role in building sustainable and resilient SCs. Technology and innovation, such as big data analytics and blockchain, can enhance the ability of SCs to anticipate, respond to, and recover from climate-related disruptions. Policy and regulation should support and incentivize climate-resilient practices in SCs.

A limitation related to bibliometric visualization: Though the word cloud visualizations and clusters offer a broad overview of research dynamics, they inherently possess certain limitations that require careful consideration. Specifically, these visual tools do not provide quantitative information regarding the relationship between distinct terms that have been generated. The lack of quantitative data on individual key terms hampers the ability to combine related terms meaningfully or to categorize them into precise topics. Consequently, this restricts the depth of analysis that could be achieved through a more nuanced and quantitatively informed understanding of the interrelation of terms.

Future research directions aim to deepen our understanding of CC risks in SCs, enhance risk management practices, and contribute to developing sustainable and resilient SCs in the face of CC.

In conclusion, this research emphasizes the critical role of interdisciplinary collaboration in CC and SCM research. The escalating frequency and intensity of CC impacts pose substantial risks to SCs, demanding a departure from viewing these impacts as rare events with small consequences. To effectively address these challenges, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers must adopt an interdisciplinary approach, integrating knowledge and expertise from diverse fields such as environmental science, engineering, economics, policy, and logistics. A comprehensive understanding of the intricate interactions between CC and SCs can be achieved by fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange across disciplines.

The research highlights the urgency of the need for businesses to prioritize CC adaptation and resilience measures. Neglecting the impacts of CC can harm SC performance, profitability, and long-term sustainability. Furthermore, organizations must recognize that CC risks are determined by both the probability and the impact of the risk, requiring proactive assessment and management within their SCs. They must integrate CC considerations into risk management strategies, decision-making processes, and operational practices.

Interdisciplinary collaboration is crucial for advancing knowledge synergy and productivity in CC and SCM. Businesses must better recognize the growing risks of CC and proactively implement adaptive strategies. By embracing an interdisciplinary approach and acknowledging the increasing significance of CC impacts, organizations can enhance their resilience and actively contribute to a sustainable future. We hope this paper (our bibliometric and trend analysis and definition of and guiding framework for CCR-SSCRM) will provide a good starting point and germinate many interdisciplinary research ideas.