Aggregate planning problem from sustainability perspective

Abstract

Aggregate planning refers to the determination of production, inventory and capacity levels for a medium term. Traditionally standard mathematical programming formulation is used to devise the aggregate plan so as to minimize the total cost of operations. However, this formulation is purely an economic model that does not include sustainability considerations. In this study, we revise the standard aggregate planning formulation to account for additional environmental and social criteria from sustainability perspective. We analyze the revised models and propose results that would be insightful for decision makers. We show how these additional criteria can be appended to traditional cost accounting in order to address sustainability in aggregate planning.