Fuente: Sustainability - Revista científica (MDPI) Sustainability, Vol. 18, Pages 671: A Hybrid Genetic Algorithm for Sustainable Multi-Site Logistics: Integrating Production, Inventory, and Distribution Planning with Proactive CO2 Emission Forecasting
Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su18020671
Authors:
Nejah Jemal
Imen Raies
Amira Sellami
Zied Hajej
Kamar Diaz

This paper introduces a novel, integrated optimization framework for sustainable multi-site logistics planning, which simultaneously addresses production, inventory, and distribution decisions. The proposed hybrid methodology combines a Genetic Algorithm (GA) with Linear Programming (LP) to minimize total logistics costs while proactively integrating environmental impact assessment. The model determines optimal production schedules across multiple facilities, manages inventory levels, and solves the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) for distribution. A key innovation is the incorporation of a CO2 emission forecasting module directly into the optimization loop, allowing the algorithm to anticipate and mitigate the environmental consequences of logistics decisions during the planning phase, rather than performing a post-hoc evaluation. The framework was implemented in Python 3.13.4, utilizing the PuLP library for LP components and custom-developed GA routines. Its performance was validated through a numerical case study and a series of sensitivity analyses, which investigated the effects of fluctuating demand and key cost parameters. The results demonstrate that the inclusion of emission forecasting enables the identification of solutions that achieve a superior balance between economic and environmental objectives, leading to significant reductions in both total costs and predicted CO2 emissions. This work provides practitioners with a scalable and practical decision-support tool for designing more sustainable and resilient multi-echelon supply chains.