A Closed-Loop Supply Chain Model for End-of-Life Electronics under Carbon Tax Policy

Significant research contributions of this manuscript are as follows:
•Developed an integrated closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) model for end-of-life electronic products, combining forward and reverse logistics within a unified framework.
•Introduced distributor-level reintegration of repaired and recycled products, enabling recovered products to re-enter the forward supply chain earlier than in conventional models.
•Formulated a multi-period, multi-echelon Linear Programming (LP) model incorporating suppliers, plants, distributors, retailers, return-processing, repair, recycling, and secondary-market facilities.
•Integrated a comprehensive carbon-tax mechanism by applying CO₂-related costs to transportation across all forward and reverse logistics links.
•Combined economic and environmental considerations by minimizing total supply-chain cost while accounting for transportation emissions and revenue from scrap recovery.
•Demonstrated model applicability through a city-based case study, involving multiple suppliers, plants, distributors, retailers, customer zones, and reverse-logistics facilities.
•Established model robustness through sensitivity analysis of customer demand, carbon-tax rate, and emission factor, showing stable and predictable cost responses.
•Provided quantitative evidence on carbon-tax impacts, showing only a small increase in total supply-chain cost under the specified case-study conditions.