Design of Green Cold Chain Networks for Imported Fresh Agri-Products in Belt and Road Development

The development of Belt and Road has seen a boom of imported fresh agri-products in China. This stimulates the growth of refrigerated transport, which accounts for much more carbon emissions than traditional transport. Designing a sustainable cold chain network is of vital importance from both financial and environmental perspectives. In this research, a multi-objective linear programming model is proposed for green cold chain design for multiple imported fresh agri-products in China to balance between the two competing goals—the total cost and carbon emissions. The effect of the outdoor air temperature on the carbon emissions of transportation and maintaining distribution centers is considered. By applying the ε-constraint method, the multi-objective model is solved. Numerical examples derived from the scenario of imported fresh-agri products in China are conducted to shed light on green cold chain design under Belt and Road development