Bi-Objective Optimization Model Based on Profit and CO2 Emissions for Pig Deliveries to the Abattoir

Abstract

This paper presents a bi-objective model for optimizing pig deliveries to the abattoir accounting for total revenue and CO2 emissions. Fattening farms house the most important stage in pig production, and operations on farms must be coordinated with the rest of the pig supply chain when batch management is generally applied. The novelty of the model lies in the change of attitude in producers towards a greener production, which is becoming one of the major concerns in our society. In this context, we enrich the classical approach focused on revenues with the addition of the CO2 emissions from the pigs on the fattening farms. Emissions derived from feeding and transportation are considered since they are the most important sources of CO2 . The model is tested using parameters representing a typical integrated Spanish fattening farm. Our findings reveal the impact and the relationship between revenues and emissions, highlight that the break-even is reached achieving 459 kg of CO2 per pig, which corresponds to a reduction of 6.05%. On the other hand, the profit is slightly reduced by 4.48% in favor of the environment.

This research was partially funded by CYTED Grant Number 516RT0513. A.P.-B. and L.M.P.-A. are members of the excellence research group 2017-SGR1193 supported by the Autonomous Government of Catalonia.