A comprehensive review of Network Design in a Sustainable Supply Chain: Focus on the social dimension

Amid growing concerns over the environmental and social impacts of supply chains, sustainable network design has become a key focus in both research and practice. This paper presents a comprehensive review of 184 publications on network design in sustainable supply chains. We explore how sustainability dimensions, especially the often-overlooked social aspect, are integrated into network design decisions. The review categorizes the main modeling approaches, objectives, and uncertainty considerations, and highlights emerging trends such as circular economy and responsible sourcing. Finally, we identify research gaps and outline future directions, with a particular emphasis on enhancing the social sustainability of supply chain networks.