Minimizing total carbon emissions in an integrated machine scheduling and vehicle routing problem

Abstract Integrated production and distribution scheduling are important problems in a manufacturing system, distribution system, and system collaborative optimization. Under the carbon emission policy, managers must aim to reduce carbon emissions in manufacturing and distribution. This research considers an integrated single-machine scheduling and multi-vehicle routing problem, which allows the switching of machine in a period between two adjacent workpieces. Initially, a mathematical programming model is established to minimize the total carbon emissions, and then a tabu search hybrid algorithm is proposed to solve the minimization problem. Moreover, an enterprise case and twenty simulated examples are studied. Computational results verify the advantage of integrated scheduling model and show that a sustainable scheduling method can reduce the total carbon emissions by coordinating production and distribution effectively. Finally, the model is extended to the cases of minimizing total costs and minimizing both total costs and carbon emissions. The model and algorithm can guide the green manufacturing and logistics for industrial enterprises.