AN INTEGRATED BLOCKCHAIN AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) has gained significant attention due to increasing environmental concerns, regulatory pressure, and stakeholder demand for transparency and ethical accountability. Traditional supply chain systems rely heavily on centralized data repositories and periodic sustainability audits, which suffer from data manipulation risks, limited traceability, and delayed decision-making. While blockchain technology improves transparency through decentralized and immutable data storage, it largely functions as a secure data repository. Similarly, artificial intelligence (AI) enhances prediction and optimization but often operates on unverifiable or fragmented data sources. This paper proposes an integrated Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence framework for sustainable supply chain management, introducing Blockchain-Anchored Sustainability Intelligence (BASI) as a sustainability-focused AI layer. BASI continuously evaluates, predicts, and explains sustainability performance using blockchain-verified data. Furthermore, smart contracts translate AI-driven sustainability insights into automated incentives and penalties, ensuring accountability. The proposed framework transforms sustainability from static reporting into continuous, explainable, and enforceable governance, enabling proactive and transparent supply chain decision-making.