Digitally Enabling Environmental Agility through a Dynamic Capabilities Framework with Digital Twins and SCOR

Abstract

In response to mounting environmental volatility and regulatory pressures, supply chains (SCs) must evolve from efficiency-driven systems into environmentally agile networks. This study introduces the concept of Environmental Agility (EA)—the capability of a SC to sense, respond to, and reconfigure around environmental disruptions in real time. We develop a novel conceptual framework that integrates Digital Twin (DT) technologies with the Dynamic Capability View (DCV), the Sense-and-Respond (S&R) paradigm, and the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model to operationalize this emerging capability. The framework embeds environmental sensing, predictive simulation, and adaptive reconfiguration into SCOR processes, enabling organizations to reduce emissions, optimize resource flows, and comply with sustainability mandates dynamically. Grounded in a design science methodology and validated through analytical generalization from industry-based DT applications, the model demonstrates both conceptual rigor and contextual relevance. This study contributes to sustainable SC theory by positioning digital twins as enablers of dynamic environmental capabilities and recasting SCOR as a responsive, eco-intelligent infrastructure.