green logistics

Urban logistics has to change to become more silent and eco-friendlier. Off-peak delivery is regarded as an effective measure to cut carbon emissions. Implementing this concept will require the deployment of electric trucks to comply with noise regulations. This article provides an overview of current research themes in this field and uses McKinnon’s “Analytical framework for green logistics”to illustrate off-peak delivery as a concept, its benefits and limitations as well as the key requirements to make this concept work.

Increasing customer demand and legislative regulations on sustainability lead to growing pressure on companies to provide transparency on the negative social and ecological effects of their business activities and those of their suppliers and service providers. A broad strategic integration of sustainability, incorporating economic, social and ecological aspects, enables companies to gain a competitive advantage. Several standards provide support for the measurement and reporting of ecological and social indicators, though the quantification of social sustainability still remains a challenge. For improving sustainability effectively, the scope of measurement and target setting has to include supply chain partners like suppliers or service providers. Top performing companies include sustainability criteria in their procurement processes for logistics services to reduce their transport-related emissions effectively.

A sustainable constitution of our way of living is more and more subject to the discussion in society and politics. The transportation sector, causing a considerable percentage of the worldwide CO2 emissions, resides right in the middle of the debate. As a result companies find themselves in an area of conflict between economical and ecological objectives, which cannot always be reconciled. Approaches to solve this dilemma are discussed under the general term „Green Logistics“. The implementation of an intelligent cargo system can contribute to bring these approaches to practice.

Global warming is one of the major challenges of the 21th century. The reduction of the greenhouse gases is therefore of special interest. Companies have to face several challenges if they want to measure and reduce greenhouse gases. Two studies have asked the question how companies evaluate the efforts for a green supply chain. These surveys were conducted by the management and technology consultancy BearingPoint. A change in mindset of executives can be revealed by comparing the corresponding results of both studies. This article highlights the position for green logistics of more than 600 companies in the 2010-2011 survey. The results are compared with the former study of 2008. An evolution over the past years becomes visible: from awareness to implementation actions.

Logistics is one of the biggest trade volume industry sectors in Germany. External factors of influence are pushing the logistics sector to redesign its processes and operating activities environmentally. In the practical experience methodical tools are missing which help to identify environmental potential for optimization, to evaluate it and to document quantitatively the realized improvement. One possibility to combine the environmental and the financial point of view in intralogistics is demonstrating a novel reference model. With this model weaknesses can be identified and appropriate goals and activities can be defined to improve them. The combination of the reference model with a data base system affords to simulate and to review the effects of the activities just before their operational realization. The application of the reference model and its benefits for the contract logistics enterprises will be characterized in this article.