Best Practices and Means to Develop Zero Emission City Logistics

Abstract

City logistics significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and congestion, accounting for nearly one third of total transportation CO2 emissions. Hence, the field requires transformation to achieve emission-free urban logistics, as outlined by numerous European cities’ climate plans and strategies. This thesis investigates best practices and means to develop zero-emission city logistics and their outcomes, focusing also on drivers of the transition, challenges in the process, stakeholders involved and their roles.

Through systematic literature review, practices for emission-free freight transportation were divided into technological, infrastructural, and regulatory categories. Afterwords, 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted with specialists in the field of city logistics of 10 various European cities with proactive approach towards reducing emissions. Empirical data on 10 cities was additionally collected from secondary sources to develop background knowledge for further analysis. In combination with the interviews, literature review reveals efficiency of electrification of freight vehicles through incentives, subsidies, and development of sufficient charging infrastructure as essential practice to encourage transition. Besides that, enforcement of zero-emission zones in high-density areas was advocated to be effective, yielding in emission cuts by up to 90%, for instance, in Rotterdam, with a disadvantage of high instalment costs. Other practices, such as road tolls, cargo bikes, and green procurement strategies were also mentioned as effective in reducing emissions. On the other hand, Urban Consolidation Centers and micro-hubs have been discussed as not effective in reducing emissions if used as warehouses without collaboration and consolidation of goods between logistics operators.

Drivers of change included harmonization of regulations and political involvement into emissions reductions. However, the challenges, such as high initial costs, lack of collaboration, and infrastructure gaps persist. Collaboration is a pivotal aspect of transformation, which is often facilitated by cities or municipalities. They invite logistics operators, their clients, national government, small and medium enterprises, as well as citizens to discuss and develop vision for the future together. Collaborative events revealed high need of industry in predictability of changes, such as future regulations or environmental zones’ introduction for the span of next 3-5 years. Overall, this study contributes to better understanding of the decision-making process behind the introduction of emission-reduction practices, recommending strategies that would be applicable to various cities, such as identifying current logistical challenges faced by operators and their clients, raising awareness among stakeholders on the need to reduce emissions, and developing digital solutions to share up-to-date regulations and collect feedback from stakeholders.

The limitations of this study include mostly focusing on European cities and lack of publicly available data on the outcomes of the practices, as most of them were implemented recently. Hence, further research should focus on the longitudinal research of the results of implemented practices in various cities around the globe to ensure transferability of the outcomes to other cities.